Spire Motorsports purchased perennial NASCAR Truck Series contender Kyle Busch Motorsports on Wednesday, KBM announced.
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.
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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.
Busch founded KBM in 2010, initially as a Truck team then later expanding into NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series and a multitude of regional and grassroots-level series and races. While KBM has had success in most places it has competed, it was in Trucks that KBM firmly established itself as a dominating force by winning a series-record 100 races, a series-record seven owners championships and two driver championships.
Busch and KBM are credited with helping to launch the careers of several drivers, a list that includes Christopher Bell, William Byron, Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace, all of whom went on to win multiple Cup races. 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.
“I’m at a different point in my life now than I was back in 2010,” Busch said in a statement. “My family has grown, my Cup Series team changed this year and our son’s racing schedule has become as demanding as my own. It’s important to me to be able to spend more time with my family and my No. 8 team at Richard Childress Racing. It’ll be hard to walk away from the amazing facility that we’ve built. I’ll miss walking the shop floor talking with our employees, hosting our fan days in the lobby and spending countless hours there ensuring its success. However, I know at this point in my life and in my career that this is the correct decision.”
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Busch’s status with RCR is not impacted by the KBM sale.
For Spire, which began fielding a Cup team in 2019, this transaction is the latest in a series of substantial financial moves the team is making as it strives to become a consistently competitive NASCAR organization.
Earlier this month, Spire announced it was expanding to three full-time Cup teams in 2024 by purchasing Live Fast Motorsports’ charter and entering into an alliance with Trackhouse Racing that includes Trackhouse loaning talented prospect Zane Smith to Spire for the 2024 season. Spire paid a record $40 million for Live Fast’s charter, according to people briefed on the situation but not authorized to speak publicly.
In addition to expanding to three Cup teams, Spire re-signed driver Corey LaJoie to a multiyear contract extension this summer and entered into a multiyear sponsorship agreement with high-profile sponsor Gainbridge.
“I’m confident that our assets and employees are in good hands moving forward,” Busch said. “I don’t see the winning ways changing at all. I’ve known the Spire guys for a long time and their recent investments in NASCAR show their commitment to success.”
(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
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