While Kyle Busch said that he'd be willing to make "concessions" regarding negotiations with Joe Gibbs Racing to stick around for 2023, the 37-year-old NASCAR vet is still open to taking his talents elsewhere. Busch hasn't revealed any early favorites just yet, but if Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick had anything to say about it, the Las Vegas native would roll the dice and join the guys over at SHR.
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"I'd hire Kyle Busch today, because he'd have a great impact on the performance of our team, and just the urgency to do some things better," Harvick said, according to NASCAR.com.
Stewart-Haas Racing, which is co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, currently fields Harvick, Aric Almirola, Chase Briscoe, and Cole Custer. Back in January, Almirola announced his intent to retire at the end of the 2022 season (though he's since waffled on calling it quits), so there could be an open spot for Busch if he really was looking to jump ship from JGR. Harvick insists that he hasn't heard anything regarding SHR's interest in Busch, and despite his past beefs with the two-time champ (Harvick says that he gets along great with Busch today), Harvick does see the immense value in having Busch as a teammate.
"There's no way that Kyle Busch doesn't have a lot of options," Harvick said. "I know there's a lot of things that go on around Kyle. But in the end, Kyle is still one of the best that's ever come through this garage. So there's a lot of teams out there that can say that they've probably never had one of those types of drivers."
"You can literally rebuild a whole organization, if somebody took the chance that hasn't had one of those types of drivers. With the right circumstances, you can rebuild a whole organization just off of his pure talent."
What Is Kyle Busch's Future With Joe Gibbs Racing?
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Kyle Busch has no doubt been a crucial part of the success of both Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota in NASCAR over the years. Not only does he have two Cup titles and nearly 60 wins for the team and the manufacturer, but his Kyle Busch Motorsports team in the Truck Series runs drivers who are part of the Toyota development program. But, with Mars ending its longtime partnership of Busch's No. 18 car and JGR struggling to negotiate a contract extension, his future is less than certain.
During an interview last Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch said that he was willing to make "concessions" during the negotiations process and also made it clear that he wasn't "asking for the sky on salary."
"I don't think money has ever been the objective or ever been in 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 needs to be concessions made to race for under my market value.
"I've accepted that and told everybody that and just trying to see where all that lies."
Aside from Stewart-Haas Racing, there are a few other teams with the monetary means and fielding availability to find Busch a Cup Series car, namely 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, Kaulig Racing, and Team Penske. While Busch is certainly looking out for himself in his ongoing 2023 negotiations, he does remain committed to making things work with his longtime team at Joe Gibbs Racing.
"My first goal is to stay at Joe Gibbs Racing," Busch said. "If the musical chairs music stops and I'm still standing and I don't have a seat, I'm screwed. So I have to make sure I continue to talk and evaluate each place and each situation to find something."
