Kyle Busch's No. 18 to be raced in Indianapolis 500 in tribute

Kyle Busch. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Kyle Busch's No. 18 to be raced in Indianapolis 500 in tribute

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated May 23, 2026 10:23 PM ET

Kyle Busch always wanted to race in the Indianapolis 500, though the NASCAR legend never got the chance to do so.

In the wake of Busch's tragic death on Thursday, the No. 18 that adorned his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2008-22 and for a slew of NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events will be on track at Indianapolis on Sunday.

Busch's No. 18 will be on the side of the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda driven by Romain Grosjean in Sunday's Indianapolis 500, per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal.

Busch won 56 Cup Series races and a pair of championships (2015, 2019) while driving the No. 18 at JGR and won a multitude of races in the O'Reilly Series and Truck Series while driving the iconic number as well.

.@DaleCoyneRacing will run its No. 18 car in tomorrow's Indy 500 with the same font that Kyle Busch used for years @JoeGibbsRacing to pay respect to the NASCAR legend.

➡️ DCR said that @TownsendBell had the idea and that @FOXSports and JGR helped assist on the effort. pic.twitter.com/xXGFW9K7Wu
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 23, 2026

Grosjean, 40, will start 24th in Sunday's race (12:45 p.m. ET, FOX) in search of his first Indianapolis 500 victory.

Busch previously said that he had opportunities to compete in the Indy 500 that fell through, and while Richard Childress gave Busch his blessing to run the race when he signed with Richard Childress Racing in 2022, the future NASCAR Hall of Famer was never able to compete in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

The tribute from Dale Coyne Racing is a fitting one as the racing world honors Busch.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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