NASCAR: Kyle Busch out at Joe Gibbs Racing for 2023?

Kyle Busch is still without a contract to compete for Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, and he has admitted that anything is possible.

Kyle Busch’s contract situation has been a focal point of NASCAR Cup Series silly season for the last several months, specifically after the cryptic comments he made at Talladega Superspeedway back in April.

Prior to the 2022 season, longtime partner M&M’s made the surprising announcement that they would not be back on Joe Gibbs Racing’s #18 Toyota in 2023, and Busch admitted that without significant replacement sponsorship, it could very well be “goodbye”.

Even as the sport’s lone active two-time champion and the active leader in victories with 60, he admitted that lack of sponsorship could end up costing him the ride he has had for the last 15 seasons.

There have been a few promising developments in this Busch contract situation since then, but nothing has materialized. In fact, one of those developments completely fell through. As a result, the sponsorship search is ongoing.

And the clock is ticking.

Back in April, the sport’s highest paid driver stated that he didn’t expect there would be any seats open elsewhere, should he and Joe Gibbs Racing not be able to agree to a new deal.

While Busch has stated that he sees the #18 Toyota as his car until an announcement of a new driver proves otherwise, he has since admitted that he has indeed been talking to other teams in the event that he does lose his ride.

In other words, there are potentially some other seats open elsewhere, and he could very well find himself in one of them next year.

Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota have also admitted that they have begun to make contingency plans, should the 2023 season not feature Busch behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota.

Bottom line? The 2022 season could really and truly be it for Busch at the organization where he has earned 56 Cup Series victories and two championships.

Notably, the only other Toyota team in the Cup Series is 23XI Racing, and they don’t have any openings for next year — right now, that is.

So in order for Busch to switch teams, he would likely need to leave Toyota, and that would presumably entail Kyle Busch Motorsports switching manufacturers as well, a move that would carry significant financial implications.

Regardless of where Busch ends up in the 2023 season, any Cup Series landing spot will give him the opportunity to break Richard Petty’s record of 18 consecutive winning seasons.

Busch, who sits in eighth place in the point standings through the first 23 races of the 2022 season, made this season his 18th straight winning season by winning the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway back in mid-April. His streak dates back to 2005. Petty’s win streak lasted from 1960 to 1977.