Kyle Busch’s Cup Future Could Impact The Truck Series

We all know that the biggest domino is still yet to fall in the NASCAR Cup Series silly season. With Kyle Busch’s contract up in the air due to sponsorship, there has been obvious talk about where the two-time Cup Series champion will go, should he not return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023.

But one small detail that many within the racing industry need to keep in mind when talking about Kyle Busch is how his future will impact a series he isn’t even racing in.

Busch’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, is fully backed by Toyota Racing Development. For now. But should Busch find himself with a team that isn’t Toyota, one of the biggest manufacturers in the sport today will suddenly be in trouble with their development program.

One team that Busch has been linked to is Stewart-Haas Racing, a Ford team. Ford’s development program is very thin compared to that of Toyota or Chevy. It has David Gilliland Racing, but none of its drivers seem ready to move up yet. Then there’s Front Row Motorsports, who should probably begin the process of looking for a new driver now in the event that Zane Smith decides to move up, especially following his promising Cup debut with RFK Racing at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Ford also has Stewart-Haas Racing’s Xfinity Series program that only runs Riley Herbst (a former KBM and Toyota development driver). Other than that — that’s it. Ford has no other teams, which means very limited seats for driver development.

Then there’s the Chevrolet camp, which hosts the likes of GMS Racing, Niece Motorsports and Hilgemann-McAnally Racing. I’d also throw in Spire Motorsports’ part-time team as they seem to bring fast trucks to the track. It has a host of teams in the Xfinity Series, namely Richard Childress Racing and JR Motorsports, but its Truck development might be a step behind Toyota’s as well.

There are several Kyle Busch Motorsports alumni in NASCAR’s top-three series, including:

Erik Jones
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Harrison Burton
Todd Gilliland
Noah Gragson
Daniel Suarez
Bubba Wallace

These are just a few names that have gone through KBM at some point in their career to make it to where they are now. While a lot of them are no longer with Toyota, they got their big break through the Toyota camp.

So what does the landscape of the Truck Series look like if Kyle Busch and Toyota part ways? Well, first, and probably most obvious, either Ford or Chevy would get a huge boost…