The 2022 season is over. And the ending comes with another sad reality. Phoenix was the last time Kyle Busch will sit in the #18 car. It seems like their 15-year-long relationship has come to an unfortunate end. However, one new thing that came to light is the fact that their relationship frayed way earlier.

Earlier than any of us ever expected.

As sad as it is, this is the end of an era. One of the most glorious times in NASCAR history. The harsh reality is that we will never see another yellow #18 with the iconic M&M’s livery, driver by one of the most infamously savage drivers ever.

Interestingly enough, Busch revealed the relationship between him and JGR was never the same ever since he and his former crew chief, Adam Stevens split. In fact, that’s the same crew chief who brought him the Cup Series Championship in 2015 and 2019. But their breakup happened in 2020.

“Ever since the breakup with Adam (Stevens), it’s just not been the same,” Busch said. “We were Jimmie and Chad. We had that capability. Try to form that again with a new group, and it was never the same, but we were successful. We won some races. We had legitimate shots to win a hell of a lot more races this year than we got. But with this new car, man, you’ve got to be on top of it all the time.”

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But this is also the start of a new era, as Busch gets ready to drive the #8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Of course, sponsored by 3CHI. So, maybe it’s going from one candy brand to another, just now he’s promoting more adult candies. Did Brexton ever ask his dad about his new sponsor? How would that conversation go?

Kyle Busch couldn’t look at his car

Busch’s departure was surely emotional for everyone. But of course, no one was as heartbroken as the driver himself. He has been quite vocal about how it hurt him when the deal just fell despite 15 years of loyalty. But it got really bad at Phoenix.

The two-time champion even confessed, “I couldn’t even look at my car to begin with,”, “because it was the last time I’m gonna see it.”

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Would you like to see him return to JGR? Let us know in the comments.