NASCAR star Kyle Busch officially announced on Tuesday morning that he will be joining Richard Childress Racing beginning in 2023. The team also announced that Busch would drive the No. 8 car that is currently driven by Tyler Reddick, leaving some questions about Reddick’s future with the team.
Back in July, Reddick announced that he would be joining the 23XI team of Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin following the 2024 season, eliciting quite an honest response from RCR. The move reportedly left team owner Richard Childress furious and ready to move on from Reddick immediately. But even though he won’t be driving the No. 8 car in 2023, Reddick will still be driving and will still be part of RCR.
According to motorsports reporter Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, RCR will have three charters for the 2023 season with Busch driving the No. 8 car, Austin Dillon driving the No. 3 car, and Reddick driving another car.
Richard Childress says Richard Childress Racing will consist of three charter Cup Series teams in 2023 and that Tyler Reddick will drive one of those cars.
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) September 13, 2022
It’s not clear where RCR will go to acquire the new charter or even whether the team will buy or rent the charter with Reddick leaving following the 2024 season.
There’s a lot to sort out in the coming weeks and months, but it’s becoming clear that RCR does have a plan even if it isn’t clear to everyone else.
