NASCAR: Kyle Busch landing spot off the table for 2023?

With Aric Almirola set to return to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, does that eliminate one of Kyle Busch’s possible landing spots?

Kyle Busch has been the focus of a NASCAR Cup Series silly season that has been crazy for multiple reasons that go well beyond the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

Busch is still without a deal to return for what would be a 16th season behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota next year, and while Mars Wrigley announced late last year that the 2022 season would be their final season as his primary sponsor, many viewed signing him to a new contract — and landing new sponsorship — as not much more than a formality.

Here we are approaching the end of summer, and a deal still hasn’t been signed.

The 37-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native recently admitted that he has been in talks with other teams, and teams from both Toyota rival manufacturers (Ford and Chevrolet) are rumored to be in the mix. He reportedly has offers from multiple organizations.

The rumored team at the center of the Ford rumors was Stewart-Haas Racing, and the rumored teams at the center of the Chevrolet rumors were — and still are — Kaulig Racing and Richard Childress Racing.

Stewart-Haas Racing were once “confirmed” to have a seat open, with Aric Almirola having announced the first 2023 driver change before the 2022 season even began. He announced back in January that the 2022 season would be his fifth and final season behind the wheel of the #10 Ford and his 15th and final season competing in the Cup Series.

What seemed like a straightforward retirement announcement ended up being one of the crazier points of silly season.

Back in June, we spoke to Almirola and jokingly asked if he’d consider pulling a “Tom Brady” and unretiring — without actually missing any races between his retirement and unretirement announcements.

He responded with “never say never”, and the rest is history.

The rumors began to swirl over the next few weeks that he might not be vacating the #10 Ford, and it became clear that his updated plan was to return, with longtime primary sponsor Smithfield backing him for at least two more years.

That is indeed what he is set to do. While he initially denied a Motorsport report and stated that he hadn’t made a decision, he later confirmed that he had re-signed with Stewart-Haas Racing on a multi-year deal.

Does this eliminate Stewart-Haas Racing as a possibility for Busch?

There is still a chance that Busch ends up at Stewart-Haas Racing, given the recent uncertainty surrounding the future of Cole Custer. However, Stewart-Haas Racing have indicated that they plan to move forward with the same driver lineup for the third year in a row, something they haven’t been able to say since 2014-2016.

But until Custer’s return is confirmed, don’t rule out Tony Stewart trying to make a big splash by signing Busch. He has proven not to be shy about taking big swings in the past, and this could be a great opportunity for him to make one which is truly unforgettable.

While Stewart-Haas Racing is no longer seen as one of the favorites, never say never, given how many times we’ve seen new “favorites” emerge over these last few months.