Childress Addresses Busch Death At Michigan Press Conference
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Richard Childress held a news conference Saturday at Michigan International Speedway to address Kyle Busch's death publicly for the first time, where he had instead hoped to announce a contract extension for the two-time Cup Series champion.
- Kyle Busch died May 21 at age 41 after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis; his death certificate cited hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation, and he had become unresponsive while testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina.
- Busch was in the midst of a 105-Cup race win drought but had just posted a season-best eighth at Watkins Glen after a crew chief change, and told Childress the night before his hospitalization: 'You give me cars like you gave me the last three weeks, I will make The Chase this year.'
- Austin Hill will remain in Busch's car the rest of the season as RCR switches to the No. 33, with the team safeguarding the No. 8 for the possible Cup career of Busch's 11-year-old son Brexton Busch, even if the boy races for another team.
- Childress said Busch should go immediately into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, calling him 'one of the greatest race drivers that's ever been' and noting the joy Busch took in watching Brexton race.
- Childress, 80, drew a direct parallel to losing Dale Earnhardt in a fatal 2001 Daytona 500 crash, saying 'You lose two of the greatest drivers that's ever driven a car in NASCAR and to have to go through it again.'
- RCR is now leaning on Childress' grandsons Austin and Ty Dillon, team president Mike Verlander, and son-in-law Mike Dillon to guide the organization, with Childress saying 'They just gave me a little bit of time to get my head right.'
Why it matters: RCR is reshaping its driver lineup mid-season — Austin Hill in the car through year-end, the No. 8 reserved for 11-year-old Brexton Busch — while Childress publicly pushes for Kyle Busch's immediate NASCAR Hall of Fame induction. For the 80-year-old owner, this is the second time in his career he has lost a generational talent, after Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Ask SkimNews
