Austin Dillon Talks Kyle Busch Bringing 'A New Mentality' To RCR As Ty Reddick Exits

With the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Season in everyone’s rear-view mirror, Austin Dillon and the team at Richard Childress Racing are looking to the future now that they're experiencing a major talent shift. 

In 2023, one of RCR’s biggest talents, Ty Reddick, will move on from the team and bring his skills to the relatively new 23XI Racing. Fortunately, his big shoes will be more than filled by Kyle Busch, who announced earlier this year he’s joining RCR after he and Joe Gibbs Racing, where he raced for more than 15 years, failed to come to terms on a new contract. 

Caught in the middle of all this change is Dillon, star of “Life In The Fast Lane.” Fortunately, the grandson of Richard Childress himself says he’s found all the change to be invigorating and sees a hungry Busch’s arrival as a chance for everyone to step up their game. 

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“He is already wearing everybody out about, ‘Hey, we’ve got to be ready to go,’” Dillon said at Phoenix Raceway last weekend (via NASCAR). “So that fire is definitely there, and that’s what you want to see.”

The outlet reports that Busch has already encouraged Dillon to spend more time on the racing simulator so that he’s better prepared for the ins and outs of tracks on race day next season. It makes sense that Busch is coming to RCR with an intensity to prove something to the NASCAR world. When his signing was covered on “Race For The Championship,” the overwhelming feeling was that he is too strong a driver to have struggled this much to find a team. Now, with the resources of RCR behind him, the outspoken driver is clearly hoping to prove to everyone that his best days lie ahead, not behind.

“I think, as a sports fan, there’s no champion out there that doesn’t give maximum effort to all parts of the game,” Dillon concluded of Busch. “You know, there’s some very talented people that do pretty well, but they’re not always a champion. Kyle created himself to be a two-time Cup champion, I feel like, so the commitment he has to this sport is unmatched. When you’re a champion, it’s unmatched. So I feel like knowing that going in, you just can’t put an amount on that that it brings to our organization. It’s going to step everybody’s game up.”

Meanwhile, as he welcomes a new teammate, Dillon will say goodbye to his teammate of three of his 10 Cup Series runs, Ty Reddick. As he leaves with an impressive three wins under his belt in the 2022 season, Dillon remained professional and not only wished Reddick the best at 23XI Racing, but complimented his past work with him and RCR. 

“For me, it’s one of the best things that could’ve happened,” Dillon said. “I mean, he was a great teammate throughout, brought speed instantly, a new mentality to the track for RCR. I feel like it was big. He’s just got a lot of good things that came with having him as a teammate. We worked well together. Obviously, this year, I think any time on the track, we had each other’s back and we pushed each other to be better. So yeah, he was a great part of our organization for the time he’s been here, and we’ve got a good friendship and hopefully he has a good career ahead of him where he’s going, and I’m happy for him.”

You can see the 2022 Cup Series season unfold on the USA Network originals “Austin Dillon’s: Life In The Fast Lane” and “Race For The Championship,” both currently streaming on Peacock.