BROOKLYN, Mich. – Team owner Richard Childress said Saturday that a press conference this weekend at Michigan International Speedway was intended to reveal the news of a contract extension for Kyle Busch, who died last month before his return could be announced.

Childress’ first public remarks since Busch’s death came Saturday at the 2-mile Michigan track, site of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race and a venue where Busch won four times in national-series competition. He said that improvement in Richard Childress Racing’s performance in the weeks before Busch’s passing had made the 41-year-old driver bullish about returning for the 2027 season and for reaching the postseason Chase this year.

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“We had a great conversation, talking about how he said, ‘You give me cars like you’ve gave me the last three weeks,’ he said, ‘I will make the Chase this year,'” Childress recalled. “I mean, we were that confident. Both of us had a lot of confidence in us.”

Busch was in his fourth season at Richard Childress Racing when he died May 21 from severe pneumonia and sepsis. The future NASCAR Hall of Famer won three times with RCR in the early stages of their first year together, but was in the grips of the longest winless spell of his Cup Series career before he fell ill.

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular Austin Hill has driven Busch’s ride in the two Cup Series races since his death, and did again in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, finishing 20th. Childress indicated that Hill would continue to pilot the No. 33 Chevrolet the rest of the season, rather than use a rotating cast of drivers.

Childress opened his press conference by thanking the media and motorsports community for their support, both for the Busch family and his organization, before noting the press conference’s original purpose. “That’s the tough part about today,” said Childress, who said he walked into the Michigan media center Saturday with thoughts of Busch being by his side.

It’s a feeling Childress unfortunately knows too well, having lost another stock-car racing giant and close friend in Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500. The Hall of Fame team owner said he has found the support of his family and the rest of the RCR group uplifting, but that coping with such a sudden loss had been emotionally taxing.

“It’s challenging,” Childress said. “… You lose two of the greatest drivers that’s ever driven a car in NASCAR and have to go through it again. I just feel so, so bad for the family and the employees and everybody, but yeah, I mean, it’s … I haven’t slept very good lately, I’ll leave it at that.”

Magnifying the difficulty, Childress said, was how much closer the driver and team owner had become. Their relationship had grown into an off-track friendship, with Childress introducing Busch to his love of the outdoors and joining him to watch Busch’s 11-year-old son, Brexton, as he continues the developmental phase of his racing career. As he had done with Earnhardt decades ago, Childress had shared conversations with Busch about his future and what would have become of his post-driving days.

The two were adversarial when on opposing teams earlier in Busch’s career, but they channeled their shared competitive drive toward a common goal when Busch came on board with RCR in 2023. Childress says he saw shades of himself in Busch. Others did, too.

“He wanted to win. He was driven by winning, hard work, everything that he could do to put in it,” Childress said. “Yeah, they say we’re a little alike, and once somebody said, ‘well, the only difference, one’s got an accent, the other one doesn’t.’ So I really … we built a friendship out of this. We went hunting, I took him on one of his very first hunts, and he really got into hunting. He started taking Brexton, and we had other plans.

“The sad part for me, looking back, knowing what Dale Earnhardt had in mind, and the plans he had for him in his future, and sitting and talking to Kyle at different times, knowing his plans and what he had in the future for him and Brexton, his family, and the many things that we all could have done together, that was probably the toughest part of this whole thing.”

Though Busch’s time with RCR was relatively short compared to the breadth of his 20-plus-year Cup Series career, Childress said his impact on the organization was immeasurable. In speaking openly about his legacy, Childress said Busch will one day join him in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Left up to him, Childress said, that day would come as soon as possible.

“Kyle Busch will go down in history as one of the greatest drivers there’s ever been,” Childress said. “He’ll be in the Hall of Fame. I’d love to see them put him in it right away. He helped RCR when we needed him. He came right in, and we won three races the first part of (2023). We had a lot of opportunities to win other races, but we just didn’t finish and capitalize on them. He was a man that a lot of people thought he was tough to deal with and that we wouldn’t last long, but he was a man that loved this sport. He loved it so much that he wanted to see his family carry it on.”

Family remains top of mind for Childress, who said that he foresees grandsons Austin and Ty Dillon being more heavily involved in the team’s leadership one day. The family focus also extends to Busch’s family.

The car was rebranded from Busch’s No. 8 to the No. 33 Chevrolet before Hill first drove it in the Coca-Cola 600. Childress said that Busch had a hand in designing the style of the No. 8 that he used, and the team owner reiterated that the number was reserved for Brexton Busch, should he want to use it in NASCAR’s top division – regardless of whether he drives for Childress or not.

Childress spoke highly of the younger Busch on Saturday, saying that his on- and off-track composure had impressed him.

“I think just showing him the respect and trying not to put more pressure on him, just like Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Childress said when asked what might set up Brexton Busch for success. “I think that he’s got a great future. That kid can drive a race car. Personally and mentally, watching him last Tuesday (during a private memorial) was incredible. He’s just a bright young man and a great little race car driver. He’ll carry the Busch legacy for many years to come.”