"I might be done driving after that": When Kurt Busch hinted at retirement during 23XI Racing’s growth phase

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kurt Busch was already hinting at the possibility of his retirement when he was planning on racing the first ever street race in the series that took place in Chicago. Busch, who suffered a concussion at a qualifying session at the Pocono Raceway on July 23rd, 2022, would end up announcing a few months later that he would be stepping back from competing full-time in the Cup Series in the following season.

However, in an interview from July of his final season, a few days before he had the incident in Pocono, the 2004 Cup Series champion was already indicating that the street race in Chicago would be one of his last. During his appearance on the CBS Mornings program, Busch was talking about participating in the Grant Park 200 which was a year away when he mentioned the possibility of leaving the sport.

“I’ve been in this sport 23 years, and [the Chicago Street Race], 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.” [3:00]

The season that the driver's accident occured was his team 23XI Racing's second year competing in the sport. It was also his first season with the team after three years with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“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,’" he added, discussing what's next for him if he retires. [3:31]

In October of 2022, three months after he crashed, Kurt Busch announced that he would be stepping back from being in the #45 car full-time for the following season. After eventually not having any starts in 2023, the driver announced his retirement from the Cup Series in August, feeling grateful for his time in the car.

“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, and I could never have imagined that growing up as a blue-collar kid from Las Vegas.” [via NASCAR]

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Kurt Busch revealed his favorite part of driving in the Cup Series

Kurt Busch (45) practices a day before the race before the start of the NASCAR Truck Series DoorDash 250 at Sonoma Raceway. - Source: Imagn

During the interview with CBS Mornings, Kurt Busch was also asked about what he likes about the sport, after having spent 22 years in the Cup Series. For Busch, it was the first time he got to drive the car every weekend.

"My favorite part is that first lap of practice each weekend. It's that adrenaline of that speed in that moment, but also, because of the team. They built this car, it is very safe to drive and it's fun and I now get the chassis set-up all dialed in." [4:05]

Over the course of his career, Kurt Busch scored 34 race wins, along with 161 top fives, and 339 top 10s, as well as one championship title.