Kyle Busch has signed a new contract that has the NASCAR world buzzing, but the deal has not been a benefit to former partners.
The 37-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver has signed with Richard Childress Racing and has moved sponsors to Chevrolet, which will have an effect on other drivers. Busch's RCR contract has come with many provisions that are beneficial to him and his career going forward.
Busch's former sponsor, Toyota, came out and commented on the departure. Toyota Racing Development chief David Wilson insisted the manufacturer had done all it could to keep Busch.
"We have absolutely been right in the middle of it. I have been right in the middle of it," Wilson told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday of the negotiations with Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing, as transcribed by Racer's Kelly Crandall. "We made a valiant effort to try and keep Kyle Busch in our family, and I'll simply say that there were opportunities on the table for him to stay in a Toyota with our family, but ultimately, it takes two parties. It takes two to tango, as they say. Ultimately, we weren't able to get it done, and Richard Childress and Chevrolet were."
The end of his 15-year partnership with JGR is compounded with his success with Toyota, who he earned a NASCAR Cup Series championship with in 2015. Busch has 56 wins in the Cup Series, and, along with his 200 races in a Toyota-backed car, he added another title in 2019.
Toyota and JGR will have to find a way to replace the Busch's impact as RCR will hope for a promising partnership in 2023.
