Richard Childress Speaks Out for First Time Since Death of Kyle Busch

During a media availability at Michigan International Speedway, Richard Childress spoke publicly for the first time since the death of Kyle Busch late in May. There were a few things that Childress shared with the media, including Busch's would-be 2027 plans, who is racing the No. 33 car the rest of the season, and more.

Richard Childress Racing has lost two all-time greats since the turn of the century. It is yet another difficult time for RCR and the RCR family, not to mention the impact on the Busch family during this tragedy.

Childress thanked the media first during his comments.

"First off, I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all the media, and the ones who aren't even here today, for all of your support through this unbelievable challenge that we're all facing, losing Kyle Busch at such a young age, and so unexpected for all of us," Childress said in his opening statement. "But I just wanted to look around the room and thank so many of you that's been friends and supported the Busch family; Brexton, Lennix, Samantha, the whole Busch family, and for RCR supporting us in these challenging times.

"Second, the hardest part of this is, today, we were going to be in here, Kyle was going to be with me and we were going to announce that he was coming back in 27 and drive for RCR. And we wanted to do it up here at Michigan with our GM friends, with Chevrolet, and it didn't happen. This is a different type of media availability instead of a press conference that he was coming back and race for us in 27."

An incredibly difficult time for RCR. Childress later confirmed in the press conference that Austin Hill will race in the No. 33 car for the rest of the 2026 Cup Series season. There has been no update on who will race full-time for RCR in that car for the 2027 season.

Earlier this week, Samantha Busch posted to social media for the first time since her husband's death. She thanked everyone for the support the family has received in the wake of this horrible tragedy.

The NASCAR Cup Series is racing at Michigan International Speedway this Sunday. It will be the third race weekend since Busch died, just before the Coca-Cola 600.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 9:54 AM.