Kyle Busch Motorsports finds a home for NASCAR trucks, forges alliance with Rev Racing
.JPG "Kyle Busch takes a parade lap in front of fans before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)")
When Kyle Busch announced that he had joined Richard Childress Racing to continue his decorated NASCAR Cup Series career a few months ago — marking a hopeful milestone in a stressful summer — so much was still in the air.
One of those things was his trucks enterprise.
“Kyle Busch Motorsports intends to compete in the Truck Series as a Chevrolet-branded team next year,” Busch told reporters on Sept. 13, the day he signed to be in the RCR No. 8 Cup car. “Whether that’s two, three, four entries, we’re not quite certain on that yet, and we’re working to kind of clear up those details as soon as we can right now.”
Those details became clear in two separate announcements on Friday:
1. Busch announced that KBM will field two NASCAR Truck Series teams in 2023: the No. 4 Chevrolet for Chase Purdy and the No. 51 Chevrolet for an assortment of drivers throughout the year (including Jack Wood as the “anchor” as well Busch himself on occasion).
2. The two-time Cup champion also announced that KBM has formed a technical alliance with Rev Racing — the competition arm of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Program, which will be making its first appearance in a national series in 2023. (Rev Racing will have 2022 ARCA Menard’s Series champion Nick Sanchez driving the No. 2 Chevrolet.)
The two announcements, which were made one-after-the-other in Phoenix Raceway’s media center, effectively tied up the loose ends of Busch’s short-term future as the offseason approaches.
It made the few “sleepless nights” in the past few months worthwhile, Busch said.
“This further (moves) along our opportunity for being three trucks, and it gives us a chance to make sure that we’re out there to field the same amount of teams, and the same amount of people that we have been for a long time,” Busch told reporters on Friday. “And again, we’re looking forward to keeping that strength of the people that we have at KBM and keep winning races.”
KBM has seen a lot of success at the NASCAR Truck Series level. Since debuting in 2010, the company has notched 98 total wins, seven owner championships and two driver championships (Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017).
It’s worth noting, too, that Busch himself is the winningest driver in Truck Series history, having notched 62 wins, per a release from KBM. He’s won 37.6% of the truck races he’s entered.
Busch said that while fielding a truck team is a “passion” of his, being competitive was at the forefront of his mind in making this decision.
“I believe in what we do at Kyle Busch Motorsports with the people who are there,” Busch said, adding, “I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think we could win. That’s definitely not in our DNA.”
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Quick questions from KBM’s announcements
Will Toyota have a presence in the NASCAR Truck Series now that Kyle Busch Motorsports has moved to Chevrolet?
Yes. Kyle Busch Motorsports left the Toyota team when Busch did earlier this year. (It’s now with Chevrolet.) Toyota has since effectively replaced KBM: Last week it was announced that David Gilliland agreed to move his racing organization — now rebranded as TRICON Garage — from Ford to Toyota.
What does the “technical alliance” between KBM and Rev Racing entail?
KBM will be building the trucks that Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez will compete in. Officials for KBM and Rev Racing said they are still determining if the trucks will be built at KBM and then sent to Rev Racing or if a Rev Racing team will be embedded at KBM.
Does Kyle Busch Motorsports have a professional history with Rev Racing?
Yes. That’s what seems to make this partnership make so much sense. Busch elaborated on their professional past on Friday.
”Certainly we are excited about that chance to work a little more closely alongside these guys at Rev Racing,” Busch said. “So for me, having that chance of being able to see some of the Rev alumni come through KBM — and (become) KBM alumni — and now make it into the Cup Series to be able to further add to that with Nick, I’m really excited about that.”
He added: “So seeing the progress and the development of Bubba Wallace when he first came to KBM in the first year that we had racing with him, into his second year and really to be able to take the horns and go run for a championship, I mean that was really awesome. And same thing with Daniel (Suarez), where he was at Joe Gibbs Racing, but also then running with us at Kyle Busch Motorsports on the truck side, filling out that development team, and really showcasing his steps in what he’s been able to do. ... We feel like we’ve had our fair share in that development, so looking forward to furthering that along.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 7:21 PM.
