It was just a few months ago when a despondent Kyle Busch worried about his future in NASCAR.
His primary sponsor pulled out of the sport, his team owner of 15 years could not meet his terms for a new contract and Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup champion and winner of 60 career races, publicly voiced his frustration at the end of the 2022 season.
Then, a phone call changed everything. Cup rival Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing, knowing teammate Tyler Reddick was on the verge of leaving for another team, suggested his grandfather, team owner Richard Childress, call Busch.
Busch and Childress, who famously exchanged blows in a 2011 post-race skirmish in the Kansas Speedway garage area, put aside their differences, and Busch humbly agreed to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet.
He now must wonder what the angst was all about.
Busch already has won two of the first 11 races this season, assuring himself a spot in the postseason playoffs, and will be seeking a third-career Cup win at Kansas Speedway in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400.
“Trust me, I’ve probably done more, worked harder in this year than I have in the last four,” Busch said, “just because of feeling like it’s my duty. It’s my service to them to give them everything that I’ve got — absolutely everything that I’ve got — for them sticking their neck out for me.
“They didn’t think that Kyle Busch was washed up or anything like that. It was really a breath of fresh air to get over there and get to work. I keep pushing these guys on some stuff. I hope that it will continue to get better as we progress through the year.”
Busch, 37, wasted little time proving his worth to RCR. He won the second race of the season, at Fontana, and repeated two weeks ago at Talladega, assuring a solid seeding when the playoffs begin in the fall.
“The more wins you can get, the earlier you get ‘em, the better your season is going to go,” said Busch, who is eighth in the points standings. “The points buildup is obviously what you strive for. Winning races in the playoffs obviously moves you through automatically to the next round. That’s a good plus. You get to carry the points late in the year, too.
“I’ve always looked at having strong starts to seasons, that kind of solidifying your base for the remainder of your season. I always like to be having a good, strong start to build that foundation. We’re all striving for the same thing: That’s one goal, and that’s to win.”
Still, Busch couldn’t have imagined winning so quickly for RCR.
“Truthfully, no. I felt like there was going to be a little bit of a learning experience, a little bit of a growth pattern,” he said. “But also on the flipside of that, I always just kind of looked back and watched some of their results and success that they had last year with Austin. He ran second (at Fontana) last year, and Reddick was super, super fast.
“It’s just been really, really cool and … a great opportunity to go out there and continue to win races at a new team with RCR. So I can’t say enough about Austin giving me a call, first and foremost, but then Richard and Judy giving me this opportunity to go out here and race for wins.”
Busch will do double duty at Kansas Speedway
Across all three NASCAR national series, Busch owns 227 career wins — 62 Cup, 102 Xfinity and 63 Craftsman Trucks — most of all-time. His nine total wins at Kansas Speedway — two Cup, four Xfinity and three trucks — are the most of any driver, and he’ll also compete in Saturday’s Heart of America 200 truck race at Kansas Speedway.
A win on Saturday would be the 100th for Kyle Busch Motorsports, which also was in peril had Busch not found a new home with RCR.
“It’s just the enjoyable nature of being a race car driver and going out and running in various series and race cars and such,” Busch said. “I just enjoy it overall.”
Busch’s win at Fontana extended his streak to 19 consecutive seasons with at least one Cup victory, breaking the record he shared with the legendary Richard “The King” Petty.
“There’s not very many records that you can beat that Richard Petty has, and certainly that was one that I set early on a long, long time ago that I always wanted to achieve and get,” Busch said. “I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to set that bar and would love to continue to keep raising it.”
Busch, nicknamed Rowdy for his polarizing personality seemed to receive more cheers than normal when he took his customary post-race bow after this year’s victories.
“It’s awesome to hear everything,” he said. “All the finishes we’ve had and all the races that we’ve run, we’ve been right up front and we’ve been fast. It gives my legion, Rowdy Nation, a sense of pride to be cheering us on and having an interest in watching again and not dreading watching again. That’s what makes it fun for me, foremost.
“No matter where on the Cup series, you want to win. It’s awesome to me to hear a little bit of a changing of the guard, which is fun. Hopefully it keeps going.”
Resurgence at Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing, once one of NASCAR’s powerful teams, had fallen on tough times following the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 2001. But Busch’s presence has continued a resurgence that started with Reddick in the No. 8 last year.
“I think (Busch) is helping us build RCR back to where we want to be,” said Childress. “I have to give all the credit to Austin Dillon. He’s the one that came to me; he knew Tyler was going somewhere else. He said, ‘Pop, what do you think about bringing Kyle Busch over here?’
“I said, ‘I’ll talk to him if he wants to.’ We sat down, put a program together. The credit goes to Austin for bringing him on.”
Busch’s two wins, coupled with three by Reddick in the No. 8 and one by Dillon last year, gave RCR six wins in a 29-race span after a stretch of three wins in the previous eight seasons.
“Racing is like life; there’s peaks and valleys,” said Childress, who won six Cup championships with Earnhardt and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017. “When you get on a peak, it’s harder to stay there. You’ve got to be prepared when you’re at the top. We’ve been there. We’ve also been in the valley, the very bottom. You got to work harder and have the right drive and emotion to put you up to the top. That’s what we’ve worked hard (for) — to get there. It has (taken) a long road. It’s been a fun deal.
“To me, personally, it means a lot. I’m still doing this. People say, ‘Why do you do it?’ If you see all those fans up there, that’s why we do it. We’re all in this for that reason.”
KANSAS SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE
Saturday:
9:25 a.m. ARCA Series practice.
10:10 a.m. ARCA Series qualifying.
11:05 a.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series practice.
11:35 a.m. Trucks series qualifying.
1 p.m. ARCA Menards Series Dawn 150 race.
4:05 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series practice.
4:50 p.m. NASCAR Cup qualifying.
7 p.m. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Heart of America 200 race.
Sunday:
1:30 p.m. NASCAR Cup driver introductions,
2 p.m. NASCAR Cup AdventHealth 400 race.
This story was originally published May 03, 2023 6:30 AM.