When Richard Childress “put all differences behind” against Kyle Busch as the former opened RCR’s gates despite the $150,000 drama

Kyle Busch joined Richard Childress Racing after exiting Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the 2022 season. Several offers were on the table for the two-time Cup Series champion, but he opted for RCR. While Busch's deal with the team having six NASCAR Cup Series championships seemed like a force to be reckoned with, the union of Childress and Busch was considered highly unlikely.

The reason behind it dates back to the 2011 Kansas Speedway Truck Series race when Busch had a run-in with RCR's Joey Coulter. The former had multiple tense moments with Kevin Harvick but the Coulter moment proved to be the tipping point for Richard.

The RCR owner confronted Kyle Busch and had a physical altercation which resulted in a $150,000 penalty for the team owner. Their relationship stayed sour before a stark change during the surrounding weeks when Busch became a free agent for the 2023 season.

Shedding light on his relationship with NASCAR's winningest active driver, Richard Childress, following his grandson Austin Dillon's 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona win, said they have put their differences behind them.

“He and I have talked. We put all of our differences behind us a while back and he’s a great race driver. He’ll land him a good ride somewhere, for sure,” Childress said before Kyle Busch's contract with RCR was announced via NASCAR.

Busch's team JGR was struggling with sponsors as M&M parted ways with the team and announced they would stop sponsoring the Nevada native from the 2023 season onwards. As a result, the #18 Toyota driver switched teams after serving for 15 years under Joe Gibbs garage.

After switching, Kyle Busch had a promising beginning at RCR. He raked in three wins during his maiden year with the team and secured the playoff berth.

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"I’m honored that Richard is putting his trust in me": Kyle Busch made his feelings known about partnering with RCR

When news about Kyle Busch's exit from JGR was released, the driver market witnessed tremors as numerous teams presented their best offer to land a deal with the two-time Cup Series champion. Among the offerors were 23XI Racing, Kaulig Racing, and reportedly Stewart-Haas Racing.

But Busch felt his partnership with Richard Childress would be best suited and rejected others. It's worth mentioning that Busch entered RCR as JGR's winningest driver. Of his 60 wins when he inked the deal, 56 were for Joe Gibbs, with the 2015 and 2019 titles.

“RCR has an impressive history in NASCAR and I’m honored that Richard is putting his trust in me to come in and continue to build on that legacy. Growing up in a family of passionate racers myself, I feel like the culture that the Childress family has built within their organization will be an ideal fit for me. As I begin the next chapter of my career, I’m looking forward to driving for RCR and working with everyone there to add more wins and championships to both of our resumes,” Busch said (via NASCAR).

While Kyle Busch had a good beginning at RCR, he suffered a historic downfall this past season. He failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and observed a winless season since debuting full-time in 2005.