“Jimmie Johnson will have to be humble”: When Kurt Busch advised 7-time NASCAR champion ahead of his Indy Car showdown 

Kurt Busch once offered Jimmie Johnson advice ahead of the latter’s first IndyCar 500 race in 2022. He told the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion to be humble and enter the race with a rookie mindset.

Busch won one Cup Series championship with Roush Racing in 2004. He competed with Johnson and witnessed the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports driver win seven championships, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the all-time record.

In May 2022, Kurt Busch reflected on his crash during a practice session for the Indy 500 when he attempted the double for the first time in 2014. He finished a commendable P6 at Indianapolis but his race at Charlotte ended on lap 271 following an engine failure.

Kurt Busch told Jimmie Johnson to understand the car during the practice and qualifying sessions in preparation for the The Brickyard.

“Jimmie will have to be humble and open to the idea of being a rookie again,” Kurt Busch said in an interview with Motorsport.

The one-time NASCAR champion continued by saying that his crash in practice was a good lesson in preparation for the race.

“But I’d say in my case, the wreck was a good lesson, because if I hadn’t made that mistake in practice, I’d have done it early in the race instead, and it would have been a disaster.”

The race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marked the second oval race in Johnson’s IndyCar career. Before the Indy 500, he only ran road courses in his debut season with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 and one oval race at the Texas Motor Speedway in early 2022.

Jimmie Johnson qualified in 12th after clocking a four-lap average of 231.264 mph in the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing car. While the sophomore IndyCar driver did lead the field for two laps, he exited the race early after crashing his car in turn two on lap 194.

Regardless, Johnson was elected Rookie of the Year for the race. The seven-time NASCAR champ announced his retirement later in the season. His best finish in the American open-wheel car racing was at the Iowa Speedway where he earned his first top five in P5.

---

Kurt Busch once lost chance to win $1 million prize money after crashing with his brother Kyle

During the 2007 NASCAR All-Star Challenge in Charlotte, Kurt and Kyle competed against each other for a chance to win a $1 million prize.

With 18 laps to go, the No. 5 Chevrolet of Kyle was passing the No. 2 Dodge of Kurt on the inside when the latter driver was putting the squeeze on his brother. In turn, Kyle spun out and both drivers hit the wall, sustaining race-ending damages.

The two drivers were disappointed and didn’t talk to each other that year. They only got back to being on speaking terms in 2008 after their grandmother told them to reconcile.

Fast forward to 2019, Kyle shared with Graham Bensinger that Kurt finally admitted that he intentionally wrecked him at the all-star event.

“He wrecked me. He finally admitted it just two years ago,” Kyle Busch said. “Finally admitted it on my 200th win party. I called him out on it and he admitted he finally he wrecked me. I’m like, ‘all I wanted you to do is admit that you wrecked me,’” Busch said [6:07].

Kurt Busch retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023, while Kyle still competes in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro.