When Kurt Busch crashed during qualifying at Pocono last summer, nobody – Busch included – knew that we’d just seen one of modern NASCAR’s best drivers and biggest personalities behind the wheel for the last time.
Just over one year on, Busch recently confirmed that the ongoing effects of the concussion he sustained in that crash had led him to the decision to retire from Cup Series racing, closing the book on a 23-year career that yielded 34 wins from 776 starts at NASCAR’s top level, the 2004 Cup Series championship, victories in all of three of NASCAR’s national series, and a range of cameos including the Indianapolis 500 (where he earned 2004’s Rookie of the Year honors), the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the NHRA.
RACER writer Eric Johnson witnessed much of Busch’s career first-hand, and in the days after Busch’s retirement became official, the pair sat down to talk about the journey he’s taken.
Q: Now that you’ve announced your retirement and a little bit of time has gone by, how do you feel?
KURT BUSCH: I feel really good. It’s been a nice run. I’ve been very blessed and privileged to have been able to run for over two decades at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series. I’ve met all the different people, the teams, the sponsors, and have won the races and wrecked some cars and have developed teams. That’s all been part of the process. But again, it’s so much of a thankfulness to the opportunity that I had, because there’s so many other kids that are just as good as I am that didn’t get this opportunity. That’s where I feel blessed with this chance. It was a good run and I don’t think there’s anything that I could have done any better or different. Looking back on it all, I would not change a thing.
Q: When you’ve been walking around at the recent races, have drivers or fans or industry people come up to you and started hitting you with anecdotes and memories and various other things that you may have collected along the way?
KB: It’s been incredible. The older drivers, crew chiefs, legends, guys like Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, or a friend of mine named Matt Kenseth, have all come up and spoken with me. Chief chiefs like Jimmy Fennig, Pat Tryson or even my pal Matt McCall, who’s still out there digging hard right now, have all spoken with me. And then there is of my favorites, Billy Scott, who’s currently leading our team at 23XI Racing, who has checked in with me. Those moments and those stories and those feelings and those bro hugs and the respect of what’s gone on over the years have been so amazing to me.
And there is also to my sponsors, team owners and different guys down the different garage areas and paddocks that I’ve been have all talked with me. In fact, if I go to the IndyCar race in Nashville, I can’t walk with three feet and not bump into somebody that I know. This is so cool to have this opportunity now. It is so cool to be able to take a step back and still be active with the sport with Monster Energy and with Toyota and doing different things with the manufacturers. I’ve just been going down the memory lane with everything.