Kyle Busch may not have served in the military, but the Richard Childress Racing driver has long been a big supporter of our fighting men and women. He is set to continue that tradition at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, where his No. 8 RCR Chevrolet will sport a special red, white, and blue paint scheme.
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Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurant chain has partnered with Busch and RCR for the paint scheme. Dover Air Force Base is just six miles away from the Speedway. And the race at the track always draws a significant number of fans who are in the military or served previously.
The restaurant chain and Busch were on the same page when it came to honoring current service members as well as veterans who either currently work or previously worked with Cheddar. Busch spoke about the partnership on Saturday.
“We wanted to give honor to the service members that are over here at Dover Air Force Base, with Dover being the next race on the Cheddar’s calendar [part of Cheddar’s season-long sponsorship with RCR],” Busch said.
“And so, Cheddar’s has painted their car red, white, and blue for this weekend, also in honor of veterans that have or do work at Cheddar’s,” he added.
Besides the paint scheme, there are names inscribed on the deck lid of his car.
“There are 67 names on the deck lid this weekend, and we’re here to honor those, but [we] also paid a visit over to the military base to help honor some more that were over there,” explained Busch, who has paid several visits over the years to military bases. His most recent visit was on Friday at Dover Air Force Base.
There is nothing better than a red, white & blue @cheddarskitchen Chevrolet. pic.twitter.com/4zLJsOML1u
— RCR (@RCRracing) July 18, 2025
“It’s always enjoyable to be able to go and spend some time with our service members, their passion for the sport, and what they enjoy to see going around the racetrack on Sundays,” Busch said.
“It was really, really cool to just spend some time with them, sign some autographs, [and] take some pictures.
“There was a foreign exchange student group that was there as well, that got to spend some time checking out the race car and looking around on that. It was a really good piece by Cheddar’s. We appreciate them serving lunch for everyone as well, and [they] made it a good time for everyone,” added the two-time Cup Series champion.
Busch is hoping for another good outing in support of both the military members and Cheddar’s employees on Sunday at the one-mile “Monster Mile”. After all, he’s a three-time winner at the all-concrete oval.
Sunday is a pivotal race for Busch’s playoff hopes
This is a very pivotal race for Busch. He has not won a Cup race since 2023, a 77-race winless streak and the longest of his career. There are only six races left in the season for Busch, including Sunday’s, to qualify for this season’s 10-race playoffs.
A win on Sunday or in any of the other five remaining regular-season races will punch the 40-year-old’s ticket into the playoffs. While Busch is 15th in the Cup standings coming into Sunday’s race, that’s somewhat deceiving.
Technically, he’s two positions out of playoff contention, as Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, and Shane van Gisbergen each have at least one win that secures them a playoff spot ahead of him, despite being behind him in the standings.
