"It could have been fixed" - When Kyle Busch reflected on Rick Hendrick's decision to drop him after a long discussion with Jeff Gordon
Three years ago, NASCAR driver Kyle Busch talked about his departure from Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2007 season.
Busch started in the Cup Series at his hometown track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the No. 84 Chevy for Hendrick in 2004. He made six starts in his first year and drove full-time for the team from 2005 to 2007.
In a 2021 interview with Graham Bensinger, Busch shared that poor communication played a big role in Rick Hendrick's decision to drop him.
"I had a sit down with Jeff Gordon for an hour... I would say that that conversation came off more as if it was 51 to 49 percent —like 51 percent Kyle's unhappy here. However, it came off to him; well, that was the message delivered to Rick, right? So, that’s why Rick said what Rick said. Um, but it could have been fixed; like it wasn't a relationship to terminate, but it ended up happening," Kyle Busch said (01:15).
Hendrick believed Busch was unhappy and stated he should have talked to him more. However, Busch felt uncomfortable talking to Rick and had a good relationship with his son, Ricky.
After Ricky died in a plane crash in 2004, Busch's communication with the team fell apart.
"I'm 18, right? So, talking to Rick Hendrick, who’s..48 or 50 or whatever age he was, is not quite my guy. So, there just was something not clicking with me with the team, with whatever it was. And also, the 2007 incident at the All-Star Race, my outbursts and acting out a few times, was ultimately the demise of the relationship," Busch added (00:45).
Busch fought with his older brother Kurt after an accident while racing for the win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May 2007.
Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) after leaving the team in 2008.
"He called me every day" - Kyle Busch on joining JGR
In the same interview, Kyle Busch talked about visiting eight different teams after leaving Hendrick.
Busch acknowledged he had a lot of emotions and made mistakes in the past. However, he said he never had the right support to improve and felt more valued at JGR.
"I think Joe has a pretty good sense of being able to harness that, and he called me every day, wanting to know, 'Hey, where are we at, man? Are we getting close?' I didn't quite have that with Rick over there; I didn't hear from him a whole lot. But even still, when I was hired, I heard from Joe a bit more," Busch said (04:19).
Kyle Busch raced the No. 18 Toyota for JGR from 2008 to 2022 and won the NASCAR Cup Series championships twice.