No Quit in Rowdy: Busch and RCR Re-Up for 2026 NASCAR Run

PXL_20250524_144557191 — (Photo: Greg Engle CupScene.com)

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Kyle Busch will stay put for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, now that Richard Childress Racing has picked up the option on Busch’s contract with the organization.

Busch and team owner Richard Childress made the announcement in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center on Saturday morning, complete with the commitment that the organization is working hard to return the two-time series champion to Victory Lane.

After winning three of the first 15 races of 2023, his first season with RCR, Busch has experienced the longest drought of his career. His winless streak stands at 69 races entering Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (6 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“This is extending our contract for another year, and we’re really excited,” Childress said. “Kyle has been great to work with. Everybody had questions going in. I love a driver that doesn’t like to lose. We’ve worked hard. We’ve got some exciting things coming up.

“He and I are both alike in one area, that we don’t like to lose. We want to win races. I still think Kyle will win him a championship, and we’re going to have it at RCR. That’s our plans. We’ve got a lot of new things coming.”

Childress indicated the organization has made changes and improvements on the engineering side of the sport.

“I certainly echo Richard’s statements that there’s a lot of things happening behind the scenes,” Busch said. “It’s a great place to be, a great place to work, a great atmosphere, and a lot of grit and determination with a lot of people up there in Welcome, North Carolina. We have certainly had our battles. It’s been fun, but yet challenging. It definitely isn’t easy. This sport is very, very tough, very, very close and challenging.

“Being able to score those wins and compete for those each and every week… we know those areas in which we can improve both behind the wheel, on pit road, in engineering, all of the above. This is just the pinnacle of that, and I hope to continue to build on our successes that we’ve been working towards for the last two years.”