Report: No. 8 crew chief Randall Burnett confident Kyle Busch remains at Richard Childress Racing

There’s a lot of talk going on within the sport on the future of Kyle Busch and if he’s long for Richard Childress Racing.

As of right now, it appears that any talk of Busch jumping ship for a reunion with Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing is based in rumor and nothing more. Still, and with Silly Season in full swing, Busch will likely continue to face the questions about his future, especially if he continues to struggle.

But for those alongside him on his No. 8 team, they’re certainly planning on having him for the foreseeable future. Speaking with Danielle Trotta of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday, Busch’s crew chief, Randall Burnett, said he remains confident that Busch will remain with RCR. He added that amid their struggles this season, Busch has been heavily involved in looking to turn things around.

Randall Burnett chimes in on Kyle Busch’s status with RCR

“Yeah, I absolutely do,” Burnett said. “I feel like he’s a big part of this and a big part of the future of RCR. We spend a lot of time together, we talk about a lot of things. He’s very involved with the team and with the guys here at the shop. He rode back to the airport with us after our struggles at Iowa. He rode to the airport with us. And we all sat in there, myself, my engineers, my car chiefs and him. And we all talked about it on the way back to the airport after the other night about how we’re going to do better. Like what we need to do better and the things that we gotta work on.

“So, he’s very involved in it, and we take a lot away from what he says. He’s obviously one of the best for a reason. And we take a lot of that and put it into use, obviously. I think we’re gonna be in good shape with him for the next couple years here at RCR. And go forward from there.”

Kyle Busch outside playoff cutline at season midway point

After recording his second DNF of the season this past Sunday at Iowa, Busch now sits 31 points behind Bubba Wallace for the 16th and final playoff spot. He has now finished outside the top-10 in five consecutive races. Busch, after winning three races in his first 15 starts last season, is riding a 38-race losing streak, the longest of his career. He’s in jeopardy of failing to score a regular season win for the first time since 2004.

With the underwhelming results piling up, Busch has been asked in recent weeks if he’s interested in racing elsewhere as RCR continues to field non-competitive racecars. Busch didn’t exactly slam the door on the future, though he’s under contract with RCR for the 2025 campaign.

Busch’s focus is making RCR great again.

“I would say anything is possible, always,” Busch said. “Certainly, if I was welcomed, I would go back, if Hendrick welcomed me back, I’d go back. But right now, I’m at RCR with my group of guys and the deal I have right now in place. So, we’re trying to work and build this program and make RCR great again.”