NASCAR: Kyle Busch takes sly dig at Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch’s response to a critical remark of Joe Gibbs Racing has left many wondering what all led to his impending departure following the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Kyle Busch is set to make his final three NASCAR Cup Series starts with Joe Gibbs Racing over the next three weekends before he makes the move to Richard Childress Racing to replace Tyler Reddick behind the wheel of the #8 Chevrolet next year.

Busch, who is likely to be replaced by Ty Gibbs, has spent the last 15 seasons driving the #18 Toyota. He last competed for Chevrolet in 2007 when he was still with Hendrick Motorsports.

Ahead of this past Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing tweeted four pictures, one for each of their drivers: Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Christopher Bell.

Busch was eliminated in the round of 16 while Truex failed to qualify for the playoffs. Hamlin and Bell are two of the drivers still competing for a championship in the round of 8.

One fan pointed out the differences between these four photos, and the most glaring one is the fact that Busch wasn’t even shown in the picture for the #18 team, while Hamlin, Truex, and Bell were all at least shown in theirs.

Busch took the time to respond to that fan, stating that it has “been this way all year”.

It has been beyond clear for quite some time that Busch is not only eager to end the 2022 season for the sake of ending what has been a frustrating season, but for the sake of ending his 15-year relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota and beginning a new chapter with Richard Childress Racing as he reunites with Chevrolet.

This comment only adds to that assumption, and it has left many fans wondering what all led to his impending departure.

Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota had stated that they were doing all they could do to keep Busch, despite the impending departure of longtime primary sponsor M&M’s, yet they apparently couldn’t put together the sponsorship to make it happen after a once promising deal fell through.

That ironically doesn’t appear to be an issue for Busch at Richard Childress Racing, nor does it appear to be an issue for his expected replacement.