RCR renumbers to No. 33, will run car while No. 8 is reserved

Richard Childress Racing announced it would suspend use of Kyle Busch’s No. 8 car number following the driver’s sudden death at age 41 and would renumber the team’s entry to No. 33 beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. RCR said Busch played a major role in creating the modern stylized No. 8 and that the scheme had become closely associated with him. “No one can carry it forward to the level that he did,” the team said, and it framed the renumbering as both an immediate competitive decision and a gesture to preserve Busch’s legacy.

Austin Hill was slated to drive RCR’s temporarily renumbered No. 33 in the Coca-Cola 600, and the team said it will continue running the No. 33 beyond that event. RCR has not named a permanent full-time driver for the renumbered car and said the move affects NASCAR entry logistics and team branding. The organization said it would reserve the No. 8 for Busch’s 11-year-old son, Brexton, making the number available when Brexton is ready to race, and provided no timetable for when that might occur. RCR compared its approach to how it handled the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s 2001 death, when it shelved the No. 3 and later returned it with Austin Dillon, and said it will evaluate next steps while honoring Kyle Busch’s legacy.