![\"NASCAR](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/G_WmzmIWYAEU9CH-copy.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKyle Busch drove for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKyle Busch drove for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.<\/p>\n
Even before Busch\u2019s death<\/a>, there was speculation that Busch would continue with Richard Childress Racing.<\/p>\n A media availability had been pencilled in for NASCAR\u2019s visit to Michigan, which was scratched in the wake of Busch\u2019s sad passing.<\/p>\n On the eve of the Cup Series race, Richard Childress addressed the media for the first time since Busch died \u2013 revealing what he had hoped to announce.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hardest part of this is that today, we were going to be in here, Kyle was going to be with me, and we were going to announce that he was coming back in 2027 and drive for RCR,\u201d said Childress.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to do it up here in Michigan with our GM friends, with Chevrolet, and it didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a different type of media availability instead of a press conference that he was coming back to race for us in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n Buy tickets to the 2026 betr Darwin Triple Crown. Click here <\/a><\/p>\n Busch and RCR had been riding a wave of momentum, including top 10 finishes at Talladega and Watkins Glen in the weeks leading up to his death.<\/p>\n There was an air of positivity in the #8 camp, which Childress reflected on amid the impending contract extension announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cI talked to Kyle Tuesday night, before everything went down Wednesday night and Thursday, and we had a great conversation,\u201d Childress explained.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018you give me cars like you gave me the last three weeks and I will make the Chase this year.\u2019 We were that confident. Both of us had a lot of confidence in this team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t had the year that any of us expected or wanted. We started out like gangbusters, and it just didn\u2019t go as we expected.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of opportunities, and we just didn\u2019t finish them off.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s the tough part about today. Even walking in here, I was thinking, what if he and I were walking in together. Instead, I\u2019m in here talking and thanking the media for your support.\u201d<\/p>\n Richard Childress (left) celebrates with Kyle Busch after winning at Gateway. Image: Getty Images<\/p>\n Childress likened Busch\u2019s passing to that of Dale Earnhardt, who died in the 2001 Daytona 500 driving for RCR.<\/p>\n Both drivers died in the twilight of their respective careers. Busch was 41 while Earnhardt was 49 and had both spoken with Childress about plans after racing.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t slept very well, I\u2019ll leave it at that,\u201d said Childress.<\/p>\n \u201cKyle Busch was a totally different person when he was away from the track.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wanted to win. He was driven by winning, hard work and doing everything that he could do to help the team.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce somebody said, \u2018the only difference is one\u2019s got an accent and the other doesn\u2019t\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe built a friendship out of this. We went hunting. I took him on one of his very first hunts, and he really got into hunting. He started taking Brexton. We had other plans.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sad part for me looking back, knowing what Dale Earnhardt had in mind and the plans he had for his future, and then sitting and talking to Kyle at different times, knowing his plans and what he had in the future for him, Brexton and his family and the many things that we all could have done together; that was probably the toughest part of this whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n In the wake of Busch\u2019s passing, Richard Childress Racing has installed Austin Hill in the team\u2019s second car carrying #33 as opposed to the #8 run by Busch.<\/p>\n Hill will continue racing the team\u2019s second car for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GettyImages-1495994783.jpg\")
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