Kyle Busch gets blessing from Richard Childress Racing to run Indianapolis 500
With Kyle Busch’s impending move to Richard Childress Racing in 2023 comes fresh opportunity for the two-time Cup Series champion — in NASCAR and beyond.
The potential of competing in the Indianapolis 500 is one that has always intrigued Busch, and had previously been forbidden by his future former employer in Joe Gibbs Racing. While not a priority during his contract negotiations with the several teams he met with, the prospect was one that Rowdy ensured was included in the final paperwork before signing a multi-year deal with RCR starting in 2023.
MORE: Busch set to join RCR in ’23 | Biggest NASCAR free agent signings
“I made sure it was in the deal,” Busch said Tuesday after his announcement at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “I can go run it if I want to run it. So by all means, any IndyCar teams that are Chevrolet, call me up … I can do it. It wasn’t important. No, none of the teams that I spoke to that was not on the priority list. The priority list was me, myself. Can I win races? Can I win championships and then what does KBM look like? Indy 500 wasn’t on that paper.”
The 37-year-old Busch is arguably NASCAR’s top all-around talent, always looking to prove himself behind the wheel of a variety of vehicles across disciplines. The thought of running one of the nation’s premier motorsports events for the first time has always been on the native Nevadan’s checklist, but perhaps more so after seeing brother Kurt perform the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 crossover double on Memorial Day Weekend in 2014.
The only hurdle remaining for Busch to enter the legendary event at The Brickyard is finding a suitable ride — even wife Samantha has apparently given a soft blessing.
“Yeah, (Samantha’s OK with it.) I mean, yeah, she hasn’t said no,” he said.
“The last person that said no was my former boss.”
