September 13, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Deal maker Austin Dillon helped bring Kyle Busch to RCR

CHARLOTTE--Sure, time heals all wounds, but how did Richard Childress move on from “Hold my watch” to offering Kyle Busch a contract?

The answer is simple. Childress wants to win. And so does his grandson, Austin Dillon, Busch’s soon-to-be new teammate and eventual heir to the Richard Childress Racing throne.

When Childress learned Tyler Reddick was leaving RCR after his contract expired in 2023, there was a huge void to fill. Two weeks earlier, Reddick had just ended a two-year drought for the company with his win at Road American on July 3. The 26-year-old racer was expected to be RCR’s future. 

Dillon didn't sit idle. He asked Childress what he thought about bringing Busch into the fold. It took R.C. all of about 30 minutes to buy in. Then he reached out to Busch.

“I was the first call,” Dillon said. “I texted him and asked if I could get a phone call and then I talked to him a little bit about his opportunities and said, ‘Hey, man, would you like to come drive at RCR?’ 

"And he said, ‘You think your grandfather would want me?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I said he wants to win races and we've got a great culture, a great team out there. Come be a part of it.’”

In December, M&Ms—Busch’s sponsor for the last 15 years—announced they would no longer support the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Although JGR was optimistic they could replace the sponsor for Busch, the only active two-time champion in the Cup garage, the tenor of their crusade shifted the longer negotiations dragged on. Two months ago, after Kurt Busch was injured during a qualifying accident at Pocono, team owner Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty took over driving duties for the No. 45 Toyota. Suddenly, JGR had found a younger, cheaper and cleaner solution. 

Busch called that a “fair assessment.” 

“The only thing I can say to that is it didn’t happen,” Busch said. “Apparently, they have other irons in the fire—maybe other sponsors for other drivers—and that’s the road they’re going down.”

Busch realized the No. 18 Toyota was no longer an option for him. He had told Dillon, ‘Let’s continue the conversation.’ Dillon “got in touch with the right people.” Last month, Busch met with R.C. at Childress Vineyards for a preliminary meeting to break the ice—and the ball rolled from there.

“To feel wanted, to feel that they know who I am, what I am,” Busch said. “The accolades speak for itself that I can go over there and help continue that build to the top and what I feel they’re already on a good path of.”

Yes, RCR is enjoying a resurgence with the new car. It has been five years since two drivers have won for the organization and advanced to the Playoffs in the same season. A single team hasn’t posted multiple wins since Kevin Harvick left in 2013. It has been 28 years since RCR won its sixth and last title, with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Sr.

After rumblings of Busch’s recruitment circulated within the halls of the Welcome, N.C.-based race shop, Dillon could sense a different, more positive vibe immediately.

“They're excited, and that makes me excited,” Dillon said. “I know that when we have happy employees that our race cars are going to be fast, they're going to put time and effort in, and we're already on an upward trajectory. 

“This year has been great for us, so plugging Kyle into that 8 team is only going to make my team better.” 

Details for the Kyle Busch Motorsports piece of the puzzle haven’t been made public as of yet. Busch said Chevrolet’s support “definitely won't be the same as what we got from Toyota, but there will be some.”  NASCAR’s most successful truck team, which has won 98 of 295 truck races held since KBM's inception in 2010 (33.22 percent), has launched the Cup careers of Christopher Bell and Erik Jones—both CWTS champions—as well as Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton. KBM’s potential for the Bow-tie camp is not lost on Jim Campbell, VP of GM Performance & Motorsports.

“Chevrolet, in the Cup Series, we have eight drivers still in the hunt for the championship in the Playoffs,” Campbell said. “We’re strong in Xfinity—have a massive part of the field. In trucks, we had two drivers make the Playoffs, one of them got washed out last week. We only have one left. We have to be stronger in the truck series. But where that goes with KBM, we’re still working on that.”

Childress extended an olive branch to Busch to start the press conference—a Rolex watch and a letter of intent for the driver’s seven-year-old son Brexton.

"I seen that look in Dale Earnhardt's eye, he's hungry, he wants to win,” Childress said. “I know how serious he is about wanting to win that next championship. The motivational side of it is one thing, his knowledge of cars and his knowledge as a racer, he’s going to bring some stuff to the table.

“We’ve been fortunate over the years to have some really great race car drivers. Adding Kyle Busch to our lineup is going to be a tremendous boost.”

RCR is clearly intent on a smooth and rewarding transition for the 37-year-old driver. He has already received the green light to run the Indianapolis 500—a bucket list item for Busch. Although Busch attempted to bargain for the No. 3—that was not up for negotiation. 

Still, it’s not lost on anyone at RCR how a driver of Busch’s caliber can elevate and breathe new life into a 50-year-old company. But most importantly, Dillon wants his new teammate to have fun.

“I’ve never worked with a two-time Cup champion as far as experience and winning,” Dillon said. “He's the winningest driver I've ever worked with—or are going to get the shot to work with.  When I first came to RCR, I thought I was gonna have shot to work with Kevin Harvick and he moved on. Now it's the first time that I'll have that figure around me, and I think we both can bring something to each other. 

“I want Kyle to have fun at RCR. I want Kyle to be himself ‘cause that's what makes Kyle good. So, hopefully, together we both can maximize each other’s potential.” 

The fun factor isn’t lost on Busch.

“Trust me, I had the most fun in my life 2015, ’16, ’17 and ’18 over at Joe Gibbs Racing, but from ’19 on, it’s been a struggle for whatever reason,” Busch said. “I don’t know why or what, but it’s been a struggle. Just trying to put that all together over there and not really see or reap the benefits for all the hard work and everything going into it has been very frustrating.

"And that's not the reason why I'm out or the reason why I'm leaving. I think that just stems from M&Ms. If they’re still there, am I still there? Most likely. So it's just a matter of business. But I'm looking forward to (RCR). Austin and I, we've talked a few times. He actually flew home with me this weekend, so I'm excited about it.”

For Busch, the business at hand is battling for the 2022 Cup championship. He’s currently 13th in the standings, 58 points behind Bell—the only driver to have clinched a spot in the Round of 12. Busch needs to advance at least one position in the standings on Saturday at Bristol to avoid elimination from the Playoffs. 

“I'm ready to get going and unfortunately—not, unfortunately—but we still have (eight) more races to go this year to focus on before we can turn our attention to being able to go up to RCR and really get entwined in the weeds of everything that they have going on up there. 

“We need to be respectful of their playoff chances and that 8 team and let them do their business. We have got to race them out."