In the wake of the tragic death of Cup Series champion Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing has announced that O’Reilly Auto Pars Series driver Austin Hill will take over the driving duties this weekend for the Coca Cola 600 and instead of the eight car, Hill will be in the 33 car.
RCR has not announced a replacement driver for the second RCR car past this weekend.
Team owner Richard Childress has announced that the number 33 will be used for the foreseeable future; adding that the number eight is being reserved for Brexton Busch whenever he moves up to NASCAR. Brexton turned eleven on May 18.
Childress spoke on his decision saying, “Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized number eight and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The number eight is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”
Kyle Busch died May 21 after being hospitalized for what is described as a “severe illness” at the age of 41. He leaves behind a wife – Samantha – and two children – eleven year old Brexton and four year old Lennix.
In 2001 after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr, Childress decided to retire the iconic number three car and replaced it with the number 29 which is the car Kevin Harvick drove.