Kurt Busch is exactly two weeks away from turning 44 years old, which doesn’t make him the oldest driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, but in his 22nd full-time season at the sport’s highest level, he’s up there.
So naturally, talk of his retirement comes up every once in a while, or, as he put it, rumors and questions are “out there all the time.” Even two years ago, the 2004 Cup Series champion said there was a “50-50” chance he’d be done after the 2021 season. But he’s still in it and earned his 34th career Cup win in May at Kansas Speedway, moving him into 25th on the all-time wins list.
However, while a guest on CBS Mornings on Thursday, Busch — who currently pilots the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s team — hinted that his NASCAR retirement might be approaching.
Busch was promoting NASCAR’s newest move in announcing a street course race in downtown Chicago in July 2023, which he called an “unprecedented, bold move” that could “create the buzz not just for the city but for our sport.”
But while the Chicago Cubs fan is excited about NASCAR’s new race, he said he could be done racing after the 2023 season.
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To celebrate NASCAR’s 75th season, professional drivers are expected to head to Chicago next summer for the first-ever street race in NASCAR Cup Series history.@KurtBusch says the race is an "unprecedented, bold move" for his sport — and shares why it may be his last lap. pic.twitter.com/gChP1yJcTU
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 21, 2022
Busch told CBS Mornings:
“I’ve been in this sport 23 years, and this, to me, is like one of those kid-in-the-candy-store moments of, ‘I wanna be part of this.’ And I’m glad that I’m having the chance to drive next year for the team, and I might be done driving after that.”
Naturally, this caught the three hosts off guard. So when they pressed him on what exactly he meant by that or if he has a plan for his future, Busch elaborated:
“There’s a few different options, and for me, the team that just gave me so much respect about a month ago. They said, ‘You can drive as long as you want to drive for us. We really appreciate you driving.’
“Well, we needed to start to look at who the next new talent is, where the sponsorships are. … We just signed a new guy, Tyler Reddick, to 23XI, so we’re building.”
That last line from Busch is precisely why his talk of retirement now perhaps means a little bit more than in the past.
Just last week, 23XI announced it signed Reddick — who currently competes for Richard Childress Racing and won his first career Cup race earlier this month — to a multi-year deal beginning with the 2024 season. Hamlin and the team said they were eager to sign Reddick, but whether the team will field a third car or Reddick will replace Busch or Bubba Wallace is still one of their “unanswered questions” right now.
If Busch really is contemplating retirement after the Chicago street course race and the 2023 season, 23XI already has a driver waiting to take over. If not — and assuming Wallace remains with the organization — the team will have to acquire a charter to field a third car.
But when asked if he’s actually ready for retirement, Busch replied: “Maybe not.”
