REVEALED: The real reason why 2004 champion Kurt Busch announced retirement from NASCAR Cup Series

Future Hall of Famer Kurt Busch claims there are too many obstacles to overcome in his recovery.

REVEALED: The real reason why 2004 champion Kurt Busch announced retirement from NASCAR Cup Series

Kurt Busch (Via IMAGO)

The 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch announced his retirement from NASCAR on Saturday. The 45-year-old has not raced since last summer, as he suffered a concussion at Pocono Raceway. Hence, he was replaced by Tyler Reddick at 23XI Racing for the 2023 season. Ty Gibbs was a substitute for Busch for the remainder of the 2022 season. The latter hoped that he would return to the Cup series soon. 

Last year, Kurt Busch said he hoped to compete in a few races in 2023 if medically cleared. Though the Nevada native knew he wouldn’t be back full-time, he wanted to race part-time. However, time had different plans for the former Cup champion. Kurt Busch shared a video on X (Formerly known as Twitter) explaining the reason behind his early retirement. 

YouTube video

Kurt Busch said in the video, “Racing requires 100 percent of focus, heart, stamina, and determination, and I’ve never raced a day without all of that in mind. But sometimes father time can catch up to your dreams. My incredible team of doctors and I have come to the conclusion that at this point in my recovery, there are just too many obstacles for me to overcome and get back to 100 percent.” 

FS Video

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Kurt Busch retires after 23 years of racing in NASCAR

Kurt Busch (Via Outsider)
Kurt Busch (Via Outsider) 

Busch added, “So, after 23 years behind the wheel and 45 years of living and breathing this dream, I’m officially announcing my retirement from NASCAR Cup Series competition.” The 45-year-old ends his Cup career with 34 wins in 776 starts. Busch won a race in all but two of his full-time seasons. His latest victory was in the 2022 AdventHealth 400 at Kansas. Little did the world know it would be his last Cup win.

In his fourth year in the highest level of stock car racing, Kurt Busch won the 2004 championship.  Though he was winless in his rookie season, he won eight races combined in 2002 and 2003. With three wins and 21 top-ten finishes, Busch became the first driver to win a championship in the NASCAR postseason design. He spent his first five seasons with Roush Racing and then moved to Team Penske in 2006. 

In 2014, Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing and spent five years with them. He then moved to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019 before joining 23XI Racing in 2022. He gave the young team a reason to celebrate last year at Kansas as he led 116 laps out of 267 during the race and took them to the victory lane. Apart from a championship, the future Hall of Famer has a prestigious Daytona 500 win. Another testament to Busch’s career would be his ability to win with five teams. 

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