NASCAR: Kyle Busch will be more competitive than you think

Richard Childress Racing may not appear to be the most competitive NASCAR Cup Series team, but fans shouldn’t be concerned about Kyle Busch’s performance.

Prior to 2022, it was hard to imagine that Kyle Busch wouldn’t have a ride or sponsors secured for 2023 by the start of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Finally, the only active two-time series champion announced Tuesday that he will be driving for Richard Childress Racing next season.

The storied organization hasn’t been the ultra-competitive team they once were in the days of Dale Earnhardt and Kevin Harvick, but Kyle isn’t taking as big of a competitive step down by going to Richard Childress Racing as you might think.

Kyle Busch has only driven for two organizations in his entire 18-year Cup Series career: Hendrick Motorsports, the winningest organization in series history, and Joe Gibbs Racing, where he has been since 2008.

While Richard Childress Racing have certainly solidified themselves as one of the greatest teams in the sport, their performance in recent years has seen them fall behind the competition.

Since Kevin Harvick left Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2013 season, they have only scored seven wins, with the first if those coming in early 2017, almost three-and-a-half years after their most recent win at the time.

While seven wins in six seasons isn’t exactly a statistic to boast about, three of those wins have come this season in what has become the team’s most successful year in nearly a decade.

In 2022, Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick have combined for three wins, 13 top five finishes, and 20 top 10 finishes.

Both drivers qualified for the playoffs, and both drivers were in contention to win at least one other race each during the season to get an additional win, proving that there is a resurgence at Richard Childress Racing.

In that same time, four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, including Busch, have collected just four wins.

Busch is a winning driver by nature, with a record-tying 18 consecutive winning seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series following his win at Bristol Motor Speedway back in April.

He is tied for the most wins among active Cup Series drivers with 60, he is the only active two-time Cup Series champion, and he is the all-time wins leader in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series.

Busch doesn’t like losing and doesn’t accept losing, and with his aggressive driving style and determination, he is bound to find victory lane again.

His jump from an organization that has had years of scoring 10 wins or more to a team that has been clawing its way back to the top of NASCAR seems like an unfavorable move, but with his talent behind the wheel and the backing of an organization on the rise, there’s no telling how far Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing can go together.