After Tony Stewart’s Painful Exit, NASCAR Fans Unearth the ‘Kurt Busch Curse’ That Brought SHR Down

What led to the downfall of Stewart Haas Racing in NASCAR? There have been plenty of theories on how mismanagement and financial crunch ultimately put Tony Stewart and Gene Haas’ racing operations to rest. But there’s a rather spooky angle to this ordeal, and it involves none other than former SHR driver Kurt Busch.

The NASCAR community is known for its deep-rooted interest in the sport and unique analytical approach. And they did the same, highlighting how the ‘Kurt Busch Curse’ could have played a part in SHR’s exit, pointing out that this is not the first time Busch’s teams have closed shop upon his exit.

What exactly is the Kurt Busch Curse?

It’s fair to say that SHR’s downfall has had a lot to do with its on-track performances in recent years. Furthermore, according to many, over-reliance on the #4 team, which Kevin Harvick commanded in the last decade or so, contributed to it heavily, too. The veteran said so himself on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour: “I think the people around the #4 car over the last 10 years are really what held that company together. Once that backbone of that went away, it started poking some holes.”

Additionally, major sponsors like Anheuser-Busch and Hunt Brothers Pizza leaving with the 2014 Cup Series champion’s exit seemed to play a part in the team’s future misfortunes, as well. Ultimately, all the cracks within the racing organization got exposed as Tony Stewart and his partner Gene Haas officially announced the closure of SHR at the end of the 2024 season. But, apart from sponsorship woes and the mediocre on-track results, Kurt Busch’s exit from the team in 2018 might have also contributed to their departure from NASCAR racing.

Call it a big coincidence or a recurring theme, but whenever Kurt Busch left a NASCAR race team, it eventually ceased to exist in the sport. Case in point: his championship team, Roush Racing. Busch left the team at the end of the 2005 season after his title win the year prior, folded, and rebranded to RFK Racing in 2022, thanks to Brad Keselowski’s initiative. While the team got a new lease on life, it was reportedly in shambles, as evident by their performances during the 2020 season.

A team that was so used to winning and existed as one of the larger garages back in the early decades of the 21st century finished with just two top-5 finishes and 10 top-10s during the 2020 campaign. On a similar note, Phoenix Racing closed down in 2013, after Busch’s 1-year stint, owing to sponsorship woes. “I have not been able to get the right amount of funding; the economy is pretty bad, and a lot of people don’t want to do it. I’m getting kind of burned out. I think it is time for me to do something else,” owner James Finch said at the time.

A similar pattern followed with his next few teams as well. After moving on from the defunct Phoenix Racing, Kurt found himself a seat at Furniture Row Racing in 2013. During this time, he got an offer from then-powerhouse team Stewart-Haas Racing, and he jumped ship after a single season at FRR, taking the wheel behind the #41 car. Although FRR didn’t crumble the following season, the curse finally caught up to them, as they exited NASCAR racing in 2018 due to lack of funding.

So, given that his former team, Stewart Haas Racing, has met a similar fate, fans were convinced that the ‘Kurt Busch Curse’ is real. And soon they started to support this theory with their views and opinions online on Reddit.

After Tony Stewart’s SHR, “Roush and Penske [could also be] in shambles”

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Taking a quote from renowned physicist Oppenheimer, which he reportedly took from Hindu mythology, a firm believer in the Kurt Busch Curse, said, “I have become Death, destroyer of worlds’ race teams – Kurt Busch.”

Apart from the racing organizations mentioned above, Chip Ganassi Racing was also the team that employed Kurt from 2019 to 2021. Next thing you know, after his departure, the team sold their charter to Justin Marks and the Trackhouse Racing team that same year. Highlighting the number of teams affected by Busch’s curse, a user added, “Chip Ganassi, Stewart Haas, Furniture Row, and Phoenix Racing all don’t exist, or will cease to exist in NASCAR. He drove for all [of] them in a 10-year span.”

Despite this theory, many fans believed he somehow managed to make the most of those opportunities and gave his best. “The ironic thing is that he made each team better while he was there.” And the numbers do back this fan’s point. From winning his sole championship with Roush in 2004 to finishing 7th and 4th in the final points standing in 2007 and 2009 with Roger Penske’s team, there was an evident upward graph in most of Busch’s teams during his presence.

Making a meal out of this curse theory, some fans were also hilariously sounding the warning bells for RFK, Team Penske, and 23XI Racing. They all saw Kurt race under their banner during his career, just like Tony Stewart’s SHR. “Roush and Penske in shambles as they read this,” read one comment, while another added, “23XI too haha.” It seems co-owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan will have to try every trick in the book to retain Busch, who’s currently in an advising capacity within the team.

Given that there are a few exemptions to this ‘Kurt Busch Curse’ like Team Penske and RFK (which still seems to be going strong after a revamp), it cannot be said that this was the definitive cause for SHR’s fall from grace. But again, talk about superstitious theories. They do keep the community entertained and engaged, and this sure isn’t the last one.