CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch will continue to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet with Richard Childress Racing through the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, he and RCR announced Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The two-time Cup Series champion has piloted the No. 8 car since 2023, collecting three wins, 16 top fives and 31 top 10s in 84 starts since departing Joe Gibbs Racing after a 15-year stint.
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Busch currently stands 17th in the points standings, seven points behind the provisional elimination line to make the Cup Series Playoffs.
Winless since 2023, Busch played an instrumental role in aiding RCR‘s offseason retooling, including the promotion of Mike Verlander to president of the company after he previously held the same role at Kyle Busch Motorsports and executive vice president at Stewart-Haas Racing. Other moves included Torrey Galida‘s ascension from president to vice chairman, along with the addition of John Klausmeier as technical director and Richard Boswell as crew chief of the No. 3 team with driver Austin Dillon.
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Dillon, in his 12th season of driving for RCR, his grandfather‘s team, currently maintains an 18.4 average finish, over four positions better than his 2024 campaign. Working alongside a multi-time Cup champ like Busch has been a boon for Dillon, himself a winner of the Coca-Cola 600 and Daytona 500.
“I feel like he gives you what you expect, which is that he‘s a hard worker,” Dillon said Friday of Busch. “He’s fiery. He wants the best for the cars. He wants to get to Victory Lane constantly and will push everyone to figure out how to make that happen, even himself on the track.
“But as far as being in the meetings with him after practice and on Mondays and the debriefs, he’s very helpful. He asks good questions at the right time about what your car is doing, and he provides information that you can make your car better off of. So from that standpoint, you couldn’t ask for a more helpful teammate when it comes to his knowledge of the game and what he is providing from an informational standpoint.”
Busch is the 2018 winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. The 2025 edition begins Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
This story will be updated.
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