Kyle Busch Motorsports is set to move to Chevrolet after team owner Kyle Busch announced he will move to Richard Childress Racing and drive the No. 8 car for the 2023 NASCAR season and beyond.
However, this leaves the Truck Series organization up in the air as of now. Which drivers would be good options for the open seats at Kyle Busch Motorsports?
Daniel Dye, ARCA Menards Series
Daniel Dye currently runs full-time in the ARCA Menards Series for GMS Racing and sits second in the point standings behind Rev Racing driver Nick Sanchez.
Dye, 18, has zero wins, 11 top-5 finishes, 15 top-10 finishes, and a 6.0 average finish during the 2022 season. The 18-year-old has never raced above the ARCA Menards Series but he would be a good addition to the lineup.
GMS Racing currently fields Grant Enfinger and Jack Wood, so if he doesn’t replace Wood in the No. 24 truck next season, putting him in the No. 18 or No. 51 truck on a full-time basis would not be a bad idea.
Busch is likely to run his allowed five races in the extra truck and it is very fluid regarding how many trucks the Chevrolet-backed organization will run in 2023.
Dye would be a good developmental project which should be the focus for Chevrolet and Kyle Busch Motorsports. However, there are even more developmental projects that could be put into action too.
Rajah Caruth, ARCA Menards Series
Rajah Caruth currently runs full-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Rev Racing and sits behind Sanchez and Dye in the point standings. However, Caruth, 20, has shown flashes of talent on the race track.
The 20-year-old has zero wins, six top-5 finishes, 12 top-10 finishes, and a 7.5 average finish this season. This only includes the ARCA Menards Series as Caruth has made starts in the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Series.
He has attempted six races between the two series and while he has not finished in the top-10 spots, there have been flashes, such as his 11th place finish in his Truck Series debut with Spire Motorsports.
Caruth would be another good developmental project for Kyle Busch Motorsports next season. Since the organization needs a complete revamp, it would make sense to throw all of them into the trucks and see what happens.
However, if Kyle Busch Motorsports is going to have several developmental drivers for the 2023 NASCAR season, it would make sense to bring in a stable veteran presence.
Related: NASCAR mailbag – Kyle Busch, North Wilkesboro, and more
Ty Dillon, NASCAR free agent
Ty Dillon is set to be a free agent after he and Petty GMS Motorsports announced their intentions to part ways at the conclusion of the 2023 season. It would be interesting to see Dillon jump down to the Truck Series but it makes sense.
With the likelihood of many young drivers in the organization’s entries, it makes sense to have a stable veteran with experience in the series. Dillon in the No. 4 truck would allow him to compete with a Chevrolet-aligned team and mentor the young drivers.
The 30-year-old driver has previously competed in two full-time Truck Series seasons with a total of three victories and a best finish of second place in the standings. There is clearly room for even more success too.
Dillon would not be a developmental project but it would continue his intention of staying out of the Richard Childress Racing stable after he entered the NASCAR Cup Series with Germain Racing.
The organization could throw him into a third entry in the NASCAR Xfinity Series but a move down to the Truck Series keeps him out of the equation and makes him a helping hand for Chevrolet.