INDIANAPOLIS – Kyle Busch’s future remains uncertain as he discussed his contract for next season– or lack of one – when he met with media outside the NASCAR hauler inside Gasoline Alley of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
This is the final year of Busch’s contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. M&M Mars announced earlier this year it was concluding its long-term sponsorship of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota.
Unfortunately, neither JGR nor Busch have been able to find a sponsor, which means as of now the driver does not have an agreement with any Cup team in 2023.
“Nope,” Busch said when asked. “Nothing really right now.”
Busch indicated he may accept a deal below his market value to remain active in the NASCAR Cup Series next season. Busch remains one of NASCAR’s all-time greats. He has 60 career Cup Series victories and two Cup Series championships, a record 102 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and the 2009 series championship, and 62 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships.
That is an astounding 224 combined victories in NASCAR three national touring series.
“I don’t think money has ever been the objective or the issue,” Busch said. “Obviously, I know where the sport’s landscape is. I know what’s happening. The talk from my side was that I know there need to be concessions made and to race for under my market value.
“And I’ve accepted that. And have told everybody that. I’m trying to see where all that lies.”
Busch confirmed that he is talking to someone “every week.” He prefers to stay with JGR but would be willing to move to another team if necessary.
“I’d say no more or less,” Busch said. “They haven’t necessarily put a drop-dead date on it for when the unicorn shows up if something happens. I don’t have a (deadline) now at this particular moment.
“I’ve already admitted I’m willing to take concessions. I feel like the market is different than what it was years ago. And willing to race for under my market value. Whatever that comes to be, obviously it’s a negotiation and figuring out where I go, what the long-term play is, what the short-term play is, and hopefully not being able to go through this again?
Busch is willing to get creative, such as accepting a “bridge deal” for one year and then sign a longer deal in 2023.
“Anything’s on the table,” he said. “We’re talking ’23 options, we’re talking ’24 options. We’re talking long term. Everybody, everything. The white board is quite full.
“It’s tough. You’ve got to have sponsorship in this sport to be able to go forward. It’s not as simple as being a basketball player and being a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James or something like that and being a really good player and the team losing a sponsor and then saying, “OK, Michael and LeBron, we have to let you go because we can’t afford you.’
“You have to have some sponsorship on this car. Unfortunately, there’s not that unicorn. There’s not that big 20-million-dollar number out there. I’d like to be able to piece it together, but I haven’t heard much on that yet, either.”
One thing that may work in Busch’s favor is his Toyota Truck deal at Kyle Busch Motorsports. It’s one of Toyota’s flagship teams in the Camping World Truck Series.
“It certainly is,” Busch said. “I’d like to think that it does. But also, could be a burden and a little bit of a headache, where some other teams you talk to, they don’t want to carry the burden of that. They don’t want to have anything to do with it. That’s a frustration, too.
“Like I said last week, I’ll say it again, there are 50 families over there that are important to me that we keep that thing going as best that we possibly can. Obviously, I have to look out for myself and my family’s future but also all of them.
“There are a lot of sleepless nights.
“We’ve just been putting our heads down in the books to try to keep working and keep going at what we know we’re good at it. We have not spoken about the uncertainties.”
Negotiating contracts in a good economic climate can be a frustrating process, but Busch is attempting to land a deal as the United States economy borders on the brink of a recession.
With stock market values diminishing, companies have to scale back on budgets, making it difficult to invest $20 million in a NASCAR team.
“Obviously it’s a mess right now,” Busch said. “Just trying to sort through it all the best I can. There’s a lot of factors that go into this, and I really don’t want to be going through this. My first option. My first goal. My first set is to be with Joe Gibbs Racing and stay at Toyota and have nothing change. But that unicorn hasn’t fallen out of the sky for $20 million bucks or whatever it is, and I don’t think it needs to be that number. Because obviously there’s a number in that that pays a driver, and I’ve already said I’m willing to take concessions and race for under my market value and go forward in being able to stay in the seat that I’ve made home for the last 15 years.
“I don’t think it’s changed back and forth. If you read the last 3-4 weeks of quotes from me, I’ve said and will continue to say my first goal is to stay at Joe Gibbs Racing. If the musical chairs music stops, and I’m still standing and don’t have a seat, I’m screwed, so I have to make sure I continue to talk and evaluate each place, each situation to find something.”
Here is what sets Busch’s dilemma apart from other NASCAR drivers who may be looking for a ride next season.
He is currently the only multiple champion in the series that does not have a contract.
“I hate to make comparisons, but somebody told me a week or so ago, it would be like Dale Earnhardt in 1998, three or four years winning his last championship, being on the free market and not having a ride,” Busch said. “That just sounds crazy. So, I don’t know what to do, how to fix it. It’s the unicorn. The sponsorship you need to go forward. That’s just where it’s at.
“Hoping we can find something.
“I’ve talked to so many people, it’s a cluster. Somebody said maybe you should go and do the Larson tour. Go run Late Models, dirt cars, IMSA, IndyCar. And it’s like Oh my God. That just seems to add a new element to everything. And that’s probably the farthest down on my list that I’d entertain but certainly wouldn’t leave it out.”