“ROC is all about stars from different disciplines driving various equal cars.” Now if what the officials at ROC Sydney are saying is true, then how can the NASCAR extraordinaire keep himself out of the list? Yes, Kurt Busch is finally returning to the racing world, with his first competition being the Race of Champions in Sydney’s Accor Stadium because if you thought he is someone who would just give up, read his last name again! But this is just the beginning after his life-altering accident. Previously, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series Champ had to say an early goodbye to the sport following an accident in the 2022 Pocono Raceway qualifications.

The incident happened during the second round of the qualifying run when the No. 45 Toyota Camry spun while coming on Turn 3 and backed into the outside wall. The race car spun back around and hit the wall again. Although, the driver exited the car on his own, a trip to the infield car center proved detrimental to his racing career. The devastating crash at Pocono left Busch with a concussion and significant vestibular issues. “My body is just having a battle with Father Time…So, Father Time. I’m 45 years old. I’m very happy, complacent, and there’s nothing that I look back on and regret about having this opportunity at the top level of NASCAR,“ he reflected in early 2023.

It was quite a timing as in the fall of 2022, he had announced that he will retire from full time racing, but who knew an injury would push him to make the sad announcement much much earlier. Still, the first champion of NASCAR’s playoff era believes there’s more. Back in January, he announced his plans for return but was not cleared by the doctors even until the beginning of this month. However, things are finally turning out to be his way and he is already looking ahead to the future. But there’s a major issue that restricts the 46-year-old chances to relive his NASCAR dream.

Sitting with Simon Chapman of Speedcafe for a one-on-one, Kurt announced, “I’m not going to go run a Cup car right now at 500 miles side-by-side with all the boys, right? And so it’s just the steps that it takes, and this is the perfect one. And so a ripple effect from this, positive or negative, will open up more doors.

“It’s to get back into anything, whether it’s an opportunity to do sports car stuff, rally, drag racing like I did before. We’ll see. We’ll see what my body tells me and the fun level, you can’t beat that here a Race of Champions.” The Las Vegas, Nevada native updated.

Believing that his 2023 stint with 23XI Racing would have been his final anyway, Kurt also expressed how he would not have wanted a proper farewell anyway. “No, not at all. My time was getting short anyhow. I was at the end of what I would call my last contract. I poured my heart and soul into it for 23 years, won a bunch of stuff, wrecked a bunch of stuff, and all in all I was fulfilled. And so whether it ended there or I get back in the car later on, who knows? It was a good career that I can look back on and go, you know what? Two thumbs up.”

Back in 2023, during his final speech, Busch revealed his struggles with arthritis and gout. And it has been visible. In Dover in 2022, he was barely able to walk towards his car as he had to take some pre-shots before the race just so he could move his knees and feet to drive his car. “Those are those moments where things were starting to add up before things happened at Pocono,” he had said then. The elder Busch was trying his best to continue racing. He even relied on medication to fight the pain so that he could pilot the No. 45 Toyota. But, after the crash at Pocono, he came to terms with himself and his body, realizing that he would need to step down from competitive racing.

Reflecting on his career, Busch expressed gratitude for the opportunities he had: “As I transition out of the driver’s seat, I can’t help but feel incredibly blessed to have spent the amount of time I did as a driver in NASCAR.” Alongside Kyle, Kurt is one-half of the most successful brothers due to race in NASCAR. But, as time goes on, it looks like his days of racing on ovals are getting out of reach.

It has to be noted; veteran driver Mike Wallace was barred from competing at the 2025 Daytona 500 due to his inactivity on speedways and intermediate racetrack. So, we wouldn’t want to see Busch receive a similar treatment from the sanctioning body. “We just have to keep it realistic and to keep it one step at a time.” So even Kurt understood that a return to Cup racing wasn’t going to be a cake walk. But, now that he’s on the recovery road, gearing up for his big racing event, he is already trying to bounce back from his retirement.

Kurt Busch comes clean on his NASCAR comeback and preparation

The former 23XI Racing driver is partnering up with Travis Pastrana who mentioned before that his first choice was a versatile driver like Kyle Larson but that was not possible due to NASCAR schedule. Hence, who he turned to? The 2x ROC driver looking for a comeback. He told MAVTV earlier that Busch is “pumped.” He also gave away his trade secrets in the interview, “I said, Kurt, will you please come out of retirement, I need you. We’re gonna go, we’re gonna go to win.”

And if you think he must be out of practice, think again! Because the man has come prepared. While waiting for his doctor’s clearance, Kurt has stayed busy practicing in Radford Racing School in Arizona. His partners in crime? Some friends, including Paul Tracy, a former IndyCar driver.

Talking about the same, he revealed earlier this month, “As soon as I put the helmet on, I know. I felt that through these track days. I got the adrenaline going and feeling what it feels like to get in the braking zone and to hit the right shift points and to carry speed, and work on lap times. It’s all of the same stuff that I’ve been doing forever, it’s just a cool and new setting for me to be in.”

He also told Chapman, “You try to get your hands on any car you can at any track at any time and that’s what Race of Champions is about is you don’t know what car you’re gonna go in, you don’t know who you’re gonna go up against, you’ve just got to bring your A game. It’s been fun to do some track days, drive different people’s cars, all the way up to a Radical I was doing 170 miles an hour in, so I got all the cobwebs out and the spider webs cleared.

“Yeah, this is the perfect step.”

Kurt Busch has a 34 Cup Series win, a Daytona 500 trophy, and the 2004 Championship title. So he’s won everything that a driver needs to solidify their spot in the Hall of Fame. So, his NASCAR story is all but complete. But again, there’s a steep slope ahead when it comes to be physically fit to compete at the Cup Series.

Speaking about his recovery, in 2024 Busch opened up about the after-effects of the crash at Pocono. Although the initial phase was too challenging for the former Cup Series driver, he eventually turned a corner for good. “I still feel the lingering effects but it has calmed down, and it has been through all the physical therapy and all the great doctors who have helped me. I’m feeling much, much better since the summer wreck in 2022 and all of the different physical therapy, different neurologist visits.”

Although the ovals of NASCAR are not within Busch’s reach, he will look to get his racing juices flowing in Sydney. The ROC is going to be a two-day event that sees some of the best drivers from multiple motorsports disciplines go head-to-head in nation versus nation individual battles. Looking at the lineup, Busch will have his work cut out. The likes of Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher, and Valtteri Bottas will all be competing at the event.

The Busch brothers have previously competed in the ROC event back in 2017 and 2019. The event was held at the Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. Despite having a strong run, team USA had to settle for a runner-up finish in the Nations Cup and Juan Pablo Montoya took the crown of ROC. Needless to say, Kurt Busch had some unsettled business when it comes to ROC events, and he will be eyeing the top spot this time around in Australia.