Childress planned – Richard Childress addressed the media ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, thanking supporters after Kyle Busch’s death at 41 and revealing the press conference was originally set to announce Busch’s return to Richard Childress Racing in 2027. Aust
Richard Childress stepped into the media spotlight on Saturday at Michigan, and the room fell quiet for a reason deeper than NASCAR headlines.
The Richard Childress Racing owner opened by thanking the press for their support during a challenge he called “unbelievable,” after Kyle Busch died at 41—sudden, unexpected, and still impossible to process for many in the sport.
Childress went on to single out the outpouring of help for Busch’s family: his wife Samantha, and their children Brexton and Lennix. He said the racing community’s response in the devastating weeks since Kyle’s passing had meant everything.
Then Childress delivered the announcement that changed the tone of the moment.
“The truth is, today, we were going to be in here, Kyle was going to be with me and we were going to announce that he was coming back in 2027 and drive for RCR,” Childress said.
He explained that the plan wasn’t just a standard media stop. He and Busch were meant to make the call up at Michigan alongside Chevrolet’s people—an occasion designed to look forward.
“And it didn’t happen,” Childress continued. “This is a different type of media availability instead of a press conference that he was coming back and race for us in 27.”
In that confession sat the brutal contradiction racing fans have been trying to reconcile since the loss: Busch had already agreed to return. The two-time Cup Series champion was expected to begin what promised to be a landmark next chapter—one planned down to the calendar of a major announcement.
RCR has now confirmed that Austin Hill will take over the No. 33 car for the remainder of the 2026 Cup Series season as the team navigates life without Busch.
Hill, 30, is familiar with the organization, having competed in the Xfinity Series with RCR. His promotion comes, though, under circumstances that make the change feel less like a routine succession and more like damage control—done in public, and under grief.
No decision has been made on who will drive the No. 33 full-time in 2027, the season that was supposed to mark Busch’s return. Childress’s comments leave a clear imprint of what was intended—and how quickly it was taken away.
Busch’s death has been felt across the Cup Series calendar, and this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan carries particular weight. It is the third Cup Series race held since his passing and the first in which Childress has stood before cameras since the shock at Memorial Day weekend.
Busch was 41 when he died on May 21 after being rushed to hospital when he became unresponsive in a race simulator near Charlotte, North Carolina. Later, it was revealed that pneumonia led to sepsis, causing his blood to clot and impeding his organs before he went into hemorrhagic shock.
Through each race weekend after his death, the paddock rallied around the Busch family with tribute messages from drivers and crew members.
Earlier this week, Samantha Busch broke her silence on social media for the first time since Kyle’s passing. She thanked the racing world and beyond for the flood of love and support the family has received in the weeks since the tragedy.
She described the recent days as the most “heartbreaking” of their lives.
The sequence of events now hangs in the air: a return agreed in advance. an announcement planned for Michigan. and then the silence that replaced it. By Sunday. the FireKeepers Casino 400 will go on in the shadow of what was lost—while the sport. in its own way. tries to honor the future that never got its chance to arrive.
Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Austin Hill No. 33 FireKeepers Casino 400 Michigan NASCAR Cup Series 2027 return Samantha Busch Brexton Busch Lennix Busch
Wait so they were gonna announce Kyle coming back in 2027 like nothing happened??
That’s so sad. I didn’t realize it was sudden like that, 41 is way too young. Also I feel like NASCAR will just move on and it’s gross.
I’m confused tho, so he was “already agreed” to return but they’re acting like the press conference didn’t happen? Like did Kyle change his mind at the last second or is this about PR timing? either way that room going quiet says it all.
RIP Kyle Busch. But why are we talking about a 2027 plan like that’s the headline? Feels disrespectful to be like “Chevrolet’s people” and a scheduled call-up when he’s gone. People on here acting like it’s just a schedule problem but life doesn’t work like that. Anyway, I bet all the teams knew stuff before they said anything.