Richard Childress Has Demand For NASCAR Hall Of Fame After Kyle Busch's Death

Not everyone spoke out in the first few days of Kyle Busch's tragic passing at the end of last month. But after taking some time to gather all of his thoughts, Busch's boss and friend Richard Childress finally broke his silence.

The Richard Childress Racing owner addressed the media on Saturday afternoon to ahead of Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400. He had initially planned to announce that Busch would be returning to the team for the 2027 NASCAR Cup season, but after his passing, he used the moment to speak about the impact the two-time champion had on the sport and himself.

"I haven't slept very good lately," Childress admitted. "I'll leave it at that."

Childress reiterated his team's previous announcement that Busch's No. 8 car would be informally retired and switch to No. 33 as their main number. It will be reserved exclusively for Busch's 11-year-old son Brexton, should he ever choose to go into NASCAR racing.

"We're saving that stylized eight for him," Childress said. "For his future if he wants to run it."

Busch had made it clear through the years that he wanted to one day race against his son in the NASCAR Truck Series.

"Knowing his plans and what he had in the future for him and Brexton," Childress said. "That is probably the toughest part of this whole thing."

"Put him in right away."

Childress also had a message for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He called on the organization to waive their usual waiting period for induction and fast-track Busch into immortality as soon as possible.

"He'll go down as one of the greatest race car drivers that's ever been," Childress said. "Put him in right away."

He's hardly the first person to make that suggestion. Fans and even other NASCAR people have openly called for the Hall of Fame to do the same.

Had Busch been able to retire on his own terms, fans might have been a little more willing to wait until his inevitable induction into the Hall of Fame. But the fact that he passed away the way that he did does make it more likely that the rules will be waived.

Will Busch get into the Hall of Fame early?

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 11:31 AM.