Kurt Busch and Pagenaud sharing concussion experience together

Kurt Busch knows better than anyone what NTT IndyCar Series driver Simon Pagenaud is going through after a concussion prematurely ended the open-wheel ace’s season.

Pagenaud suffered a suspected brake failure on the back straightaway at Mid-Ohio in late June, sending his Meyer Shank Racing Honda off the course and barrel-rolling through the gravel. It came to rest against the tire barriers.

Although the former series champion and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner was checked and released by the IndyCar medical team, lingering concussion symptoms kept him from the final eight races of the season. Pagenaud is still not cleared to race.

“His marketing agency and scheduling agency are the same as mine,” Busch said Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway when asked about Pagenaud. “I was able to get his phone number very quickly and I’ve communicated with him. Texts, phone calls, even things with his wife just to add in where I can help and to offer different doctors that I’ve seen and different procedures that I’ve gone through. His [injury] is very similar.”