Kurt Busch announced Saturday that he’s stepping away from full-time NASCAR competition in 2023 so he can focus on his long-term health as he recovers from a head injury that’s kept him out of a race car since July.
From his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway — where the NASCAR playoffs Round of 8 begins Sunday with the South Point 400 — 44-year-old Busch said he’s not back to being 100 percent healthy and has not yet been cleared to race again.
“The doctors have come to the conclusion that it is best for me to ‘shut it down’ for this season,” Busch said in part in a statement on Twitter announcing his plan to step away from full-time racing next season.
“My long-term health is priority number one, and I don’t feel committing at this point to compete for a championship next year is in my best interest or the best interest of the team.”
In his Twitter statement, however, Busch did not explicitly say he’s retiring and he continued emphasizing that.
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) October 15, 2022
Busch — who’s been racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for 22 seasons — hasn’t been behind the wheel of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota since July 23 when he crashed during a qualifying round at Pocono Raceway, suffering concussion-like symptoms.
From the Las Vegas track, Busch addressed the media after his announcement, and then he shared a heartfelt message to his NASCAR fans.
From the bottom of my heart… Thank you. pic.twitter.com/SbKt3Dmv3v
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) October 15, 2022
Busch, NASCAR’s 2004 champion, said:
“Just want to give you guys a shoutout and say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support this year and all the years. You guys have meant so much to me. Here in Vegas, I just felt like this was the time and the way the timing all worked out.
“But I’m not done racing! We’re still racing, we’re gonna have some fun with some other things all around the world, in NASCAR, all over. And again, just stay along for the journey. It’s still going to be a good ride. Love you guys.”
Busch is not the only driver to be out with a head injury this season. Alex Bowman has not raced since late September when he crashed at Texas Motor Speedway and suffered a concussion. Wednesday, Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports announced he won’t compete in at least the next three races at Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway as he continues recovering.
The recent head injuries in the sport — along with their reports of notably harder hits this season with the new Next Gen car — prompted several big-name drivers to speak out about the car and call for greater safety precautions from NASCAR.
In Busch’s absence, second-tier Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs has been filling in with 23XI.
But next season without the veteran driver, Tyler Reddick will take over piloting the No. 45 car. Reddick, currently driving for Richard Childress Racing, was set to join 23XI in 2024, but the two teams came to an agreement allowing Reddick to switch teams a season early, 23XI said in a statement.