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The future of Kyle Busch has been a hot topic throughout the 2022 Cup Series season. There are many possibilities, but Toyota Racing Development President David Wilson has made it clear that he doesn’t want to “race against a pissed off” two-time champion.
Wilson made the comments ahead of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He made himself available to media members on August 27 and addressed Busch’s future. Wilson explained that there is only so much that TRD can do considering that they don’t control the teams or drivers. However, he certainly doesn’t want to see Busch win for another manufacturer.
“Within the reasonable bounds of a manufacturer in the sport, we are doing what we can to try to keep Kyle in our family,” Wilson explained to the gathered media members, video courtesy of NBC Sports’ Dustin Long. “This is not just an offensive consideration. I don’t want to race against a pissed-off Kyle Busch. Whenever he lands he’s going to do some damage.”
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To add to the point, Wilson explained that Busch is the “60 home run” hitter for Toyota Racing Development. He is the man that has delivered two championships during his time working with the company, and Wilson would like to see that relationship continue.
Toyota Is Not Out of It Just Yet
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GettyKyle Busch has delivered numerous wins for TRD.
There has been speculation about Busch’s future and whether he will depart the Toyota Racing Development family after the 2022 season comes to a close. No one knows for certain what will happen, but Wilson made it clear that he believes TRD is still in contention.
With TRD being so vocal about wanting to keep Busch in the family, there have been questions about whether the manufacturer could just foot the bill to accomplish this goal. This is not a possibility. As Wilson explained, TRD is not the puppeteer that controls the teams or the drivers.
“Joe Gibbs Racing has a contract with the driver,” Wilson added. “We do relationships with every one of our drivers. It’s called a personal services agreement. That is because they are all ambassadors for us. It is not our role as a manufacturer to backstop, that’s not what we do.”
Wilson Has Remained Vocal About Busch’s Future
The trip to Daytona International Speedway is not the first time that Wilson has addressed Busch’s future during the 2022 season. He also made comments about the possibility of separation following the trip to Kansas Speedway.
“We’ve been very close to Kyle for years and years and years, and some of that relationship, to be candid, has been born through trials that we’ve gone through together and through controversy that we’ve gone through together,” Wilson explained on May 17, transcript via NASCAR Media. “We’ve had some really tough times with Kyle Busch but we also are sitting on two championships and in celebrating recently our 1,500 starts across the three national series.”
Wilson continued and explained that Busch has accounted for 36% of TRD’s total wins across the three national NASCAR series. This is the most by a large amount, and it shows how crucial Rowdy has been to the manufacturer’s success.
Based on these stats, as well as the personal relationship, there is a lot riding on the line for TRD. Wilson explained that any scenario involving Busch not retiring with Toyota or Joe Gibbs Racing would be a “monstrous disappointment.”
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