It goes without saying that there is no tougher position in NASCAR from an organizational standpoint than the one Richard Childress Racing is in right now, and for the second time.
Kyle Busch's sudden passing from sepsis in May stunned the sport in a way it hadn't been since Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. But the show goes on, and just as it did 25 years ago, it does so with Childress' entry still on the track, only featuring a different number.
There is no replacing a driver like Busch, just as there was no replacing Earnhardt. But back then, through an amazing stroke of fortune, RCR was able to push forward with a driver who turned out to be a future Cup champion and first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer in Kevin Harvick.
This time? It's Austin Hill, supposedly for the rest of the 2026 season.
We really don't have to do this.
RCR's ill-fated Austin Hill experiment is wasting a perfect opportunity for a healing moment
When Earnhardt died, NASCAR needed a healing moment. In only his third Cup Series race, Harvick provided one by beating Jeff Gordon in a photo finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He went on to finish ninth in points, despite not competing in the Daytona 500, running so well that fans of "The Intimidator" will swear to this day that he would have won his eighth championship that season.
Nothing of that sort is going to happen with Hill in the No. 33 Chevrolet.
The Georgia native has been mired deep in the field most weeks thus far. He made some strides at Naval Base Coronado this past weekend, winning the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race and briefly battling up front on Sunday. But he erased any goodwill he had earned by causing a major multi-car pileup that eliminated himself in addition to favorites Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch.
Hill just isn't a Cup Series driver. We've already known this for years. He's not even RCR's best O'Reilly competitor, but Jesse Love apparently can't drive the No. 33 because of sponsorship-related reasons (or, more likely, because he's leaving for the Wood Brothers after this season and has been frozen out).
Still, RCR is not stuck with Hill. There are alternatives, if the team would get creative and if those alternatives in question would agree to it.
Let's not overthink it: the most fitting person to be driving the No. 33 car right now is the same guy who drove the No. 29 in 2001. Harvick's duties with the NASCAR on FOX broadcast team are done for the year.
If Hendrick Motorsports could bring Gordon out of retirement in 2016 to sub for an injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., then nothing is stopping RCR from doing the same, even if it's on a similar part-time basis.
Or, how about an even more powerful tribute: Kyle's brother Kurt. His own career ended on unfinished terms after he suffered a concussion in an accident at Pocono Raceway in 2022. He's since been cleared by doctors and has been competing in the revitalized IROC series this year. His presence on the track again would provide closure for both the sport and for himself.
Come on. Just for one race. Even if he doesn't run like his old self anymore, it would make people feel good.
Busch's memory doesn't deserve to have his car floundering in the high 20s with a secondary series lifer. There are still 19 races left on the 2026 schedule, and it will be a major letdown if at least a few of them aren't run with someone more exciting behind the wheel of the No. 33.
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