NASCAR: Kyle Busch needs more drivers for 2023
By Asher Fair
Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Truck Series announcement doesn’t completely fill his Kyle Busch Motorsports team’s lineup for the 2023 season.
As he always does, Kyle Busch is set to compete in as many NASCAR Truck Series races as possible in 2023, with that number currently sitting at five due to NASCAR’s limit on full-time Cup Series drivers with at least three years of experience.
Carrying sponsorship from Zariz Transport, he is set to compete in the races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, March 3; Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, March 25; Martinsville Speedway on Friday, April 14; Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 6; and Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 22. Brian Pattie is set to serve as his crew chief.
These five races are set to be Busch’s first five Truck Series races with Chevrolet since 2007, when he competed part-time for Billy Ballew Motorsports behind the wheel of the No. 51 Chevrolet.
Busch is set to drive the No. 51 Chevrolet for his Kyle Busch Motorsports team this year after they switched from Toyota to Chevrolet amid Busch’s Cup Series move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing.
Following this confirmation, Kyle Busch Motorsports still need to fill the No. 51 Chevrolet for a decent chunk of the 2023 NASCAR Truck Series season.
Jack Wood was confirmed as the primary driver of that truck back in November, with the team announcing him for 10 races. Combined, Busch and Wood are set to run 15 of the season’s 23 races, leaving eight races for which the No. 51 Chevrolet does not have a driver.
Additionally, the locations and dates of Wood’s starts haven’t been confirmed, meaning that the only races officially ruled out for him are the races in which Busch is set to compete. The truck is effectively without a confirmed driver for 18 of 23 events.
Who will get the nod for the eight races in which Wood doesn’t end up competing?
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As for the team’s other truck, the No. 4 Chevrolet, things are set in stone. Chase Purdy is set to run the full schedule, with Jimmy Villeneuve set to serve as his crew chief.