Story By Matthew Thomerson/TheFourthTurn.com

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Richard Childress addressed the media on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway for the first time since Kyle Busch’s passing.

Busch, who drove for Childress since 2023 and was in the middle of his fourth full-time season with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), passed away tragically two weeks ago due to a case of pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. 

Childress had yet to do a press conference or media availability in the time since, but on Saturday, he spoke for the first time publicly. 

“First off, I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all the media, and the ones that aren’t here today, for all of your support through this unbelievable challenge that we’re all facing, losing Kyle Busch unexpectedly at such a young age. I just wanted to look around the room and thank so many of you that have been friends and supporting the Busch family – Brexton, Lennix, Samantha – and RCR through these challenging times.”

Childress stated this weekend was supposed to be when RCR and Busch would announce a contract extension, and detailed a conversation the two had about Busch’s enthusiasm to return racing for the team.

“I talked to Kyle Tuesday night, before everything went down Wednesday night and Thursday, and we had a great conversation,” Childress said. “He said, ‘you give me cars like you gave me the last three weeks and I will make the Chase this year.’ We were that confident. Both of us had a lot of confidence in this team.”  

RCR wanted to make the contract renewal announcement this weekend in Michigan since its the home track for General Motors. Michigan is the hub for American automakers, and Busch was often competitive at the 2-mile oval, finishing inside the top-five 27% of the time over in 37 starts.

“We wanted to do it up here in Michigan with our GM friends, with Chevrolet, and it didn’t happen,” Childress said.

Childress made a statement in the days after Busch’s passing that the stylized No. 8 he drove was to be suspended and reserved for his son Brexton whenever he is ready to race in the NASCAR ranks. Busch was instrumental in designing the No. 8. The team then decided to run the No. 33 for the remainder of the season. 

“Mike Verlander, our President, and I were talking about it,” Childress said. “We made the decision to not run the 8 car. Kyle helped us design it. We told him we had the 8 number. He was happy going back to it a few years. He said, ‘let’s design it differently’, so this was Kyle’s design.”

Childress then explained the decision to run the No. 33 for the remainder of the season. The number previously ran with the third part-time entry on the NASCAR Cup Series side.

“In 2001, we didn’t have a number,” Childress said. “We had the 33 already, so we just figured we’d put it on it. Back then, I just told Bobby Hutchens, ‘call NASCAR and get the lowest number available’, and it happened to be No. 29 when we put (Kevin) Harvick in it.”

The team elected to put in Austin Hill, who is full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as the driver, with Childress confirming that Hill will be in the car for the remainder of the season. It is unclear if he will be in the car following 2026. This isn’t the first time Childress and RCR have faced tragedy during a season, as they dealt with the passing of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 2001, which was referenced by Childress when asked how the organization is trying to move forward. 

“It’s tough on them too; the people that worked with Kyle and the engine shop,” Childress said. “He made a lot of friends at RCR through his time. My job as the owner is to try to talk to them as much as I can. Mike Verlander put together so many things, and he spoke with them a lot, as well. So between Austin, Ty, Mike, and Mike Dillon, as well, they’ve made it a lot easier on me than it was in 2001. It’s never easy, but they just gave me a little bit of time to get my head right.”

When asked about Busch’s career and legacy, Childress talked about his on-track success as well as his off-track impact. 

“Kyle Busch will go down in history as one of the greatest drivers there’s ever been,” Childress said. “He’ll be in the Hall of Fame. I’d love to see them put him in it right away. He helped RCR when we needed him. He came right in, and we won three races the first part of the year. We had a lot of opportunities to win other races, but we just didn’t finish and capitalize on them.

“He was a man that a lot of people thought he was tough to deal with and that we wouldn’t last long, but he was a man that loved this sport. He loved it so much that he wanted to see his family carry it on. To watch what he had going on with Brexton —  I would go to Millbridge (Speedway) and watch them race together, and just see the enjoyment in Kyle’s eyes watching his son race was just unbelievable. His legacy will be in history. He’ll go down as one of the greatest drivers of all times.”

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com