NASCAR insider: Kyle Busch likely to return to Richard Childress Racing in 2026

Kyle Busch came into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season in the final year of his contract with Richard Childress Racing. Questions surrounding his future have been aplenty, but there appears to finally be a resolution on the way.

Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic appeared on Thursday’s “Door Bumper Clear” podcast and delivered a significant update on Busch’s future. Bianchi said he spoke with RCR team president Mike Verlander, who said, “I don’t see Kyle racing anywhere else” in 2026.

“I talked to the team president a week ago, Mike Verlander, and I asked him about Kyle Busch… is Kyle Busch likely to return in 2026? Mike told me, ‘I don’t see Kyle racing anywhere else.’ So, reading between the lines, it seems like Kyle is going to be returning there and that RCR is at least, at a minimum, going to pick up his option,” Bianchi said. “I think Kyle’s future with RCR is probably going to go beyond just another year and past 2026.”

Busch, 40, joined RCR ahead of the 2023 season after an incredibly successful 15-year run with Joe Gibbs Racing. He started out like gangbusters behind the wheel of the No. 8 Chevrolet, winning three races in his first 15 starts. But since then, it’s been a struggle.

The two-time Cup champion is riding a career-long 69-race winless streak. Though at times he’s shown signs of life this season, mistakes or misfortune have always seemed to come at the worst time. Busch is currently 17th in the points standings.

Are there options for Kyle Busch outside of RCR?

The closure of Stewart-Haas Racing brought upon a busy Silly Season in 2024. As of now, Bianchi isn’t expecting a similar Silly Season in 2025. Busch doesn’t have many options even if he wanted to leave RCR. The speed has been there this year and if that continues, Bianchi believes Busch can deliver for RCR.

“It’s going to be a really quiet Silly Season as it stands now. And there really isn’t any viable options for Kyle Busch to go anywhere right now. The big teams kind of have their spots already signed up for next year, so any move he can potentially make is lateral at best, not a step back,” Bianchi said. “You look at what RCR is right now, they have speed in their race cars. They really do. They have top-10 speed and that’s not just Kyle Busch, that’s Austin Dillon as well.

“You look at Kansas, you look at Texas — Kyle’s been fast. He just doesn’t necessarily have the finishes to correspond with it. He has found a home there. They like him a lot. It’s a good fit, makes a lot of sense and again, if you don’t really have anywhere else where there’s a step up, where you’re at makes sense. He’s shown he can win there. If RCR can give him the cars, he should be able to deliver.”