Kyle Busch to remain with RCR in 2026

Kyle Busch will remain with Richard Childress Racing through the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Busch and Childress made the announcement on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The two-time series champion's contract was up at the end of the season, but Childress had an option on Busch’s deal for next year.

“We’re really excited,” Childress said. “Kyle has been great to work with. Everybody had questions going in – I love a driver who doesn’t like to lose. We’ve worked hard. We’ve got some exciting things coming up. He and I are alike in one area that we don’t like to lose; we want to win races. I still think that Kyle will win him a championship, and we want it to happen at RCR, and that’s our plan. 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. Watching Kyle race and working with him has been a great pleasure. He’s a champion. He’s a guy who has won over 200 NASCAR races, and his career is not even close to being over.”

Childress did not rule out keeping Busch in the fold beyond the 2026 season. However, those conversations and decisions will be made in the future – Childress said either later this year or next year – when it comes time to work beyond the details of the option year that’s been picked up.

Busch has driven the No. 8 Chevrolet for Childress since the 2023 season; it is the third team he’s competed with at the Cup Series level since entering the scene in 2005. He joined the Childress organization after 15 seasons with Joe Gibbs.

“I want to give thanks to Richard and Judy, and everyone at RCR for another opportunity to be able to go back and drive the [No.] 8 car for next season,” Busch said. “I certainly echo Richard’s statements that there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes, and it’s a great place to be, a great place of 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 yet challenging. It definitely isn’t easy. This sport is very, very tough and very close and challenging at being able to score those wins and compete for those each and every week, and we know those areas where we can improve behind the wheel, on pit road, in engineering, and all the above. This is just the pinnacle of that, and we hope to continue to build on our successes that we’ve been working toward for the last two years.”

In his first season driving for Childress, Busch won three races and finished 14th in the championship standings. However, he went winless for the first time in his Cup Series career in 2024 and remains winless as the series prepares for the Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET). Busch is 17th in the championship standings.

Busch admitted he does not spend as much time at the shop as he would like to, and maybe there is a step to work that into his calendar. Childress acknowledged the organization is working hard to get Busch the feel he wants in his car, and when they do, it’ll pay off in a big way.

“I give a lot of credit to Richard and him believing in me and giving me the opportunity to come over here and have a chance to drive his car,” Busch said. “For me, rewarding him with that and having success on the racetrack is paramount. Being able to continue on from 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 came down that they didn’t like us doing and so that’s 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 (together).

“It’s just a matter of being able to continue to work with the people that are there. It’s a great culture. I enjoy working there. I fit in well there. They enjoy having me there. I will say Austin has been a fantastic teammate; his demeanor and the way we’re able to work together, we talk a lot about the same things and describe it in much of the same fashion. He’s been a really good resource to rely on as well, too. So, it’s good to have a teammate factor that helps keep you there.”

And as it pertains to eventual retirement from Cup Series racing, Busch is not ready to set a date.

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