RCR labels Kyle Busch as the ‘gold standard’

Busch has already won three races with RCR this season.

RCR labels Kyle Busch as the ‘gold standard’

Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

Kyle Busch ended his one-and-a-half-decade partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the 2023 season to join Chevy team Richard Childress Racing. The two-time Cup champion’s move to RCR came with its bag of expectations as he is tasked with leading RCR to their seventh Cup title. RCR’s  Andy Petree has now come forth, claiming the champion driver is a gold standard for them.

Since Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s triumphs with them, no other driver has brought the gold home for Richard Childress’ team. Their most promising talent, Kevin Harvick, had to move to another team to secure the Cup title following a decade-long drought. Now,  with Busch and the impressive performance gain following the introduction of Next-Gen cars, RCR is chasing past glory.

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While talking about the driver’s RCR move and integration into the team, Andy Petree, RCR’s vice president of competition, had nothing but praise. He told The Athletic, “He’s like the gold standard. If you’re not at the top, you have work to do because it’s the car, not the driver.”

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Petree claimed Busch fits into their culture as he is a hard-nosed racer who races everywhere. He claimed that most often, people don’t even give him credit for being as smart as he is, and he added that this sharpness made him quickly adapt to the team and be successful from the start of the season.

“Oh yeah, he fits that (culture) very well. He is a hard-nosed racer. He races everything. He and his son, Brexton…And he works on the car. I mean, he’s really smart, and people don’t realize how smart he is; he’s a very intelligent guy. He thinks things through, very sharp, and quickly picks up on things. And I think that’s one reason he’s so successful,” Petree said,

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Crew chief Randal Burnett says Kyle Busch always keeps him on his toes

Kyle Busch Martinsville
Kyle Busch at Martinsville (Credits: @RCR/Twitter)

Randal Burnett and Busch, so far, have had an amazing season together. They have won three races so far and, despite a late-season slump, have been contenders for a win more often. They now have nine more races left to secure the title and are still among the front-runners.

For Burnett, the success came with a huge demand for excellence from Busch, as an elite driver like him needs his crew to up their game when needed. He said, “He definitely keeps me on my toes, and I feel like he has made me a better crew chief. And I think anybody you talk to that’s worked with him will tell you the same thing.”

The No:8 crew boss pointed out that Busch is a detail-oriented driver who has brought in many new ideas to the team. He said, “He’s very detail-oriented. He brought a lot of new ideas on just how to be better organized, be better prepared going from track to track to track.”

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