NASCAR: Kyle Busch sets date for 2023 announcement

Kyle Busch is finally set to confirm his plans for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, with an announcement set for Tuesday, September 13.

Kyle Busch entered the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season without a deal to compete with Joe Gibbs Racing beyond the conclusion of the year, and with the impending departure of primary sponsor M&M’s, there was always a chance that he wouldn’t be back for a 16th season behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota.

Not much was thought of this possibility at first, and when Busch made his initial cryptic comments about the situation back in April at Talladega Superspeedway, it was perceived as nothing more than Kyle Busch being Kyle Busch.

His “clickbait” t-shirt the following weekend at Dover Motor Speedway only further fueled that belief.

But over time, it became clear that a new team may very well be in the cards for the two-time champion and 60-time race winner, especially after it emerged that a once promising sponsorship development, one which presumably would have resulted in a new Joe Gibbs Racing deal for Busch, had fallen through.

Over the last few months, there were five — possibly six, depending on who you listen to — teams that were, at some point, considered the “favorite” to land Busch’s services for 2023, and the one that recently emerged as such was not even in the discussion a few weeks ago.

But it is that team, Richard Childress Racing, which is reportedly set to sign Busch for next year.

While Busch stated on Saturday that any deal was “not done”, it was revealed by The Athletic that the 37-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native is set to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota after 15 seasons and join the Chevrolet organization. Busch last competed for Chevrolet in 2007, his third and final full season with Hendrick Motorsports.

It was also revealed that the official announcement would be made on Tuesday.

And on Sunday night, Busch confirmed that he will indeed have an announcement to make on Tuesday, September 13, 2022.

The announcement is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET.

Whether this announcement simply confirms that Busch is set to move to Richard Childress Racing, which is certainly the expected focal point of it, remains to be seen, as there are still several questions that need to be answered.

Is he set to join the team in a third car, or will they remain at two cars? If the former, will they acquire a third charter? If the latter, what happens to Tyler Reddick (or even Austin Dillon)?

What will happen to Kyle Busch Motorsports? Busch admitted that their alignment with Toyota is what kept him from shoring up his plans long ago, so a switch to Chevrolet seems inevitable. But what happens next?

And while not necessarily expected on Tuesday, when will Joe Gibbs Racing confirm Busch’s replacement behind the wheel of the #18 Toyota? Will it indeed by Ty Gibbs, or will silly season get another late twist?