Kyle Busch to return to RCR in 2026

Kyle Busch will return for a fourth season with Richard Childress Racing.

The team announced Saturday, May 24, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will continue to pilot the No. 8 Chevrolet.

“It’s a great place to be, a great place to work, a great atmosphere, and a lot of grit and determination with a lot of people up there in Welcome, North Carolina. We have certainly had our battles. It’s been fun, but yet challenging. It definitely isn’t easy. This sport is very, very tough, very, very close and challenging,” Busch said. “This is just the pinnacle of that, and I hope to continue to build on our successes that we’ve been working towards for the last two years.”

Busch started racing for the team in 2023 after spending 15 seasons driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch amassed three victories with RCR in the first 15 races of 2023, but has yet to win another race.

“When I first joined, I feel like there were some things that we were doing within the rules at that time that got us some extra speed, and then there was definitely some things that kind of came down that they didn’t like us doing,” Busch said. “That’s sort of where we’ve lost a little bit, if people are wondering why have we not been able to win like we did in the first 16 races. It’s just a matter of being able to continue to work with the people that are there.”

Busch enters this weekend at Charlotte with a 69-race winless streak, dating back to Gateway in June of 2023. Childress isn’t oblivious to that.

“I felt like we let (Kyle) down some last year by not winning a race,” Childress said. “He and I are both alike in one area – that we don’t like to lose. We want to win races.

“I still think Kyle will win him a championship, and we’re going to have it at RCR. That’s our plans. We’ve got a lot of new things coming. This car is a lot different. It’s so engineer-driven that we’re stepping our engineering up more. And I’m excited about the future of where we can go.”RCR is picking up Busch’s option for 2026. However, Childress said, “There’s a big future there for Kyle.” Even in his 21st Cup season and with his son Brexton coming through the ranks, Busch isn’t ready to retire yet.

RCR is only picking up Busch’s option for 2026 but Childress said, “There’s a big future there for Kyle.” Even in his 21st Cup season and with his son Brexton coming through the ranks, Busch isn’t ready to retire yet.

“No, no, not at all. There’s kind of the vision or the plan, if you will, of being able to race in some Truck races with Brexton alongside him. So obviously, that’s six years from now before he can make that start  That would sort of be an idea of when I would look at stepping aside from Cup Series racing. But, you know, it’s a long ways out,” Busch said.

Brexton Busch turned 10 years old this month. To run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, you need to be at least 16. Childress has his eye on him, signing him to a $100 futures deal when his dad joined RCR.

“I’ve watched him race some and watched him on some of the YouTube stuff or different things that somebody had sent me. I congratulated him when he won the championship in Florida. I texted him and congratulated him on that, and watched him run over at Mill Bridge, he’s a real deal, like this one,” Childress said, gesturing to Kyle.

If Busch were to move down to the Truck Series around when Brexton turns 16, that would be in 2031. At that point, Busch would have 930 starts, spanning 26 seasons. That would put him second all-time for Cup starts, just ahead of Ricky Rudd (906) and behind only Richard Petty (1,184).