Kyle Busch is in the process of figuring out his plans for the 2023 NASCAR season and during media day last Thursday before the race at Darlington Raceway, he opened up about the process.
What did Busch have to say about the process and what will make him sign his next NASCAR contract?
Kyle Busch talks about the fast-changing process in NASCAR
Busch continues to work on his plans for next season and while fans are desperately looking for answers on his future, it’s a very fast-changing process that can change day by day.
Busch opened up about the process and how it affects him throughout the week before going to the race track.
“My gut hurts. Everyday you wake up and you’re like, “Ugh today.” Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night- boom, it’s like “Aww, this is where it needs to be.” Or you need to be here, you need to land, or you need to work on or whatever. Things change throughout the day, one or two things and then it’s like, “oh no, wait, what?” It’s chaos.”
Kyle Busch on the free agency process
The process of NASCAR silly season might be fun for fans to follow, but it is truly stressful and draining for every party involved. The uncertainty and moving parts really have an effect on a driver, which can affect their performances on Sunday.
It takes a toll on everyone and entering September without a deal has made it a very long summer as questions and speculation continue to be thrown the 37-year-old’s way as he tries to win another NASCAR championship.
Busch continued when talking about the changing situations during the process overall.
“The spiderweb affect is just unbelievable. You’re trying to catch it all and then you’re trying to see which pieces of it are really worth eating as the spider. Versus just, “eh, we’ll let that one go.”
Kyle Busch on the changing situations in NASCAR
There is a lot of information to process when trying to figure out plans and make a decision in NASCAR. Nonetheless, Busch has more than one option available to him for the 2023 season.
Many options have been rumored, such as 23XI Racing, Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and even a return to Joe Gibbs Racing. The No. 18 car is still an option but if that changes, Ty Gibbs will obviously slide into the ride in 2023.
What did Busch have to say about what goes into the process of deciding which contract to sign?
Related: Kyle Busch weighs big options as decision nears for 2023
NASCAR: Kyle Busch discusses what will make him sign a contract
Busch is still working to figure out his home for the 2023 season and he gave deep insight into how those talks have been going and what he is prioritizing moving forward.
The current driver of the No. 18 car was asked about what will make him decide to sign his name on the dotted line for an organization in 2023 and beyond.
“A lot of things. There are so many different columns. Obviously, you’ve got to look at performance, you’ve got to look at longevity, you’ve got to look at opportunity. What life looks like after racing. All those sorts of things. It’s very convoluted and very complicated, but also the KBM piece. That’s a huge thing to me. It’s been since the beginning. I’ve wanted to keep that going, I’m still pushing as hard as I can to make sure that continues on and what that looks like.”
Kyle Busch on what will make him sign a contract
The performance factor is a major one as Busch currently drives for one of the best organizations in the NASCAR Cup Series. Joe Gibbs Racing brings the best cars to the race track often and that won’t be the same anywhere else.
While 23XI Racing would represent a home in the Toyota Racing camp, the equipment is not on the same level as his current organization. Meanwhile, Kaulig Racing is new to the Cup Series and has only won a road course event.
Richard Childress Racing would be a good option if Busch were to move to Chevrolet for performance factors. The organization has Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon in the NASCAR playoffs this season.
No matter where he drives next year, Joe Gibbs Racing will be the best option for him. Busch talked about the process with Kyle Busch Motorsports and acknowledged his desire to figure it out.
“Changes by the day, actually it changes by the hour. Yesterday, I thought that we had something going on the looked really good and then got a phone call on the way home and it changed, and I’m like, “What in the world?” It’s just so many things are just moving, it is a moving target as it sits right now. Again, trying to figure It all out, I know people are antsy, hell, I’m ansty I wanna know what the hell I’m doing so I can not have to look at that and focus on that where I can focus on my real job and that’s to make my race car go fast and get back to what matters. Y’know, trying like hell.”
Kyle Busch on the situation and desire to figure it out
It is clear that Busch wants to figure out what is next for both him and his family. The process has been this hard because of Kyle Busch Motorsports and what his move will mean for the organization.
If Busch stays with Toyota Racing, Kyle Busch Motorsports would simply stay with the manufacturer. However, if he leaves Toyota Racing, the organization would switch manufacturers as it follows him.
This creates a situation where other manufactuers need to work with him to figure out the Truck Series team. There is a lot that goes into this process and it is why everyone is still waiting for a decision.
Evaluating Kyle Busch’s options for the 2023 season
Busch has many options for his next home, including a return to Joe Gibbs Racing. Let’s take a deep look into each of the situations and why they would make sense or not make sense.
Current NBC broadcaster Dale Earnahrdt Jr. believes Busch will take his talents to Kaulig Racing next year. However, that does not mean he will for sure be joining the team of trophy hunters.
Kaulig Racing has talked about its desire to expand in the future and the Truck Series was one of those options. If Busch would find a new home with Kaulig Racing, it would essentially give them a pipeline to the lower ranks of NASCAR.
Chevrolet’s presence in the Truck Series has not been strong. Only two drivers within the manufacturer made the playoffs and both of them are not perceived to be favorites for the title.
Toyota Racing wants to keep Busch in the fold but it would be awful difficult if it’s not Joe Gibbs Racing. The only other option would be 23XI Racing and the organization’s situation is simple.
If Kurt Busch returns to the No. 45 car for the 2023 NASCAR season, Kyle Busch won’t go to the organization unless it adds a third charter. That is reportedly not going to happen next year but could occur in the future.
23XI Racing does not want to see its plans change as Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace are under contract for the 2023 season. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick is set to join the organization starting in 2024.
Richard Childress Racing could acquire a third charter if Busch were to join the organization next year. This would create a situation where Busch, Reddick, and Austin Dillon are under contract before Reddick leaves for 23XI Racing.
Then, Richard Childress Racing could have Busch, Dillon, and one of their young drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series moving forward. It would be a good situation for them.
No matter what happens for Busch, he will land in a good spot. The options available are solid and will help give him security moving forward so he never needs to deal with this again.
A decision should be coming sooner rather than later and the whole NASCAR world still waits for the first major domino of silly season to drop.