Is This Kyle Busch’s Last Year With Richard Childress Racing, and If So, Where Might He Wind Up in 2026?

Kyle Busch and Richard Childress have some potentially very difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks. Busch, who turned 40 on May 2, is in the final year of his current contract with Richard Childress Racing.

While Busch has found a home at the aptly named Welcome, North Carolina-based RCR, Childress must make a fateful decision on whether to keep Busch around for another year or two (although another three years seems unlikely).

Likewise, if Childress wants to keep Busch, the two-time Cup champion will likely have to make a decision on whether he would settle for a shorter than usual contract extension length — and likely at a lesser amount of money than he currently makes.

The Busch-RCR marriage started off strong in their first year together in 2023: Busch won three races (the most he’s earned in a season since 2019), plus added 10 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes.

Unfortunately, he failed to advance out of the first round of the NASCAR Cup playoffs and finished a disappointing 14^th in the final standings. But things went dramatically south since then.

The Las Vegas native hasn’t won a single race in his last 68 Cup starts. Equally as bad is that he failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time since 2005, ending up the 2024 campaign tying a career-worst 20^th place in the final standings.

Busch hasn’t forgotten how to win. But the harder he and RCR try, the worse things seem to get performance-wise. For example, in the first 11 races this season, Busch has just one top-5 and four other top-10 finishes. He comes into Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway 16^th in the Cup standings.

But Busch may have an ace still left in his hand in his dealings with Childress. Several rumors have crept up in recent weeks that Childress’s grandson, Austin Dillon, may be calling it quits after this season if his own performance also doesn’t improve.

Dillon hasn’t confirmed or denied if the rumors have any validity, which is usually a sign that something is likely up on the near horizon.

So if Childress’ grandson No. 1 decides to end racing or go play with his Professional Bull Riders Carolina Cowboys team (as an observer, not a rider) — which is co-owned by Childress and Dillon — that could leave Childress with no choice but to re-sign Busch.

What About Busch’s Potential Heir Apparent, Jesse Love?

Childress is very high on 20-year-old Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love. Many believe he may be Busch’s eventual successor.

But the question is whether Love would be ready to take over for Busch after this season, or does he need another year or two more of seasoning in the Xfinity Series? Hence, the conversation was about whether Busch would stick around one or two more years to serve as Love’s mentor and coach.

Love has one win, three top-5 and eight top-10 finishes in the first 12 Xfinity races this season, currently fourth in the standings. He also has made his first two Cup starts, but finished 31^st both times, including last Sunday at Texas when he wrecked out.

But earlier this week, Childress announced he’s giving Love two more Cup starts this season, including this Sunday’s race at Kansas.

While Love’s performance in the Xfinity Series is a likely harbinger of even better things to come, the last thing Childress wants to do is bring his young driver along too quickly, and he bombs in the Cup ranks.

If Busch Doesn’t Return to RCR, Where Does He Go?

It’s hard for any team to ignore the potential merits of a two-time champ who has 63 career Cup wins. Sure, Busch may be on the back end of his Cup tenure, but he’s the kind of driver who could find himself reinvigorated with another team and potentially win several more times at a new Cup address.

If Busch is forced to find a new home, he’d likely only go to an organization where he feels he has a good chance to still win races — and potentially compete for another championship or two — and be more competitive than he has been with RCR the last 47 races.

Several teams present interesting possibilities, including Hyak Motorsports (formerly JTG-Daugherty Racing), Kaulig Racing, Trackhouse Racing, and possibly Legacy Motor Club.

But perhaps the best and most likely place for Busch for 2026 and potentially beyond is Spire Motorsports, whose president and co-owner, Jeff Dickerson, was both Busch’s agent and spotter during the early years of his career, first at Hendrick Motorsports and then Joe Gibbs Racing.

Spire has made significant noise over the last year-plus and bringing Busch into the fold would only enhance the organization’s determination to become a premier Cup group.

Busch Has A Few Other Potential Options

Or Busch could simply decide to call it quits, enjoy life and watch and help his young aspiring racing son Brexton, who turns 10 years old on May 18.

The elder Busch could also invest in an existing team as a part-owner, be it Cup, Xfinity, or Trucks (he previously owned a Truck Series team from 2010 through 2023 before disbanding). He could also potentially follow other active drivers, such as Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, as driver-owners.

Also, Kyle and his older brother, and former Cup champion Kurt Busch, have talked in the past about one day potentially forming a Busch Brothers team.

But Kurt is retired from driving and comfortably ensconced as a consultant with the Michael Jordan and Hamlin co-owned 23XI Racing and really doesn’t need the headaches that come with team ownership.

The only way that could change is if one day, MJ decides to call it quits and leaves NASCAR. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.