“It’s Going to Be Hard” — RCR Addresses Kyle Busch’s Replacement and the Weight of a Loss That Echoes Dale Earnhardt

The racing goes on. It always does. But at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend, the hearts of everyone inside the garage are still carrying something heavier than a car setup or a race strategy.

Kyle Busch is gone. And the question that nobody at Richard Childress Racing has been ready to answer out loud is finally being asked.

Who comes next?

Speaking to reporters on Saturday in Nashville ahead of the Cracker Barrel 400, Austin Dillon — driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet and grandson of RCR owner Richard Childress — was careful not to get ahead of what is still a deeply raw situation. But he made one thing abundantly clear.

“Look, I think that’s a decision that will be made over time,” Dillon said. “But I know one thing — I’m excited for Austin Hill because I think he’s a dog. I’m ready to go to war with him and go out there, as my teammate, and battle with him. If there’s any questions about that, he’s qualified.”

Hill, 32, from Winston, Georgia, stepped into Busch’s car — now renumbered from No. 8 to No. 33 — following Kyle’s death on May 21 and will continue in that role for Sunday’s race. At Charlotte last weekend, Hill finished 27th in the Coca-Cola 600, a lap down in circumstances no driver could have fully prepared for.

His record in NASCAR’s lower series speaks for itself. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Hill has accumulated 15 wins and finished in the top six in points in each of the last four seasons. He also carries eight Truck Series victories. The Cup Series remains the next frontier — but Dillon, at least, believes the tools are there.

“Austin Hill is a grizzly bear, man,” Dillon said. “He doesn’t take any crap out there on the track. I’m excited to work with him and we’re going to do what we can to make everybody proud.”

A Team Carrying the Weight of History

What makes RCR’s situation particularly poignant is how familiar this grief feels for the organization. Twenty-five years ago, the team lost Dale Earnhardt — seven-time Cup Series champion and one of the most iconic figures the sport has ever produced — in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500. Dillon was just 10 years old.

Now, a quarter century later, he is watching his grandfather’s team navigate a loss that carries the same devastating weight.

“The longer I do this, the more I learn what the family aspect of RCR is,” Dillon said in his first public comments since Busch’s death. “It was obviously one of the toughest weeks of RCR’s history. Being a part of that from my side, really being able to understand what everybody’s going through — it was hard. And it’s going to be hard.”

Asked how Richard Childress himself is coping, Dillon chose his words carefully.

“Obviously, it’s been very hard for him. But he’s a very resilient person — he’s got that cowboy brand he likes to show everybody. But he’s also got a soft side. I think it’s been pretty wearing on him.”

Childress, 80, has not spoken publicly since Busch’s death. He is expected to address the media next weekend at Michigan ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400.

What Was Lost — And What Remains

Kyle Busch was in the fourth year of his tenure at RCR, having spent the previous 15 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing. Though his last Cup Series victory came in June 2023, he remained one of NASCAR’s most marketable and talented drivers — a two-time champion with 234 combined wins across the sport’s three national series, a record that stands alone in the sport’s history.

His contract was expiring at the end of the season. By all indications, RCR had been planning to discuss an extension.

Instead, the team finds itself doing what it did 25 years ago — figuring out how to keep racing after losing someone irreplaceable.

“Kyle Busch’s character would’ve wanted all of us to do what we could to get back to victory lane,” Dillon said. “We have a great opportunity at RCR to go back out there and make him proud.”

The No. 8 is retired. The No. 33 rolls on. And somewhere down the road, when the grief has settled enough to think clearly, a decision will be made.

For now, it is enough just to keep showing up.

Source: Compiled from various sources