RCR Suspends Use Of No. 8 In Wake of Busch's Death, Will Use No. 33

Following the tragic loss of Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing will swap the number of the car that Busch drove from No. 8 to No. 33 beginning with the Coca-Cola 600.

Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

CONCORD, N.C. -- Following the shocking and tragic death of Kyle Busch, a NASCAR Cup Series legend, on Thursday at the age of 41, Richard Childress Racing has opted to suspend use of the No. 8 on the organization's second full-time Chartered entry in the Cup Series.

Beginning with this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the car will carry the No. 33. Austin Hill, as previously announced, will pilot the car this weekend. A full-time driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet has yet to be announced.

Here is the complete statement from Richard Childress Racing, explaining the decision to suspend use of the No. 8:

"Richard Childress Racing has elected to suspend use of the No. 8 and will run the No. 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and beyond. Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8, and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing."

According to the release, Richard Childress Racing will retain the rights to the No. 8 for use in the NASCAR Cup Series, and will keep the number unofficially retired until Brexton Busch, the son of Kyle Busch who is a blossming young racer, is ready to compete in NASCAR.

While it's a heart-wrenching situation that Richard Childress Racing is going through this week, as the team unexpectedly lost its star driver, this is sadly not unchartered territory for the storied six-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning race team.

Dale Earnhardt, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, was killed in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt, who drove the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing full-time from 1984 until his death, captured six of his seven NASCAR Cup Series titles with Richard Childress Racing.

Following the death of Earnhardt, Richard Childress Racing made a similar decision with Earnhardt's No. 3 that it has made with Busch's No. 8.

Richard Childress Racing renumbered the No. 3 Chevrolet to the No. 29 for the event at Rockingham Speedway a week after Earnhardt's passing. Kevin Harvick would serve as the full-time driver of that car.

Richard Childress Racing would continue to license the No. 3 from NASCAR to prevent another driver or team from utilizing the iconic number, and after 13 years of unofficial retirement, the number returned in 2014 with Austin Dillon driving the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Dillon wanted to utilize the number that his grandffather, Richard Childress, used during the most successful years of his driving career. Childress drove his own No. 3 entry from 1976 until his retirement from driving in 1981.

25 years after the loss of Dale Earnhardt, Richard Childress Racing is navigating another monumental tragedy in the loss of Kyle Busch. While it's unfortunate that the team has had to endure both tragedies, th fact that the team has been in this position before, has given them a blueprint of how to proceed in the wake of tragedy.