For Kyle Busch, anything is possible when it comes to speculation about a possible return to Joe Gibbs Racing or even Hendrick Motorsports. After all, his second year with Richard Childress Racing will be one that will beat even the toughest of champions. And as if three DNFs in the past four weeks and the worst start to a season in history weren’t enough, the former candyman of JGR won’t be too pleased to find out that his chances of a return are officially gone thanks to Chase Briscoe.
If that’s not enough, the news of Briscoe’s new contract might make Busch feel a little rough, or at least fans seem to think so. Coach Gibbs’ contradictory “acceptance” of the new No. 19 driver has fanned the highly controversial flames, raising concerns of sponsor bias against the former No. 18 driver.
From superstar to sponsorless at Joe Gibbs Racing
In a recent update by Jeff Gluck on Twitter, following JGR’s official announcement about SHR’s #14 departee replacing Martin Truex Jr, he informed audiences: “Chase Briscoe in this news conference says Joe Gibbs Racing was the only team he met with who never asked him what sponsorship money he could bring.” In separate updates, Bass Pro Shops signed a multi-year deal to sponsor Chase Briscoe for the entirety of his contract with JGR.
This opened up a jar of worms for the collective NASCAR community because the lack of sponsors played a major part in Busch’s departure from JGR at the end of the 2022 season. Most of those woes stemmed from Mars Incorporated (the umbrella brand of M&M’s), ending their 15-year association with Joe Gibbs Racing and the #18 team that used to reel in a cool $20 million annually.
That was quite the hit for Coach who had introduced a fourth full-time car into his Cup Series operations not even a decade ago with Carl Edwards & the #19. So bad were the situations, as Busch later revealed to Jordan Bianchi, that his former organization offered him a contract before his RCR deal, but apparently “they weren’t going to have sponsorship on the (#18) car.” Rowdy explained how this influenced his decision to switch to Richard Childress‘ race team in 2023 as he “didn’t want Joe putting his own money into the program.”
Although a 500-million-dollar deal with Red Bull F1 partners Oracle, a computer tech company based out of Austin, TX, sent rumors flying at the time, nothing would transpire into reality for Kyle Busch. And in 2023, he unofficially started his career with a new racing team, partnering with BetMGM to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet in the Busch Light Clash.
Rowdy finished his rookie season with RCR with three wins, seven top-five finishes and one playoff berth. He ended up losing the postseason in the round of 12 while still performing decently. But his penultimate season with JGR left Rowdy speechless, to say the least. After blowing his engine twice in two different playoff races, it wasn’t a good one for the two-time Cup champion and the first driver to bring a NASCAR win to Toyota Racing Development in 2008 with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Many have compared these 2022 successes to Busch’s recent form, which has seen him retire three times in the past four weeks. Some have even called it an unpleasant “self-sabotage” on the part of Rowdy, based on his three accidents in New Hampshire and subsequent radio silence from the media after exiting his car without any explanation.
This sentiment comes from the idea that Busch is unhappy with the lack of proper equipment, which has been well-documented in these RCR cars for the 2024 season. Interestingly, however, a fan on the way to Nashville alleged sabotage on the part of Joe Gibbs Racing, given the sponsorship discrepancy between the No. 18 team and the new No. 19 team.
Is Kyle Busch heading for another farewell tour in 2024?
Looking away from Kyle Busch’s Richard Childress ride, the stands had some unique observations on Jeff Gluck’s updates on Chase Briscoe’s sponsorship situation at JGR. The racing team currently boasts a portfolio that would be the envy of the best in motorsports, including FedEx, Monster Energy, Rheem and many others.
But as this fan said about Gluck’s tweet: “Kyle Busch can’t relate to this.”In fairness, RCR made sure Busch and the No. 1 team 8 weren’t doing too badly for themselves either. Deals with companies like 3CHI, Cheddar, Lenovo and brand new title sponsors, Zone Premium Nicotine Pouches only add to the attraction surrounding Kyle Busch and his weekly progress in the recent relationship.
This brings us to a notable question in the comments box of Gluck’s post, which was: “Didn’t Kyle Busch leave JGR because Joe couldn’t find him a sponsor?” As a result, events belong to the past, even if they are of little importance. Others stated that “they (JGR) just wanted to fuck KB lmao”, while others were quick to judge that “Joe Gibbs didn’t give Busch the same luxury” as Briscoe. To be fair, the handshake between Busch and JGR took place under different circumstances in 2008 compared to 2024.
One fan expressed his shock, writing, “This is absurd because that’s exactly why Busch left.” Another chimed in on a comical “unrelated news story” that sarcastically stated, “Kyle Busch hit his head against the nearest wall over and over again.” This sentiment isn’t entirely unfamiliar, especially since diehards made similar jokes before the Nashville race when one of JGR’s campers mysteriously caught fire in the infield. Much of it is just idle chatter from the overly enthusiastic Kyle Busch fan, or the opposite, but more popular, “critic.” Either way, the No. 8 team will need some drastic changes to change its narrative. Otherwise, the 2024 season could be a farewell tour for Kyle Busch, who has already driven for three of NASCAR’s biggest teams.
