Future NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch Never Mailed It In

• Retiring NASCAR Cup champion Kurt Busch won 14 races with Jack Roush, 10 with Roger Penske, 6 with Stewart-Haas, 3 with Chip Ganassi, and 1 with 23XI.

• He won at least once a year for 19 seasons, even while missing two races when Roush fired him in 2005 and three more when NASCAR suspended him in 2015.

• He won at least one race in 10 consecutive seasons, was winless in 2011 and 2012, then won at least once a year for his last nine seasons.

Kurt Busch brought enormous talent and potential to NASCAR’s upper levels when he arrived in 2000. But at 21, he also brought a temperamental, petulant, arrogant and combative attitude that often seemed to threaten his career at almost any second.

Over time, though, the talent and potential won out. Indeed, the hot-head from Las Vegas grew into a respected and admired competitor, headed for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. During his recent retirement announcement in Daytona Beach, the 45-year-old sounded more like a mature and thoughtful elder statesman than what we endured early in his 23-year career.

“Racing at NASCAR’s highest level requires every last bit of focus, heart, stamina and determination,” he said. “Right now, I can’t give what is required to compete at that level, so I’m officially announcing my retirement. As I transition out of the driver’s seat, I can’t help but feel incredibly blessed to have spent the amount of time as I did as a driver. I could have never imagined it growing up as a blue-collar kid in Las Vegas.”

Early-on, after great success on short tracks in the West, Busch reached the Craftsman Truck Series, where he made an immediate impact. He finished second in his first CTS race, at Daytona Beach in February of 2000. He won four poles and four races that year with Roush Racing, finished second to points champion Greg Biffle, and was Rookie of the Year.

Talent and potential? So far, no doubt about it.

He did a few Cup Series races with Roush that same year, then ran all but one Cup race (DNQ at Atlanta) in 2001. He hit his stride in 2002, winning four Cup races finishing third in points. He won four races in 2003 and four more in 2004, the year he won the Cup Series title with Roush and crew chief Jimmy Fennig.

Those 14 Cup victories—and, we can assume, Roush’s impatience with his driver’s attitude—drew the attention of team owner Roger Penske. The Captain recruited Busch for the 2006-2011 seasons, betting on his talent and potential to carry the day. Busch responded with 14 victories in six seasons, but had only two top-10 seasons and never seriously challenged for the championship.

Suddenly, all that talent and potential faced an uncertain future. What self-respecting owner would reach out after Busch was cut loose by Roush and Penske? He was clearly capable of winning races (24 victories and a championship), but some owners saw his on- and off-track attitude as a liability. With few options, Busch spent parts of 2012 with independent owners James Finch and Barney Visser before going full-time with Visser for a respectable but winless 2013 season.

Former champion-turned-team-owner/driver Tony Stewart had seen Busch’s talent and potential all along. He had raced against that talent and potential often enough; in fact, Stewart might have seen some of himself—the good, the bad, the ugly—in the mercurial driver. So, he brought Busch to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2014-2018 seasons, knowing his new hire still had plenty in the tank. S-HR was rewarded with three top-10 points seasons and six victories, including the 2017 Daytona 500.

Busch stayed put for five seasons before leaving again. Even late in his career, into his 40’s, he kept winning. He won once a year during 2019-2021 with Chip Ganassi, then got his 34th and final Cup Series victory at Kansas in the summer of 2022 for the Denny Hamlin-Michael Jordan team. Almost exactly a year later, he suffered the head injury at Pocono that effectively ended his career and led to his retirement announcement.

At one point he expected to join NASCAR’s unofficial “30/30 Club.” He barely missed, getting “only” 28 poles to go with his 34 victories in 776 starts. He won the 2004 Cup with Roush and had nine other top-10 points seasons. His 34 victories came at 18 venues, a true mark of his talent and potential. No surprise: he counts the 2017 Daytona 500 as his greatest moment.

In summary: he won 14 races with Roush, 10 with Penske, six with Stewart-Haas, three with Ganassi, and one with 23XI. He won at least once a year for 19 seasons, even while missing two races when Roush fired him in 2005 and three more when NASCAR suspended him in 2015. He won at least one race in 10 consecutive seasons, was winless in 2011 and 2012, then won at least once a year for his last nine seasons.

Finally: no one can ever say they saw Kurt Busch dog it or mail it in. He always gave fans their money’s worth. “I’m a blue-collar worker who got an opportunity to do something really cool. I’m 45 years old. I’m happy. I’m complacent. There’s nothing I look back on with regret about having this opportunity at the top level of NASCAR.”

Talent and potential? We should all be so lucky.