Richard Childress Racing has announced that Austin Hill will again drive Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Cup Series entry following the tragic death of the 41-year-old NASCAR legend.
Amid a sorrowful and rainy weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hill drove the car in the Coca-Cola 600 as the garage mourned Busch’s passing. RCR suspended its use of the No. 8 ahead of the Charlotte race, changing the entrant number to the No. 33.
Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, pays tribute to Kyle Busch
Photo by: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The weekend began with a somber ceremony in the garage, as the No. 33 and No. 3 team car of Austin Dillon unloaded first as the rest of the field watched on. On race day, the Busch family was in attendance for a pre-race tribute, which included a rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ on the bagpipes.
With no name above the door and a black No. 8 decal beside the No. 33, Hill competed in NASCAR’s longest race. Hill, who competes full-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series, ended the race one lap down in 27th. It was his 18th career start in the Cup Series.
Hill has never run a Cup race at Nashville before, and his best finish at the top level of NASCAR is ninth at the Chicago Street Course last summer. Hill has a best finish of fourth at Nashville in the O’Reilly Series, and ninth there in Trucks.
There are a total of 38 entries for the Cup race at Nashville, including the open entries of Chad Finchun (No. 66 Garage 66 Ford) and Corey Heim (No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota).
Tribute to Kyle Busch
Photo by: David Jensen / Getty Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team