Kyle Busch moved to Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 NASCAR season and it did not take him long to secure his first victory. Busch won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in dominant fashion after the final green-flag pit-stop sequence as his former team, Joe Gibbs Racing, suffered multiple issues.
The driver of the No. 8 car passed Ross Chastain and pulled away by over three seconds as Chase Elliott still couldn’t catch him on fresher tires. It was an incredible turnaround compared to last season with his former race team.
Busch discussed the progress he has made with Richard Childress Racing after the event. However, the past is still relevant as major details about the Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing’s situation were revealed on Monday morning.
Related: Toyota discusses Kyle Busch’s departure as NASCAR enters the 2023 season
Denny Hamlin reveals significant details on Kyle Busch’s departure from Joe Gibbs Racing
Busch had the looks of someone who was going to spend the rest of their career with Joe Gibbs Racing; however, a massive blow to those chances occurred when Mars, his sponsor, decided to leave the sport for good.
It created a situation where Joe Gibbs Racing needed to find sponsorship for the No. 18 car and pay Busch a good contract to keep in the fold. At the end of the day, it was not meant to be and both sides went their separate ways.
However, more details on that drama-filled situation have been revealed as Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin talked about Busch following his victory at Auto Club Speedway on his podcast, Actions Detrimental.
“People have to understand that Joe Gibbs wanted to sign Kyle Busch. They really tried, and they gave him a VERY, very good offer, but he did not want to take it and ended up taking probably a lot less…I see them all dragging (Joe Gibbs Racing), and even if I’m unbiased here, this was a tough situation. It was a situation where they wanted him back. That company would cease to exist if they had to pay Kyle what he was demanding. Especially after losing Mars. It would be impossible. It would be a detrmiment to all the Joe Gibbs Racing teams.”
Denny Hamlin on the Kyle Busch/Joe Gibbs Racing contract negotiations
These were very eye-opening details provided by Hamlin. Busch was given a really good offer and likely ended up taking less with his contract at Richard Childress Racing. The length of the offer was not provided but the 37-year-old driver had previously said that he wanted security.
Busch could have returned for a good price if he wanted to come back but we do not know all of the specific details about the contract. Like in many different sports, it appears a star athlete just wanted a change of scenery.
This was never supposed to be the ending that everyone imagined between the two-time Cup Series champion and Joe Gibbs Racing; however, Busch is now on a new journey as he chases another title with Richard Childress Racing.