Ahead of the Indianapolis 500, DCR Restyles Romain Grosjean’s No. 18 to Honor the Late Kyle Busch

While there will be no No. 8 or No. 18 run at Charlotte Motor Speedway this Memorial Day weekend, over in Indianapolis, Kyle Busch’s most iconic No. 18 will have the chance to run the Indianapolis 500 that he never got following his unexpected passing on Thursday at the age of 41 from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, per a statement shared from the family to The Athletic.

Joe Gibbs Racing has not used the No. 18 since Busch left the organization after the completion of the 2022 season, and as announced yesterday, Richard Childress Racing will halt the use of the No. 8 in honor of Busch until his son Brexton is ready to go “NASCAR racing.”

Plans came together the day before the running of the 110th Indianapolis 500 for Romain Grosjean to run Busch’s stylized No. 18 after a suggestion from Fox Sports broadcaster Townsend Bell, per Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal. Fox Sports and JGR worked together to get the tribute approved and on the car.

Busch ran the No. 18 for 15 years, including both successful Championship campaigns in 2015 and 2019.

Right in between these two championships, Kyle Busch had the chance to race The Double in 2017, securing approval from Chevrolet, Toyota, and his main sponsor of the era, Mars Inc., with his iconic M&Ms scheme. Ultimately, Joe Gibbs shot it down. Earlier this year, on an episode of his former teammate Denny Hamlin’s podcast Actions Detrimental, he shared that if a deal were to come together again, he would take the opportunity with the assumed support of Richard Childress.