November of 2022 was one strange month for the NASCAR community. No one expected to see Kyle Busch leave Joe Gibbs Racing, a team he drove for about one and a half decades, and get behind a Richard Childress Racing car. But from what the whole saga around Kyle Busch suggests, maybe it was time for the two parties to go their ways. Still, there is no bad blood, despite Joey Gibbs not being able to retain Rowdy due to sponsorship troubles. Or so we thought!

Busch has been respectful to the JGR team for the memorable moments shared with them and recalls those every now and then. But there is one aspect where Joe Gibbs couldn’t satisfy the 38-year-old.

Speaking to the media ahead of the New Hampshire, he talked about the one thing that Richard Childress brought to the table to lure him.

Kyle Busch says Richard Childress provided him with something JGR couldn’t

The major reason for Busch’s departure was the unavailability of a sponsor. After 15 years in the team, a two-time champion was left searching for a sponsor. The turning point, in this case, was the decision by long-time partner M&M to leave NASCAR altogether. That came as a big surprise, considering their partnership was quite special and even led Kyle Busch to get the name ‘The Candyman’.

Fast forward to today, with three wins this season, Busch has already shown reasons for JGR to regret missing out on a contract extension. In a press conference ahead of New Hampshire, he revealed the differences between his long tenure for Joe Gibbs Racing and his current one for Richard Childress.

“Last year, you said you tried to put things behind you during a race weekend. But now that you don’t have to worry about your future, when you look from this year to last year, is it much different as far as just how you feel at the race track?” asked a media correspondent.

“Yeah, I mean I would say having job security is always a great thing, right?” said Busch, pointing out the lack of initiative from the Toyota team to find a sponsor for him.

“So anytime you’re not sure what’s going on, you’re always thinking about that, as well as thinking about working on how to make yourself be better and your car go faster and everything like that. Only having one of those things to think about or work on gives you double the amount of time to be able to focus on that. It’s nice to just be a little bit more chill.”

Read More: Underconfident Kyle Busch Exposes Richard Childress Racing’s “Achilles Heel”

The events that led to the breakup of an iconic duo

Ever since M&M’s announced that they will be opting out of sponsoring one of the best-ever teams in the sport, all the onus was on the team to find a sponsor for Kyle. But surprisingly, JGR were comfortable allowing their best driver to switch to Chevy. Busch joined a team with a great history, as they housed one of the greats, Dale Earnhardt.

The team sponsors of RCR were essential in moving forward with the negotiations. Showing their interest in working with one of the most skilled drivers in the Cup, everything points to a successful move for the team. This was one of the most confusing situations in the whole saga. It was a thing of mystery that sponsors were looking forward to Busch in the #18 but the same was the problem at his previous team.

This made Busch join JGR’s direct rivals, and the move certainly has paid off. The wins at Gateway, Talladega, and California have cemented his place in the playoffs. And he also has 7 top 5s to cap it off as well. Toyota will be looking forward to Busch’s future success. JGR replaced Busch with Mr. Gibbs’ grandson Ty Gibbs, who also has shown promise to possibly fill the void Rowdy left.

Watch This Story: HMS Legend Destroys Bubba Wallace After Disappointing Michael Jordan At Chicago