Kyle Busch had a tumultuous season with Richard Childress Racing during his 2024 campaign, resulting in many questioning whether the two-time Cup Series champion would continue racing for Richard Childress. Amid Busch’s final contractual year at RCR, his teammate Austin Dillon has shared what he “hopes” for the #8 Chevy driver’s future.
Busch lent his expertise for 15 years to Joe Gibbs Racing but exited the team as his longtime sponsor M&M’s parted ways with Joe Gibbs-owned outfit. And soon the Nevada native shined in his debut season with RCR. During the season’s second race at the Auto Club Speedway, Busch surged from a P21 start and led 27 laps to register his first triumph of the 2023 season, and continued the upward trend to wrap the season with three wins and 10 top-5s.
However, the recent season was disastrous for Kyle Busch. Not only did he fail to punch the playoff ticket for the first time since 2012, but he also earned the unwanted record of no winless seasons since his full-time debut in 2005. That said, the notion about the #8 Chevy driver switching organization gained significant traction during the silly season.
Ahead of the season-opener Daytona 500, Busch’s teammate Austin Dillon said that RCR has to deliver “maximum effort” to uphold the standards of the 63-time Cup Series race winner’s performance needs and that his teammate hopefully wants to stay until the end at RCR.
“For us at RCR, we just have to put maximum effort in every week to deliver the best product, and that’s the best we can do. Try and give maximum effort every weekend, put him in the best position we can, and we’ll see where all the chips fall at the end. But I think he’s enjoyed his time at RCR and wants to be at this organization to the end, I hope,” Dillon said via Bob Pockrass (2:17 onwards).
Busch recently contested in The Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium, rounding up a 15th-place finish.
Kyle Busch expresses his key demands for the 2025 campaign with RCR
Kyle Busch is running his final contractual year with Richard Childress Racing, and no updates about an extension have surfaced. Bob Pockrass recently asked him what he’d consider before stamping his approval to pursue Cup Series racing with Richard Childress.
While Childress wants to extend a contract with Busch, the latter has some demands he’d like assurance of them being met.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to win last year. So, being able to get back to Victory Lane, being able to build on some consistency, getting those top-fives, top-tens, getting that number higher than what it was last year, is definitely paramount,” Kyle Busch said.
Busch could’ve made it to the playoffs but his pursuit was shattered by the five DNFs he encountered during the 26-race regular season. After his first premature exit at the World Wide Technology Raceway, the RCR driver succumbed to three consecutive issues- at the Iowa Speedway, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and the Nashville Superspeedway.
It’s worth mentioning that Kyle Busch inched closer to his maiden victory multiple times, most notably the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway and the Southern 500 at the Darlington Raceway. Despite being primed for the victory, Busch lost the battle to Harrison Burton in Daytona and Chase Briscoe in Darlington.
Edited by Shirsh
