2-time NASCAR champ Kyle Busch is switching teams, but he won't be driving Dale Earnhardt's iconic No. 3 car

• Kyle Busch is moving to Richard Childress Racing in 2023, after 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Busch will no longer drive his signature No. 18 M&M's car and will drive the No. 8 instead.

The biggest domino in NASCAR's silly season fell when Kyle Busch announced that he would join Richard Childress Racing in 2023.

Busch was in the final year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he has spent the last 15 years driving his signature No. 18 M&M's car. Busch and JGR had been trying to negotiate an extension all season after M&M's announced their departure from the sport. However, in recent weeks, it started to feel like the two sides were too far apart and were headed for a breakup.

"This is probably one of the biggest days of my life and my career," Busch said at a press conference on Tuesday to make the announcement.

The new contract is a multi-year deal that will keep Busch racing until at least the age of 39.

The move avoided drama over the No. 3

As rumors started to fly that Busch would be moving to RCR, fueled in large part by Dale Earnhardt Jr., fans began to wonder if Busch would take over Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s iconic No. 3, which is currently driven by Childress' grandson, Austin Dillon.

Before Busch's new number was announced, Dale Jr. commented on a Reddit thread speculating on whether Dale Jr. would have approved Busch taking over the car and possibly diluting the history of the number. Dale Jr. said it would be fine, but only if they first retire part of the number.

"I wish they could retire the current stylized font, then make an entirely new font/design," Earnhardt Jr. "Then by all means ... I wanna go back to when you saw that number on a license plate or anywhere, and you KNEW they were 100% Earnhardt Sr."

Instead, RCR will add a third car in 2023 to be driven by Tyler Reddick, opening the door for Busch to move from No. 18 to No. 8.

RCR also paid Busch's son to switch

Busch is not the only driver switching "teams" due to his new contract.

Busch's son, 7-year-old Brexton Busch, is in his third year driving Beginner Box Stock carts. He won nine times in 2021 and added another eight checkered flags in the first quarter of 2022. But now, he will likely need to make some changes to his cart.

The younger Busch drives a No. 18 Servpro cart with a green paint scheme modeled after his dad's current secondary car.

Possibly to make sure of the switch, Childress approached Brexton Busch at the news conference announcing the signing of Kyle Busch and handed the son his own "contract" on a 100-dollar bill.

It seems like Brexton will have a new paint scheme soon.