NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for Kyle Busch in 2023
By Asher Fair
Kyle Busch landing spots: No. 2 – Nowhere
By no means is there a guarantee of a deal getting done. Kyle Busch confirmed in the aforementioned interview that it really is all about sponsorship at this point, and if he or the team can’t come up with it, then it could very well be “goodbye”.
Notice, we said “nowhere” and not “retirement”, and Busch’s response when asked about the latter term was that “I would say I lose my ride” instead of using the word “retire”.
While it’s stating the obvious to say that neither Busch nor Joe Gibbs Racing truly want this to happen, the latter already have an obvious replacement lined up to drive the #18 Toyota, or whatever other car ends up becoming available first at the four-car Toyota powerhouse.
Ty Gibbs, Joe’s grandson, has taken the Xfinity Series by storm since he started competing there last year. He won four races in 18 starts as a part-time driver in 2021, and he has earned three victories in 10 races in a full-time role so far this season, placing him atop the provisional playoff picture.
While he does drive the fastest car in the garage, he has actually delivered, which is something that many others in top-tier equipment can’t say, and he has done so straight from the get-go as well.
There would surely be questions about his maturity and his ability to handle a promotion to the sport’s top level, but he is sitting pretty in terms of landing one as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Even if this isn’t it, don’t expect to wait much longer before he is competing on Sundays.
But let’s imagine that Gibbs does replace Busch and Busch still ends up in Cup Series, competing for a team outside Joe Gibbs Racing.