Why did Toyota let Kyle Busch go? Exploring all about the controversy

Kyle Busch ended a 15-year career with Joe Gibbs Racing and moved to Richard Childress Racing in 2023. The switch was a blow to Toyota as much as it was to Joe Gibbs Racing. Reports say that the reason behind Busch's departure was the lack of sponsors for his ride at JGR.

Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, replacing J. J. Yeley in the No. 18 Toyota Camry. Since then, he amassed 60 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, 56 of which were for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Furthermore, Busch is currently the winningest driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His former team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, played an undeniable role in Toyota's dominance in NASCAR's lower-tier series.

Kyle Busch with former boss Joe Gibbs at the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 (Source: Imagn)

However, Busch was left without a sponsor when his primary partners Mars Inc. and M&M’s revoked their involvement in the sport in 2022. With that said, several fans opined that Busch leaving Joe Gibbs Racing was a conspiracy. However, Toyota Racing Development's President David Wilson suggested otherwise.

"I’ll say for those fans who are actually ignorant enough to suggest that this is some sort of a mastermind conspiracy to rid ourselves of Kyle Busch early, I would simply say go back to trying to find the edge of the flat earth. It’s absurd," Wilson said (via NBC Sports).

"Obviously, for Toyota, losing Kyle in a run through a championship is a massive setback," Wilson continued. "Kyle Busch is money in the playoffs… By losing him, we take a big hit. There’s zero upside. There’s zero upside. It’s just a crushing blow to our organization."

Nevertheless, there was a company at the time that could have saved Busch's ride at Joe Gibbs Racing. Then why did Toyota have to let go of him?

Kyle Busch revealed Joe Gibbs Racing did not try hard enough.

Oracle, known for sponsoring the famous Red Bull Formula 1 team, was one of the companies that Joe Gibbs Racing wanted to tie hands with. That would require Oracle to spend more money on top of its $500,000,000 investment in F1.

However, according to Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing did not try hard enough to sell him. Reflecting on the same, the two-time Cup Series champion told "The Athletic":

"Did JGR try hard enough to sell me? My answer to that is no," Busch said. "So I’m like, 'There’s no way they’re going to do a NASCAR deal. Not a chance.' So I told those guys, 'Look, you got to look elsewhere. You got to look outside,'".

Joe Gibbs Racing offered Busch to drive his car without a sponsorship, but Busch felt that it was not fair for JGR to put their money in their own car.

"I didn’t want Joe putting his own money into the program," Busch added.

Today, Busch is in his second full season with Richard Childress Racing. As of now, he sits 18th in the Cup Series standings with 440 points to his name. His next race is on August 11th at Richmond Raceway.