NASCAR: Kyle Busch ‘retirement dream’ in jeopardy?

With the Kyle Busch Motorsports NASCAR Truck Series team being sold to Spire Motorsports, what does the future hold for Kyle and Brexton Busch?

Over the summer, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch laid out his ideal NASCAR retirement plan, one which included winning a Truck Series championship — with his Kyle Busch Motorsports team — to become the first driver to win championships in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series.

His goal from that point forward was to hand over the reins to son Brexton Busch, who would begin by running a partial Truck Series schedule in 2031 before moving to full-time competition at the age of 18 in 2033. Brexton would then try to make his way up the NASCAR ladder, following in his father’s footsteps to become a Cup Series star.

Brexton is only eight years old, so this plan was always somewhat of a “dream” for Kyle, and he admitted as much, given just how far into the future he was discussing.

Now there is no future for his Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, beyond the 2023 NASCAR season.

Busch recently confirmed that Spire Motorsports are in the process of finalizing a deal to purchase Kyle Busch Motorsports and its assets as they continue to build their NASCAR presence.

The team owned by T.J. Puchyr and Jeff Dickerson, the latter of whom was Busch’s agent when he began his Cup Series career, also recently purchased a third Cup Series charter from Live Fast Motorsports for 2024.

When discussing the decision to sell, Busch cited the fact that he is at a “different point” in his life now, compared to where he was back in 2010 when he started what is now an organization with 100 wins. He mentioned his family and brought up the fact that his son’s racing schedule “has become as demanding as my own”, so it was time to scale back.

In the team’s first year with Chevrolet following Busch’s offseason switch from Toyota, full-time driver Chase Purdy failed to qualify for the playoffs behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet. The shared entry, the No. 51 Chevrolet, won twice, both with Busch himself behind the wheel, and qualified for the owner playoffs. However, it was eliminated in the opening round.

But perhaps most importantly, what does the sale of Kyle Busch Motorsports mean for Brexton Busch and his potential NASCAR future?

It may seem silly to bring up now as we sit here and discuss an eight-year-old, but is worth remembering that last year, when Busch signed with Richard Childress Racing’s Cup Series team to bring an end to a 15-year run with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota, Richard Childress also gave Brexton a “contract option” in the form of a signed $100 bill.

While the younger Busch may no longer have a Kyle Busch Motorsports organization to drive for by the time he is old enough for a Truck Series ride, it’s hard to see the son of a two-time Cup Series champion — and the winningest driver in NASCAR national series history — ever being “out of sight, out of mind” if he continues to perform well over his junior career.

And the fact that a team with ties to Busch’s early years is the team buying Kyle Busch Motorsports’ assets — plus the fact that Busch is still set to compete for the team in five races next year and presumably beyond — could be a major plus.