NASCAR: Kyle Busch situation not what anyone expected

In an age of silly season full of “worst kept secrets”, the fact that Kyle Busch’s 2023 NASCAR destination remains unknown is quite unique; it certainly isn’t something we’ve come to expect.

Four and a half months after Kyle Busch’s cryptic “goodbye” comments at Talladega Superspeedway, there is still no word on where he will compete in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series.

Busch is in a contract year at Joe Gibbs Racing, and the impending loss of primary sponsorship from Mars Wrigley at the end of the year has resulted in a massive sponsorship search. With a once promising development having fallen through, the sport’s highest paid driver may very well have to find a new home in 2023.

Busch has been fairly candid throughout the entire process, stating that he would be willing to take a pay cut to remain behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota but also that he had been in discussions with other teams about potential new opportunities.

He recently admitted that he has been offered contracts by multiple teams and that a decision should be coming “soon”.

There are several “insider” leads that make the rounds on social media from time to time, but at this stage, there are at least five teams that have been, at one point or another, considered the “clear favorite” to land the two-time Cup Series champion and 60-time race winner.

The current “favorite” wasn’t even in the discussion until a few weeks ago.

In other words, nobody can truly say that they know the answer. And we don’t appreciate enough how rare this is in this day and age.

We live in an age were almost everybody has up-to-the-minute information available at their fingertips. As a result, “silly season” has become more like “worst kept secret” season, with confirmations many times simply a matter of when, not if.

Last year’s NASCAR silly season was case-in-point. Everybody knew Alex Bowman, then considered one of the top available free agents on the market, was going to sign an extension with Hendrick Motorsports. He did.

Everybody knew Brad Keselowski was going to be leaving Team Penske to take on an ownership role with Roush Fenway Racing, even after some of the comments he made about wanting to return to Penske. As evidenced by the name change to RFK Racing, he did.

Everybody knew that Kurt Busch was going to be named the second 23XI Racing driver. He was. And of course, despite lack of confirmation up until mere weeks before the start of the 2022 season, everybody knew that Ty Gibbs was going to be driving full-time for his grandfather’s Xfinity Series team. He is.

As for this year, there are a number of other examples, most recently the fact that Aric Almirola’s decision to return was leaked well before he actually made the call as well as the fact that North Wilkesboro Speedway will be returning as the host of the NASCAR All-Star Race.

You can even say the same thing about IndyCar and Formula 1. Many people knew Alex Palou was going to sign with McLaren, even as he brushed off the so-called “rumors”, more than a month before that whole chaotic situation unfolded, the same way many (literally everybody) knew Daniel Ricciardo would be released by McLaren, even as he reaffirmed his commitment through 2023.

Yet here we are — Friday, September 9, 2022 — and the best anybody can offer on the most successful active NASCAR Cup Series driver, and by far the most polarizing driver the sport has to offer, is who might still be in the running to sign him.

Let’s just hope it stays that way before he actually makes the decision, because in this day and age, that’s what truly sets this one apart.