<!–>
Kyle Busch will return to Richard Childress Racing for the 2026 season.
From the outside looking in, some might wonder why a two-time Cup champion with 63 career victories riding a 69-race winless streak would return to a team for another year, that both sides might figure it’s not working.
But Richard Childress and Kyle Busch have a mix of determination and stubbornness that make them believe they can continue to work together. Add that Busch — who turned 40 earlier this month — doesn’t want to stop racing and another year at RCR isn’t a bad gig.
The announcement Saturday confirmed RCR has picked up Busch’s option — it isn’t totally clear who had control of the option but forcing Busch to stay if he wanted to leave likely wouldn’t work out well for RCR — and any significant talks for 2027 and beyond are still yet to happen.
ADVERTISEMENT
–>
Busch wants to keep racing and eventually race trucks with his son, Brexton, who is 10 (potentially they would split a season when Brexton is 16 and can only do short tracks and road courses).
“There’s kind of the vision or the plan, if you will, on being able to race in some truck races with Brexton alongside,” Busch said. “So obviously, that’s six years from now before he can make that start.
“So that would sort of be an idea of when I would look at stepping aside from Cup Series racing, but it’s a long ways out.”
Those inside RCR say that Busch remains engaged in working with the team to improve. He also might have more options after the 2026 season when more big rides could become available.
William Byron signed a contract extension through 2029, making all four Hendrick drivers signed through at least next year. Joe Gibbs Racing likely will extend its deal with Denny Hamlin for at least a couple more years. If Trackhouse makes any moves, it has Connor Zilisch waiting in the wings; if 23XI does, it has Corey Heim ready to take over a car. All of Spire’s drivers are under contract for next season.
Those are all Chevrolet teams and while RFK Racing shouldn’t be ruled out as a possibility for Busch in the future, that organization could be in limbo for its third car depending on the Legacy-Rick Ware Racing litigation over a RWR charter sale to Legacy that was supposed to occur after 2026 (not to mention Ryan Preece hasn’t done anything to lose that ride). Busch driving for Team Penske, which also could very well have the same stable next year, doesn’t appear likely.
Several of those teams could have more openings after 2026, and if a new manufacturer wants to race NASCAR, those plans might be more clear in another year.
There’s another benefit of staying with RCR and in the Chevrolet camp for Busch — if he did want an opportunity to race in the Indy 500, it is the one manufacturer that competes in both series. Kyle Larson is in the second year of a two-year deal with Arrow McLaren to compete in the event and hasn’t been committal to additional years.
Busch said he had been talking to INDYCAR teams when the Larson deal got done, which didn’t leave another ride with an engine package available.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve given up on, but the phone hasn’t been ringing,” Busch said. “I think Larson got the seat I was supposed to get for the last two years now. So whether that seat is open for next year, I’m not sure.
“I haven’t really ventured into that, but those conversations pretty much take place July, August of each year, and then try to get done before December.”
RCR’s announcement included confirmation the organization plans to remain a two-car Cup team with Childress grandson Austin Dillon as Busch’s teammate.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
<!–>
recommended
Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
–>
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
After homering (again), Ronald Acuña Jr. feels good about his knee and Braves’ chances
ATLANTA — It’s like the Atlanta Braves were trudging across a deserted wasteland, and Ronald Acuña Jr. arrived with a cool drink of water for the parched throats of the team and its fans.No, wait. He is that cool drink of water.Acuña homered Saturday for the second time in as many games since a year-long rehab from knee surgery, a two-run shot in the sixth inning of a 7-1 win against the San Diego Padres at sold-out Truist Park. Once again, Acuña got thunderous ovations when introduced and again as he rounded the bases on his tape-measure homer.Advertisement“It’s awesome. He does a lot for our club and our lineup as a whole,” said manager Brian Snitker, whose Braves also got three hits from rookie sensation Drake Baldwin and a homer from surging Matt Olson to snap a seven-game skid against […]
Switching lockers and shaving mustaches, Christian Walker is trying anything to get spark
HOUSTON — Lockers line both sides of the Houston Astros’ home clubhouse at Daikin Park. The last one on the right is now empty, cleared of clothes, cleats, camouflage Crocs and the giant National League Gold Glove trophy that sat on a middle shelf.Christian Walker dressed, dwelled and debriefed there for the first 49 games of his Astros tenure. He sported a sub-.200 batting average and struck out 30.6 percent of the time across a stretch he would rather forget, so changing something only seemed logical.AdvertisementAccording to Walker, conversations “outside of me” conceived the idea to switch lockers. Crushing outs that carried exit velocities of 106.0 and 104.5 mph during the team’s trip to Tampa Bay only convinced Walker to “switch something up.” That Walker finished the entire seven-game road trip 4-for-27 furthered the thought.“That wasn’t me asking for it,” […]
Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen ejected for hit driving Hurricanes’ Jackson Blake head-first into boards
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen received a game misconduct and a five-minute major for boarding Carolina’s Jackson Blake in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night.The hit occurred with 3:01 remaining in the first period and the Panthers up 1-0 on the Hurricanes. Florida is up 2-0 in the series.Luostarinen and Blake were both trying to retrieve a puck that had been flipped behind Carolina’s net. A split second before the contact, Blake made a quick stop below the goal line. Luostarinen skated through Blake and pushed him, head-first, into the boards. Eetu Luostarinen has been given a 5-minute major and game misconduct for this hit on Jackson Blake pic.twitter.com/pxarxdoorj — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2025Blake left the game but returned for the start of the second period. Florida killed the first […]
Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen ejected for hit driving Hurricanes’ Jackson Blake head-first into boards
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen received a game misconduct and a five-minute major for boarding Carolina’s Jackson Blake in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night.The hit occurred with 3:01 remaining in the first period and the Panthers up 1-0 on the Hurricanes. Florida is up 2-0 in the series.Luostarinen and Blake were both trying to retrieve a puck that had been flipped behind Carolina’s net. A split second before the contact, Blake made a quick stop below the goal line. Luostarinen skated through Blake and pushed him, head-first, into the boards. Eetu Luostarinen has been given a 5-minute major and game misconduct for this hit on Jackson Blake pic.twitter.com/pxarxdoorj — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2025Blake left the game but returned for the start of the second period. Florida killed the first […]
49ers’ Brock Purdy laughs off ‘system quarterback’ label, mutes criticism after massive contract extension
Getty Images San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy signed a sizable contact extension last week, and not everyone was convinced his performance justified the hefty price tag that made him the seventh-highest paid quarterback in the NFL on an annual basis. Purdy's critics are loud and aplenty, but the franchise signal-caller said he mutes most of the opinions from outsides -- save for the ones that label him as a "system quarterback," which he embraced as a compliment rather than a detraction.The "system quarterback" tag is on par with the "game manager" badge. They are effectively one and the same as backhanded compliments used to describe middle-of-the-road quarterbacks with adequate skills, not elite abilities."The whole system quarterback thing, early in my career, it was just funny hearing that," Purdy said this week in a radio interview. "I'm not going to […]
A.J. Pierzynski congratulates Joe Davis on Emmy for ‘Outstanding Personality/Play-By-Play’ | MLB on FOX
Major League Baseball Video Details AJ Pierzynski congratulated Joe Davis for his 'Outstanding Personality/Play-By-Play' Emmy during the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets game. 5 MINS AGO・Major League Baseball・0:33
Related
After homering (again), Ronald Acuña Jr. feels good about his knee and Braves’ chances
ATLANTA — It’s like the Atlanta Braves were trudging across a deserted wasteland, and Ronald Acuña Jr. arrived with a cool drink of water for the parched throats of the team and its fans.No, wait. He is that cool drink of water.Acuña homered Saturday for the second time in as many games since a year-long rehab from knee surgery, a two-run shot in the sixth inning of a 7-1 win against the San Diego Padres at sold-out Truist Park. Once again, Acuña got thunderous ovations when introduced and again as he rounded the bases on his tape-measure homer.Advertisement“It’s awesome. He does a lot for our club and our lineup as a whole,” said manager Brian Snitker, whose Braves also got three hits from rookie sensation Drake Baldwin and a homer from surging Matt Olson to snap a seven-game skid against […]
Switching lockers and shaving mustaches, Christian Walker is trying anything to get spark
HOUSTON — Lockers line both sides of the Houston Astros’ home clubhouse at Daikin Park. The last one on the right is now empty, cleared of clothes, cleats, camouflage Crocs and the giant National League Gold Glove trophy that sat on a middle shelf.Christian Walker dressed, dwelled and debriefed there for the first 49 games of his Astros tenure. He sported a sub-.200 batting average and struck out 30.6 percent of the time across a stretch he would rather forget, so changing something only seemed logical.AdvertisementAccording to Walker, conversations “outside of me” conceived the idea to switch lockers. Crushing outs that carried exit velocities of 106.0 and 104.5 mph during the team’s trip to Tampa Bay only convinced Walker to “switch something up.” That Walker finished the entire seven-game road trip 4-for-27 furthered the thought.“That wasn’t me asking for it,” […]
Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen ejected for hit driving Hurricanes’ Jackson Blake head-first into boards
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen received a game misconduct and a five-minute major for boarding Carolina’s Jackson Blake in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night.The hit occurred with 3:01 remaining in the first period and the Panthers up 1-0 on the Hurricanes. Florida is up 2-0 in the series.Luostarinen and Blake were both trying to retrieve a puck that had been flipped behind Carolina’s net. A split second before the contact, Blake made a quick stop below the goal line. Luostarinen skated through Blake and pushed him, head-first, into the boards. Eetu Luostarinen has been given a 5-minute major and game misconduct for this hit on Jackson Blake pic.twitter.com/pxarxdoorj — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2025Blake left the game but returned for the start of the second period. Florida killed the first […]
Panthers’ Eetu Luostarinen ejected for hit driving Hurricanes’ Jackson Blake head-first into boards
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen received a game misconduct and a five-minute major for boarding Carolina’s Jackson Blake in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday night.The hit occurred with 3:01 remaining in the first period and the Panthers up 1-0 on the Hurricanes. Florida is up 2-0 in the series.Luostarinen and Blake were both trying to retrieve a puck that had been flipped behind Carolina’s net. A split second before the contact, Blake made a quick stop below the goal line. Luostarinen skated through Blake and pushed him, head-first, into the boards. Eetu Luostarinen has been given a 5-minute major and game misconduct for this hit on Jackson Blake pic.twitter.com/pxarxdoorj — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2025Blake left the game but returned for the start of the second period. Florida killed the first […]
49ers’ Brock Purdy laughs off ‘system quarterback’ label, mutes criticism after massive contract extension
Getty Images San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy signed a sizable contact extension last week, and not everyone was convinced his performance justified the hefty price tag that made him the seventh-highest paid quarterback in the NFL on an annual basis. Purdy's critics are loud and aplenty, but the franchise signal-caller said he mutes most of the opinions from outsides -- save for the ones that label him as a "system quarterback," which he embraced as a compliment rather than a detraction.The "system quarterback" tag is on par with the "game manager" badge. They are effectively one and the same as backhanded compliments used to describe middle-of-the-road quarterbacks with adequate skills, not elite abilities."The whole system quarterback thing, early in my career, it was just funny hearing that," Purdy said this week in a radio interview. "I'm not going to […]
A.J. Pierzynski congratulates Joe Davis on Emmy for ‘Outstanding Personality/Play-By-Play’ | MLB on FOX
Major League Baseball Video Details AJ Pierzynski congratulated Joe Davis for his 'Outstanding Personality/Play-By-Play' Emmy during the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets game. 5 MINS AGO・Major League Baseball・0:33
Be the first to leave a comment