It looks like Kyle Busch isn’t going to make his Joe Gibbs Racing return, despite being open to a move to his former team. With the 15-year-long partnership between him and the team, it would’ve only made sense for him, in a way. Moreover, his eyes certainly would have lit up when Martin Truex Jr announced his retirement from Cup racing at the end of the 2024 season. But Rowdy’s hopes for a JGR return turned sour when the team announced Chase Briscoe as their new driver.

Moreover, team owner Joe Gibbs shut down any further speculations of Busch returning to JGR by stating his plans for No. 18. It was expected that JGR would bring back the #18 car for its new driver, Briscoe, but they decided to stick with No. 19. While Coach wasn’t sure about what he would do with No. 18, he admitted that it could be taken up by his grandson, Ty Gibbs, in the near future.

The #18 JGR car’ comeback to the Cup Series is an open possibility

Since Kyle Busch left the team in 2022, the No. 18 has been kept in the closet. The #18 is more of the flagship number and team for JGR, as it was the organization’s first number with Dale Jarrett taking the wheel behind the car at the 1992 Daytona 500. With Bobby Labonte, the 18-car brought home the first championship in 2000.

This number would then exchange hands with multiple drivers, but none of them left a legacy with it as Busch did. He went on to win two championships with the number in 2015 and 2019. Therefore, with Briscoe seen as the new young driver looking to lead the team, perhaps it was the right time to mark the return of the 18 car. But it was not meant to be.

“We’ve always had talks about stuff like that, but I don’t think it fits in this situation because we’re 19 now and Johnny loves it, you know, so that has a big influence to it.” Joe Gibbs told Bob Pockrass.

When asked if Ty Gibbs could carry on the No. 18 legacy, he added, “I think somewhere in the future I guess we would, but that one I haven’t thought through, I’ll put that way.”

Making a switch from struggling Stewart Haas Racing to one of the premier teams in NASCAR is a big change for Briscoe. While a move to JGR has its perks, the driver will be under constant pressure to deliver the wins.

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Chase Briscoe excited to embark on a new challenge

The 29-year-old driver was perhaps the better pick from the options JGR had to choose from. They weren’t ready to bank on the young talent, as the #19 team is competitive. All they needed was an experienced guy who was still young and could lead the charge for the team. This is where Briscoe’s addition to the team made sense for the time being.

Despite a promising show with nine wins in the Xfinity Series with SHR, the driver somehow hasn’t been able to deliver it on the Cup level. Well, the SHR cars certainly weren’t the best in terms of competing for the win. But now that he will be able to jump into a race-contending car, every weekend just the top 10 runs won’t cut it.

Acknowledging the challenge, Briscoe stated, “I’ve been able to win at the Cup level. From a consistency standpoint, 100 percent, it’s not been there. It’s not, and there’s no excuse for that. But I do think from a consistency standpoint, it’s going to be way easier over here to be consistent just week in and week out; their cars are extremely fast. At our place, we’ve been more hit-and-miss.” The driver was quoted saying this via FOX Sports.

It can be said that JGR has very much moved on from the days of Kyle Busch and is now looking towards the future.