Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has announced the temporary retirement of Kyle Busch's No. 8 Cup Series car, holding it until the late driver's 11-year-old son, Brexton, is prepared to take the wheel. The decision comes after Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, died unexpectedly on Thursday at the age of 41. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Car Number Change and Replacement Driver
RCR will field the No. 33 car on the Cup Series circuit starting Sunday night at the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race of the season, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Austin Hill has been selected to replace Busch in the driver's seat for that event and for the foreseeable future.
Brexton Busch's Rising Racing Career
Brexton Busch, a third-generation driver, has already made a name for himself in the racing world. Last year, he won the Tulsa Shootout Jr. Sprint Championship, earning his first Golden Driller trophy. According to his website, Brexton began his racing career in 2020 at age 5 in the Beginner Box Stock division at Millbridge Speedway, a 1/6-mile dirt track in Salisbury, North Carolina. He secured his first victory at Mountain Creek Speedway just a month later and has continued to build an impressive resume. In 2024, he won 48 races, achieved 126 top-10 finishes, and recorded 107 top-5 finishes across multiple styles of race cars.
RCR's Statement and Historical Parallel
In a statement, RCR explained: "Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR's stylized No. 8, and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing." This move mirrors a similar decision in 2001, when Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash at the Daytona 500. RCR then changed the car number from the black No. 3 to the white No. 29. The No. 3 eventually returned for the 2014 season when Richard Childress's grandson, Austin Dillon, took over as driver.
