After the tragic passing of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing opted to pause the use of the No. 8, which Busch had driven since joining the team in 2023, until his 11-year-old son Brexton is ready to compete at the Cup level.
This past weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Austin Hill was tabbed to drive Busch's car, but the team opted to use the No. 33. The No. 33 hasn't been used for a full-time Cup entry since Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group used it for Jeffrey Earnhardt in 2017.
The team's initial plan was to run the No. 33 Chevrolet in the Coca-Cola 600, but as a non-chartered (open) third car for Jesse Love, alongside Austin Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet and Busch's No. 8 Chevrolet. That plan changed even before the entry list came out, and the team's decision not to do so was not affected by the situation surrounding Busch's health.
Love drove that car at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in March and Talladega Superspeedway in April, while Hill drove it at Phoenix Raceway and Martinsville Speedway in March.
Richard Childress Racing have yet to announce any concrete plans for the No. 8-turned-No. 33 car moving forward, although it would not be surprising to see Hill and Love, the team's two full-time O'Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers, share it throughout the remainder of the season, possibly with another driver or drivers added for select starts here and there.
But what will become of the original No. 33 car?
Hill still had three more starts lined up for the team's open entry for the 2026 season, but the locations of those starts had not yet been confirmed.
Love did not have any starts lined up for that entry beyond the Coke 600, and as we just discussed, even those plans were canceled early last week.
Given the fact that the team's plans for the No. 33 as an open car this season included only Hill and Love, it would not be surprising to see them opt to run only two cars in each of the season's 23 remaining races – not to mention the obvious fact that simply sticking with the full-time cars could at least give them some sense of stability amid what is still such a sad and devastating shock.
If they do add a third car on occasion, however, there are several car number possibilities. They used the No. 31 most recently full-time in 2018 and part-time in 2019, although that number was used by Kaulig Racing through the 2024 season. That was the number that No. 8 replaced when they brought it back for Daniel Hemric in 2019. They also ran No. 27 full-time from 2011 to 2017.
Other car numbers they've used in the past, among those not currently in use by any other teams, include No. 07, No. 30, No. 03, No. 90, No. 96, and No. 98.
Richard Childress Racing plan to run only their two chartered cars in this Sunday night's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet has not yet been announced. The race is set to be shown live on Amazon Prime Video beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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