The seat now belongs to Austin Hill.
Richard Childress Racing introduced Monday, Aug. 24 that Hill will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet – previously Kyle Busch’s No. 8 experience – full-time within the 2027 NASCAR Cup Collection season.
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Hill has crammed Busch’s seat at RCR because the two-time champion tragically died on Might 21 on account of issues from sepsis attributable to presumed bacterial pneumonia, first getting behind the wheel of the renumbered Chevrolet on the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.
It is unclear how lengthy Hill’s Cup Collection take care of RCR runs for, as particulars of the contract weren’t revealed by the staff.
“Each race automobile driver goals of competing full time within the NASCAR Cup Collection, and to have that chance with RCR is one thing I do not take with no consideration,” Hill mentioned in a press release. “I’ve discovered a lot this yr about what it takes to compete at this degree, and I am excited to take the whole lot I’ve discovered throughout my time at RCR and apply it to this subsequent chapter. I need to do the whole lot I can to assist this group proceed shifting ahead. I am excited for what’s forward and able to get to work.”
Hill has a complete of 30 begins within the Cup Collection since 2022, together with 13 within the No. 33 for RCR this season. His finest end on the prime degree of NASCAR got here final season on the Chicago Avenue Course, the place he positioned ninth. This season, Hill hasn’t had a top-15 end and has additionally registered three DNFs.
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Regardless of a few of his struggles on the Cup degree this season, Hill has confirmed to be an completed driver within the Craftsman Truck Collection and second-tier O’Reilly Auto Components Collection. Hill received the common season title in vans in 2020 and the common season title within the O’Reilly Collection in 2023. He is in seventh place in O’Reilly this season with a pair of wins – together with one at Naval Base Coronado – and is locked into the postseason Chase discipline.
In all, Hill has 16 wins within the O’Reilly Collection and eight victories within the Truck Collection. The native of Winston, Georgia climbed the ranks of racing, beginning in Legends and bandoleros earlier than shifting as much as the Okay&N Professional Collection and successful 4 races.
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates successful the Straight Discuss Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Pictures)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates successful the Straight Discuss Wi-fi 500 at Phoenix Raceway.
(Meg Oliphant, Getty Pictures)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
March 1: Tyler Reddick celebrates successful the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
(Logan Riely, Getty Pictures)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates successful the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
(Mady Mertens, Imagn Pictures)
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See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners
Feb. 15: Tyler Reddick celebrates along with his household and crew after successful the 68th working of the Daytona 500 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
(Mike Watters, Imagn Pictures)
Hill has developed a repute for being top-of-the-line drivers at drafting-style tracks, piling up 11 wins within the O’Reilly Collection on these speedways. That is essentially the most by a single driver within the collection, surpassing the earlier report of eight wins at drafting tracks co-held by Corridor of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart.
“Austin Hill is a gifted race automobile driver and his continued progress, work ethic and success throughout a number of ranges of NASCAR competitors have positioned him for his subsequent step with RCR,” Richard Childress mentioned in a press release. “He is put an amazing quantity of effort into his profession, particularly this yr with the whole lot he is taken on. We have watched Austin develop as a driver and as an individual, and we’re proud to have him proceed that progress with RCR within the NASCAR Cup Collection.”
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The 32-year-old has additionally been often called a driver that is been troublesome to go. Within the Cup Collection this season, he clashed with street course ace Shane van Gisbergen a number of occasions. Each had been referred to as to the NASCAR hauler earlier than the second Atlanta race, when issues seemingly reached a boiling level.
“Austin Hill is a grizzly bear, man. He would not take any crap on the market on the monitor,” Austin Dillon, Hill’s RCR teammate and Childress’ grandson, mentioned earlier this season. “I am excited for Austin Hill as a result of I believe he is a canine. I am able to go to warfare with him and go on the market, as my teammate, and battle with him. If there’s any questions on that, he is certified.”
As a result of Hill can be racing full-time within the Cup Collection in 2027, he is not going to be eligible to race full-time within the O’Reilly Auto Components Collection. That leaves RCR with two open rides within the second-tier collection, Hill’s No. 21 and Jesse Love’s No. 2. Love can even transfer to the Cup Collection full-time subsequent season, driving the No. 21 Ford for Wooden Brothers.
RCR has been racing in NASCAR for greater than 50 years. Earnhardt received six of his seven championships with the staff.
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The sudden demise of Busch shook NASCAR in a method that it maybe hasn’t skilled since Dale Earnhardt died in a crash on the 2001 Daytona 500. When Earnhardt died, Kevin Harvick changed him the subsequent week at Rockingham and went on to have a Corridor of Fame profession.
Busch was in his fourth season driving for RCR after spending the earlier 15 years of his profession with Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch is NASCAR’s all-time winningest driver with 234 mixed wins throughout the three nationwide touring circuits.
