NASCAR: Kyle Busch sells Truck team to Spire (Update)

Kyle Busch announced Wednesday that he has sold Kyle Busch Motorsports and Rowdy Manufacturing to Spire Motorsports, shifting the team ownership spectrum in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Included in the sale are the assets of Busch’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team and the assets of Rowdy Manufacturing’s chassis building operation and CNC machine shop. The transaction also includes the 77,000-square-foot facility that houses KBM and Rowdy Manufacturing in Mooresville, North Carolina.

“When we started the Truck Series team back in 2010, I never imagined that we would be able to win 100 races with 18 different drivers and that one day I’d be racing in the Cup Series alongside so many of the drivers that I once mentored at KBM,” Busch said in a team press release. “I owe a lot of gratitude to so many people, starting with Samantha and my family for believing in this dream that I had. It took countless hours by so many amazing people to make KBM the winningest team in Truck Series history. I will always appreciate everyone that walked through the doors and gave their all to make this such a successful organization.”

The arrangement signals the end of a 14-year tenure for one of the Craftsman Truck tour’s most decorated teams. The Kyle Busch-owned organization scored its 100th Truck Series win earlier this season and fielded trucks for two series champions, both of whom have since joined their former team owner in the Cup Series — Erik Jones, the 2015 champ, and Christopher Bell, who reigned in 2017.

Rumor has it that Kyle Busch is looking to sell his NASCAR Truck team and focus on the remaining years of his NASCAR Cup career.

According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Spire is finalizing a deal to purchase KBM, a shocking development as the team led by two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has been a staple in the Truck Series over the last decade.

“Spire Motorsports is finalizing a purchase of perennial NASCAR Truck Series contender Kyle Busch Motorsports, a deal expected to be completed ‘soon,’ people briefed on the situation but not authorized to speak publicly have told The Athletic,” wrote Bianchi.

“Spire acquiring KBM, owned by two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, will allow Spire to relocate from its current shop in Concord, N.C., to KBM’s expansive 77,000-square-foot shop in nearby Mooresville, N.C.

“KBM’s larger shop will allow Spire to effectively better manage its expanding Cup Series team, plus its own Truck Series program that is expected to continue operating in some capacity next year. Spire’s recent expansion to three Cup teams catalyzed it to begin inquiring and eventually strike a deal with Busch to buy KBM.”

“That KBM served as the incubator for young drivers seeking to make a name for themselves was in conjunction with it being Toyota’s flagship Truck organization, a relationship that included Toyota providing KBM resources, equipment and personnel. But that partnership ended when Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota’s primary Cup team, after the 2022 season to join Chevrolet-backed Richard Childress Racing,” Bianchi wrote.

Moreover, Bianchi added that Busch’s standing with Richard Childress Racing is not affected by the deal, and it will continue moving forward.