2X Cup Series champion Kyle Busch dug a pit for himself when he mentioned to the press last week that he is open to moving to Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing should they want him. This couldn’t have sat well with his current team owner Richard Childress, particularly not when his team is struggling to find a seat for the 2024 playoffs. While it is unclear what went down behind the scenes at the team’s headquarters, his crew chief Randall Burnett has come out and provided positive updates on the driver’s future.
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He said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “We spend a lot of time together, we talk about a lot of things. He’s very involved with the team (…) I think we’re gonna be in good shape with him for the next couple of years here at RCR.”
Amid speculation of @KyleBusch‘s future, crew chief Randall Burnett weighed in on his driver’s situation.
️ “He’s very involved with the team […] I think we’re gonna be in good shape with him for the next couple years here at @RCRracing.”
More → https://t.co/MKhd9eLXG8 pic.twitter.com/7o8Ei2VkUu
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) June 20, 2024
Busch and Burnett are yet to lead the #8 Chevrolet Camaro to victory lane this season. Why this is surprising because their performance in 2023 saw decent success with three victories. Almost every pre-season prediction read that they would be powerful players this year. They have turned out to be anything but. Hopes are that they will finally hit the mark in one of the upcoming nine races.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. blames the media for reading too much into Busch’s comments
Busch did say in Iowa that he would be open to moving to one of his former teams. But he also followed it up with, “Right now, I’m at RCR with my group of guys and the deal that I have right now in place. We’re trying to work and build this program and make RCR great again.” Was this worthy of the negative attention that it got? Dale Jr. doesn’t think so.
In a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download, he said that the media was prying on Busch only because he is too sensitive and added, “They’re going for Kyle because they know Kyle’s short-tempered. Easy to get a bit annoyed in those moments in the media centers and stuff. So, I just hope Kyle can see through all that.” Hopefully, Childress and the rest of the team can see through it as well.
It is unclear what the future beyond 2025 holds for Busch. His contract with RCR keeps him there at least until then. If the results don’t improve, he will without question doubt the car and the team more than himself and move elsewhere hoping for wins. The question of where can be staved off for now. But it will pop back up soon.
