Why did Kyle Busch sell his race team? Here's what we know

Kyle Busch is one of NASCAR's most accomplished drivers over the last 15 years. Over the years, the two-time Cup Series champion has helped new stars emerge through Kyle Busch Motorsports, a team Truck Series team that he ultimately decided to sell last year to focus more on his Cup Series career and his family.

The team, which opened in 2010, was sold to Spire Motorsports, a team that fields both Cup and Truck entries. Here, we'll take a look at what caused an abrupt end to one of the more successful Truck Series teams.

In a statement, the Las Vegas native said that he's in a much different position than he was when he started the team 13 years prior, and it was time to move on, citing the importance of spending more time with his family.

"It's important to me to be able to spend more time with my family and my No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing. It'll be hard to walk away from the amazing facility that we have built. ... I know at this point in my life and in my career, that this is the correct decision," Busch said, as quoted by Fox Sports.

KBM sold to Spire Motorsports, a team Busch drove for in the Truck Series this season and won races at Atlanta and Texas with. In the year of the sale, KBM was fielding two trucks, one being the #4 truck driven by Chase Purdy, the other being the #51 truck that was split among four drivers, including William Byron, Jack Wood, Matt Mills, and Busch himself. The 39-year-old picked up a win at Pocono last year that would mark the final victory for the team.

Looking back at the rise of Kyle Busch Motorsports

Over 14 seasons, Kyle Busch Motorsports amassed 113 victories over six different series, with 100 of them coming in the Truck Series. The team won two driver championships in the Truck Series with Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017, two drivers who have went on to become winning full-time Cup drivers.

KBM won one Xfinity Series race back in 2012 at Richmond with Kyle Busch's older brother, Kurt, behind the wheel. The team only fielded Xfinity Series cars for two seasons before merging with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team the younger Busch drove for in the Cup Series. In 2019, Kyle surpassed Ron Hornaday Jr. for the most wins all-time in the Truck Series with his 52nd career victory at Atlanta.

The team has seen multiple of its drivers go on to reach the Cup Series, including Jones, Bell, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek, Bubba Wallace, and William Byron. The last driver to compete full-time for the organization was Chase Purdy in 2023.