Kyle Busch Spills the Beans on How Joe Gibbs and Kyle Larson Ruined His “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered” Indy 500 Deal

RCR veteran Kyle Busch recalled the two Indy 500 deal he has signed that collapsed because of reason beyond his control.

Kyle Busch Spills the Beans on How Joe Gibbs and Kyle Larson Ruined His “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered” Indy 500 Deal

Joe Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)

Two times NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has been dreaming of a double duty attempt for years. But he hasn’t been able to accomplish the dream his brother Kurt Busch and one of his biggest rivals Kyle Larson has been able to do. What makes it more painful is the fact that the veteran had a signed deal to race in the event twice.

The first opportunity came in 2017, when Kyle Busch was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has everything sorted including a contract, with his long-time sponsor M&M’s support. But in his appearance on ex-teammate Denny Hamlin’s podcast, Actions Detrimental, he revealed that his boss Joe Gibbs said no, and he had to quit.

I had an opportunity done, sealed, signed, delivered. … 2017, I had it. It was all done. M&M’s was gonna do it. Guess who said no? (Joe Gibbs).

Kyle Busch said via Actions Detrimental.

The second opportunity came in 2024, where he had a deal signed with Arrow McLaren before Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle Larson came in the picture. McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown wanted the sponsor to buy a car, instead of the usual sponsorship rule and it wasn’t something Kyle Busch’s partners were willing to do.

No, I had it signed, sealed, and delivered again and then Larson took it. Yes, I won’t release the sponsor but I had a sponsor talking to Zac Brown, the deal was done, and we were about ready to go to contract and Zac Brown was like, ‘Well, hey,’ told the sponsor, he was like, ‘Hey, I need you to buy the car.’

Kyle Busch asserted.

So why was McLaren making such a unique demand about the NASCAR veteran racing in Indy 500. Well, it all had to do with finance, as they didn’t want to spend extra on an inexperienced open wheel racer.  They wanted the sponsor to bear the cost, if Busch wrecks his car. It seems to be an effort make a good profit from the deal.

And the sponsor was like, ‘Why do I want to buy the car? I don’t want to buy the car, I don’t need the car, I want to sponsor the car. I’m sponsoring Kyle, he’s going to drive the car. I don’t want to buy the car.’ [Brown said] ‘In case he wrecks the tub, we want you to buy the tub.’

Kyle Busch added.

Kyle Busch explains how he learned about the Kyle Larson deal

Unlike Buch sponsor, Kyle Larson had the big boss backing him as Hendrick Motorsports brought the car for two years to race under his own brand. Busch’s team wasn’t willing to give a multi-year contract anyway, so McLaren chose the season which was good for them and the RCR veteran was left stranded.

Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch
Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

Well, it wasn’t two weeks later that then I’m talking to this sponsor guy, and he was like, ‘Yeah, I guess that we’re too late anyways now that the opportunity’s closed because Larson got it.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean Larson got it?’ Then I found out Larson signed a two-year deal, and we were only going to do a one-year deal.

Kyle Busch said.

Kyle Larson’s maiden attempt at Indy 500 in 2024 with McLaren ended in a P18 finish, with his securing the rookie of the year title. He is set to make a second start this season, which probably will be his last for sometimes.

Kyle Busch on the other hand will continue his search for an opportunity as he isn’t someone who is going to give. He just has to find the right team-sponsor combination, after getting the green flag from Richard Childress. It would be interesting to see how long it would take him to do it.

Also Read: Kyle Larson Reveals How to Fix NASCAR’s ‘Stale Next-Gen Era Racing Product’