Forget 2011, Kyle Busch Close to Deal with Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Cup Team

• An announcement is expected to confirm that Kyle Busch will race for Richard Childress Racing in 2023.

• The deal, signing on 11 years after Childress and Busch fought following a 2011 Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.

• In 2011, Childress was incensed after Busch ran into an RCR truck on a cool-down lap.

Two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch seems all but assured of joining Richard Childress Racing next year following a 15-year run with Joe Gibbs Racing.

An announcement next week is expected to confirm that Busch will race for Richard Childress, signing on 11 years after they brawled like schoolboys following a 2011 Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.

Ironically, both were back in Kansas City for Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino Cup Series 400. The race at the 1.5-mile track is the second in the 10-race Championship Playoff Series that opened last weekend at Darlington, S.C. The third race in the series is next weekend at Bristol, Tenn.

While Busch-to-RCR is unofficial, many NASCAR sources expect confirmation as early as Tuesday. When asked specifically this week about joining RCR, Busch said, “We’re still working on it behind the scenes, trying to put it all together.” (Many insiders feel the “we” refers to Busch, Childress, and their contract lawyers).

Busch also addressed 2011, when Childress was incensed after Busch ran into an RCR truck on a cool-down lap.

“Who’s to say he hasn’t punched me again in any of these conversations?” Busch quipped. “It’s never fun whenever you go into negotiations; you’re duking the whole time. (But) you grow up and work through things and talk it over. It was fine the first time I sat down with Richard. The biggest thing was having an opportunity to put that behind us. You get through it and talk about it and life moves on.” (NASCAR fined Childress $150,000 for the attack).

Busch has spent most of his Cup career driving the No. 18 Toyota for JGR. Of his 60 career victories – only one this year – the 37-year-old Las Vegas native has 56 at JGR. And for their 15 years together their primary sponsors have been candy products from Mars Wrigley Inc. The New Jersey-based company announced last December it had made a business/marketing decision to leave NASCAR after this season.

In addition to the rollout of the Next Gen car, Busch’s uncertain future has been this year’s primary storyline. His possible destinations included staying at JGR with a new sponsor, joining 23XI Racing with Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch, going to Kaulig Racing, or joining Austin Dillon and lame-duck driver Tyler Reddick at RCR.

The major potential conflict at Chevrolet-based RCR is that Busch’s highly successful, 13-year-old Camping World Truck Series company fields Toyotas. Kyle Busch Motorsports has won 98 Truck Series races and two championships since its inception in 2010. That includes eight victories this year from Busch, Chandler Smith, Corey Heim, and John Hunter Nemechek, the Friday night winner in Kansas.

Could Busch race a Chevrolet Camaro for RCR even while fielding Toyota Tundras for his Camping World drivers? Would either manufacturer be skittish if a driver of Busch’s stature wanted support from both?

“I’m definitely not comfortable with where that’s at,” Busch said of the Chevy-Toyota question. “Trying to put all the right things in the right places simultaneously was the objective. It’s not going to happen that way, but we’ll keep fighting. We want to make sure KBM is at the forefront and we have a place to go race our trucks next year.”

Regardless of where Busch lands, it’s almost a cinch that 19-year-old Ty Gibbs will inherit his old No. 18 ride with a sponsor TBA. The full-time Xfinity Series star has spent the past eight weekends not only chasing that series title, but also substituting for the injured Kurt Busch at 23XI Racing. The 44-year-old Busch has been sidelined with concussion-like symptoms since a July accident at Pocono.

He insists he’ll return as soon as possible, saying he doesn’t want his likely Hall of Fame career to end due to injury. At this point – after missing the last eight races – many series-watchers fear that’s exactly what the 2004 champion is facing.