Richard Childress Racing suspends No. 8 after Kyle Busch death
Richard Childress Racing has suspended use of the No. 8 car following the death of driver Kyle Busch. The team will instead field the No. 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and future events. The No. 8 has been reserved for Busch's son Brexton when he is ready to compete in NASCAR.
Busch joined Richard Childress Racing in 2023 after 15 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing. The No. 8 became closely identified with him during his time at the organization. Busch died after collapsing in a race simulator; he had been scheduled to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 but did not start the event.
Richard Childress Racing previously took similar action after the death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt's No. 3 was withdrawn and replaced by the No. 29 before returning to competition in 2014 with driver Austin Dillon. The current decision follows the same pattern of holding the number out of service.
The team stated that no driver can carry the No. 8 forward at the level Busch achieved. The number remains available for Brexton Busch when he enters NASCAR competition. No timeline for that step has been announced.
