Kurt Busch rules out NASCAR heel Ross Chastain from 2023 title favorites, claims the Chevy driver ‘has made too many enemies’
Kurt Busch was once one of the biggest heels in NASCAR.
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Ross Chastain and Kurt Busch
Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain is one of the most recent breakout superstars of the NASCAR Cup series. He went from a regular back marker to a legitimate championship contender in 2022. A move to the Justin Marks-owned team after he lost his ride after Chip Ganassi Racing’s sale changed his fortune. He was given a competitive car which enabled him to fight for wins every week, and his aggressive approach on the track favored him.
His aggressive attitude has also made him a modern-day villain of NASCAR in the racing community. Many believe his aggressive exploits are the acceptable limit, and he has made some big names his enemies. Former Cup champion Kurt Busch, recently named one of the 75 greatest drivers of all time, has shared his take on how taking out rival will affect Chastain’s championship credentials.
While doing his guest punditry duty during the Kansas Cup race on Sunday, Busch revealed one of the keys to success in NASCAR. It’s something he claims the watermelon man is lacking. He pointed out that the No:1 Chevy driver often gets to the wrong place at the wrong time due to poor track awareness. Busch said, “The key thing is his awareness on track. He just starts going into spots where he shouldn’t be going,”.
Busch’s FS1 co-host Chris Myers then asked the 23XI Racing part-time driver if Chastain could win the 2023 championship. The 2004 Cup champion said he couldn’t because he has taken out too many drivers to sail smoothly in the playoffs. Busch said, “He cannot. With that list of people that Want to take you out, there’s no way. You have to be on good terms if you want to make a run to these playoffs,”.
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Kurt Busch compares recalls his aggressive past to prove appointment to Ross Chastain
Busch told Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the FS1 booth while discussing the incident between Brannen Poole, and Chastain said that he also was once an aggressive driver. He has to fix his attitude after getting confronted by legends such as Terry Labonte. He even recalled when Labonte grabbed his color and asked him to straighten up.
“Poole may have been even checking up last week, and Ross is like, ‘Man, I wasn’t even trying to do anything.’ It’s that snowball thing, and it takes veterans (intervening). I had Terry Labonte come up and grab me by my collar and say, ‘All right, kid. Straighten up.’ Dale (Earnhardt) Jr.? I wrecked him, and he’s like, “Hey, man, we gotta sort this out. So, it takes time, and Ross has to find his awareness in the car,” Busch said.
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