Tag: Kurt Busch

NASCAR Superlatives 2022: We polled drivers to see what they think of everyone else

For The Win polled NASCAR drivers to see what they think about their competitors on and off the track.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season ended Sunday with Joey Logano winning his second championship after taking the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway. And the end of the season means it’s time for For The Win’s annual NASCAR Superlatives.

Throughout the last several weeks, we polled 13 drivers with the same 10 questions about their competitors’ skills behind the wheel, as well as their personalities away from the track.

Obviously, there have been numerous examples this year of drivers being furious and frustrated with each other, but some of them are friends who have been racing against each other for a while. Our annual investigation reveals what some of them really think about each other.

Here’s what some of NASCAR’s top drivers had to say about each other this year. And if you’re curious about previous editions…

NASCAR Superlatives: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

These answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

1. Which driver who is not a champion will be a champion at some point?

(Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Daniel Suárez: You’re talking to him.

Joey Logano: Probably Ryan Blaney. I see the improvement he’s made over the last few years, and he’s got a ton of speed. So I’d say he’s getting closer and closer. He’s consistently in the Round of 8 every year for the last few, so I’d say he’s on the brink of making it to the Championship 4.

Bubba Wallace: Ryan Blaney.

Chase Elliott: Ryan Blaney.

Ryan Blaney: I don’t want to say myself because that would be too obvious of like, boosting your own ego. But obviously you want see yourself win a championship. Other than me, [William] Byron has been strong. Obviously, Denny Hamlin has kind of been on the verge of one for a long time.

Austin Cindric: It’s hard to not say Denny Hamlin. He’s come very close, and I think he’s probably the most realistic answer.

Ross Chastain: Ross Chastain.

Kyle Larson: William Byron. I feel like he’s very driven, very focused, works really hard and has a lot of talent, mentally is pretty tough. He just seems like a NASCAR champion.

Martin Truex Jr.: Christopher Bell.

Alex Bowman: William Byron.

Brad Keselowski: I’m going to say William Byron. He’s growing, he’s maturing, he’s with a great team. I think it will click, it just hasn’t yet.

William Byron: I’d first like to say myself, selfishly. There’s a lot of options there. Denny Hamlin comes to mind. If he’s not a champion really soon, I think he’ll be a champion, just the way that he is able to run consistently well. And I think he’s an intelligent race car driver and knows how to put himself in position towards the end of the year to have a chance to win in this format.

Harrison Burton: I think there’s a lot of good young guys that haven’t won one yet. But I think a good one would probably be William Byron. He’s been fast a lot, won a lot of races, so he’ll probably end up being [a champion] one day.

2. Which driver who hasn’t won the Daytona 500 will win it at some point?

(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Suárez: Same question, same answer, me.

Chastain: Ross Chastain.

Wallace: Us! It’s funny, [Ryan] Blaney’s also had two or three second-place finishes, so we’re kind of tied on that scenario. But I’m gonna go with myself.

Elliott: Same guy for me, [Blaney]. He’s finished second about 10 times.

Blaney: Either myself or I think Chase Elliott. He runs pretty good at superspeedways.

Truex: [Laughs] I want to say me.

Bowman: Probably also William Byron.

Larson: Ryan Blaney, for sure. I think he’s just a really good superspeedway racer and is in contention a lot of times. All drivers, they’ll probably mostly say Ryan Blaney.

Cindric: Ryan Blaney.

Logano: Pick one, anyone could win.

Byron: I’d say Ryan Blaney because I think he’s really good at the superspeedway races. He’s always, always at the front. He’s very aggressive, knows how to make the right decisions and stuff. He’s been close already.

Burton: That’s a hard, hard race to win. I think Ryan Blaney will probably get one soon.

Keselowski: Shoot, the last three years, I’ve been in the top-3 in the last few laps and gotten wrecked or something’s happened. Just gotta keep [getting into position] and eventually it’ll happen.

3. Which driver has the best social media personality?

Suárez: Oh my god, you want to have the same answer for every question?

Blaney: [Kevin] Harvick’s been cracking me up here the last couple months, which has been fun to watch. He’ll get all sassy with everybody, and I get a good chuckle out of that. He and Hamlin have a really funny Twitter. I love waking up and seeing [Harvick] go on rants the next morning. I love reading all through it.

Bowman: Me or Noah Gragson.

Chastain: Not Ross Chastain. Pretty much anybody but [me]. I honestly don’t even have a good working knowledge of what people are posting.

Logano: Can I pick myself? I pick myself because I like cars.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfaMwfjpZ0y/

Wallace: Depends on what you’re going for. First ones that come to mind are Denny, Kyle [Busch], myself.

Byron: I don’t think any of us are that great at it, I’ll be honest. Bubba comes to mind. He’s probably the most comfortable with social media, I would say, so his personality comes across. I would look at it as who’s the most authentic? Whose personality is really showing? And I think he’s the most authentic on there, speaks his mind.

Keselowski: I like Erik Jones. I like that he does the reading to the kids thing and all that. That’s pretty cool.

Larson: Probably Denny [Hamlin]. Over the last probably three or four or five years, he’s really stepped up, it seems, his social media stuff, and he’s pretty funny on there. He does do, I would say, a lot of it himself, but I know his social media guy, and he’s pretty witty with all that too.

Cindric: I don’t really like Twitter. I use it, but I don’t like it. I like Instagram a lot better. But I don’t know.

Burton: I don’t follow them all. So I don’t know. I would say my dad, Jeff Burton. He’s killing his Instagram game recently. For an old guy, he’s doing pretty good.

4. Which driver has the best sense of humor?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Truex: I got nothing.

Bowman: Definitely me. Dry as the desert.

Blaney: Bubba [Wallace] and Chase [Elliott]. I think you get different personalities out of people away from their job. It’s kind of hard to judge somebody from how they act at the race track or something because a lot of times, you’re you’re dead-set focused on the task at hand, and it’s hard to kind of really let loose or joke around too much. Everyone’s personality is very different away from the race track.

Wallace: Myself.

Chastain: Ryan Blaney. It’s dry, but I think I understand it though. Most people probably don’t.

Keselowski: Blaney. He’s just a fun guy to be around, and he’s chill.

Elliott: Skip.

Logano: This used to be the Clint Bowyer answer back in the day. Can I pick myself again? I can’t keep picking myself [laughs].

Cindric: Kevin Harvick has a pretty dry sense of humor, which I always enjoy. Sometimes it’s at the expense of something or someone else, but it’s Kevin Harvick.

Byron: Kyle Busch kind of has a pretty funny sense of humor. Like, when I drove for for [Kyle Busch Motorsports], I always thought he was kind of funny. He’s pretty brash, but it’s kind of funny sometimes because he’s so unfiltered.

Suárez: Probably Noah Gragson.

Burton: Todd Gilliland is the guy that probably makes me laugh the most in the garage. He’s a rookie, so I hang out with him quite a bit. And yeah, he’s funny as heck, that’s for sure.

Larson: The first name that came to my mind was Corey LaJoie. He’s really funny and quick.

NASCAR’s Noah Gragson won at Bristol, vomited and shotgunned a White Claw opened with a gladiator sword

5. Which driver is most likely to drop an f-bomb in a live TV interview?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Logano: Typically, I’d say Kyle Busch, but he seems like he’s cleaned it up a little lately. Kevin [Harvick] is not likely anymore either. Those are two likely candidates back in the day. Bubba [Wallace] maybe?

Suárez: Probably me! I did that a few times after I won.

Cindric: Kyle Busch.

Keselowski: Yeah, probably Kyle Busch.

Chastain: Darrell Wallace.

Elliott: [Kevin] Harvick.

Byron: Oh, for sure [Kyle Busch]. I think that’s already happened. He’s for sure halfway there, if not already there.

Burton: Kyle Busch, I’d say it’s a good guess.

Truex: Kyle Busch.

Larson: Probably Noah Gragson.

Wallace: Noah Gragson.

Bowman: Noah Gragson.

Blaney: Man, I think any of us are capable of it. It’s just a matter of how upset you are. But I feel like that’s a big one to drop. I could see dropping a number of other cuss words, so you really have to mean it to drop that one. I could see Kyle Busch dropping one, but he hasn’t yet, I don’t believe, in his whole career, so maybe he won’t.

6. Which driver has had the most surprising season?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Truex: I would say Ross Chastain because they just consistently perform well, and they’re still a fairly new team.

Keselowski: Ross Chastain. He’s still in the final four, and I guess I probably didn’t see that coming.

Blaney: Chastain’s had a really good first year at Trackhouse. Not surprising, he’s doing well, but I think he’s, you know, run better than people have thought in his first year over there. Another one who I’m surprised hasn’t run better or won like they’re used to doing is [Martin] Truex.

Cindric: Daniel Suárez. He’s been in the sport for a while and, quite honestly, in very capable cars. And whether he’s grown or he’s in a great situation or he wasn’t in good situations before, I feel like it’s kind of his third attempt at being in a top team, and he’s done very well with it.

Wallace: Probably Briscoe. Obviously got that win at Phoenix [in the spring], and the Stewart-Haas [Racing] cars haven’t been that great all year. But the last 10 races, he’s gotten hot at the right time.

Byron: Definitely Ross Chastain. I assumed he would be a playoff contender, for sure, based on how he ran the 42. But I felt like it would just be a steady progression from last year and the 42 car. Those guys, as soon as the season started, have been contenders and been difficult and hard to beat basically a lot of tracks.

Suárez: My team as a whole — not just myself but my teammate as well. Trackhouse as a whole, more [successful] than most people expected. We are having some good success and that has been very, very good.

Bowman: Ross Chastain. I just didn’t see that much success coming this year. They’ve been really strong, and I know Ross is really good. I just didn’t expect them to do what they’ve done.

Logano: This whole year’s been a surprise. Kurt Busch is one who comes to my mind, not for good reasons. Obviously, the win early in the year was great, but his whole year is just a surprise probably to all of us.

Burton: Chase Briscoe is having a really good year. Not that it’s surprising, I guess, because he’s won a lot of races in Xfinity, but he’s done a really good job from last year to this year, making it as far as he has in the playoffs and getting good finishes when he hasn’t run well. I feel like there are days where he’ll run towards the back and then find a way to finish up front, which is really hard to do in this series.

Larson: Surprisingly good — great! — Ross Chastain. I knew he was going to be good. I wasn’t surprised to see them strong early in the year, but I thought that that team might tail off as the season got on. But they haven’t. Surprisingly not good — not that he hasn’t been great because he’s been in contention a lot — but Martin Truex. I’m just surprised that they haven’t won.

Chastain: Ross Chastain. I’ve never won races. I’d only finished in the top-5 three times in my career before this year, and now we’ve done it [15] times. Brand-new team, new ownership and two drivers that had never competed at the front consistently, and we’ve done that this year. I’m a [watermelon] farmer, so it’s surprising that I can drive a race car.

7. You’re leading the race and there are two laps left; which driver would you want behind you?

(Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Blaney: None of them. I don’t think you want any of them within a car length or two of you.

Logano: All of them.

Elliott: No one. I hope they’re far enough away or nobody’s close to you.

Wallace: I’ll go with Blaney.

Bowman: I don’t care.

Truex: Probably Kyle Busch, just because I know he’d race with respect. We have a good relationship, and we always race well together. Very, very hard racing, but clean and fair.

Byron: A teammate would be better than than others probably. So I’d say maybe Chase [Elliott] or Alex [Bowman] or Kyle [Larson]. Any of those three would be a good one to have.

Larson: I guess it depends on the race track, but I don’t I don’t really care. I guess any of them.

Suárez: For a comfortable situation, I’d say my teammate, Ross [Chastain].

Keselowski: Probably Chris Buescher. He’s a good teammate.

Burton: Another rookie, probably Todd Gilliland or Austin Cindric, I’d say, because I feel like we’re all in the same boat. So we’ll be in good shape there.

Chastain: Line ’em up however they want, doesn’t matter.

8. You’re leading the race and there are two laps left; which driver do you absolutely not want behind you?

(John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Logano: I really don’t care. You’ve got to beat them all, so it doesn’t matter. Whoever, I don’t think it makes a difference, honestly. Everybody’s gonna be willing to do something to win a race, and what they’re willing to do is sometimes pretty fluid. I think you treat them all the same because you just don’t know.

Truex: I guess best chance of getting run into would be Joey Logano.

Elliott: I’m good with any of them, no issues.

Wallace: Let’s go with Logano.

Suárez: A driver that is in a must-win situation, that has a lot of pressure. Any of the drivers that are in the playoffs that are below the cutline, those guys, they have to do whatever they have to do. If I was in their position, I would do the same thing. Those guys, it’s not good to have them behind me because they will have to do dumb moves to do whatever they have to do to get the job done.

Keselowski: Probably Chase Briscoe. the last few times he’s been running second with like two or three laps to go, he’s wrecked the leader — in case you were wondering the rationale.

Bowman: Ross [Chastain] is just gonna ride the wall, so maybe not Ross.

Byron: Man, I don’t want any of them behind me. But I don’t think really any of them intimidate me, per se. I think some are more strategic than others. It just depends on the situation. I can’t pick one there.

Blaney: It doesn’t really matter. To me, you kind of understand and you race around guys enough to where you know who will be more aggressive than others. But this year, everyone’s been really aggressive, so you never know.

Burton: I think I don’t want Ross Chastain behind me because I feel like he’s gonna probably put me in a spot where I’m gonna either have to crash us both, or crash him to try and win. So it’s gonna be crazy at the end if he’s right behind you.

Larson: Seems like Ross Chastain — and I’m not saying this on the on the part that he would crash you for the win — I just feel like he’s really good right now, and he’s really fast. He understands traffic really well. I feel like he does the best job of passing.

Cindric: Ross Chastain. Probably a popular answer.

Chastain: I don’t discriminate. Pick anybody you want, put them right behind me. That’s fine by me.

NASCAR drivers’ and spotters’ real-time reactions to Ross Chastain’s wild Martinsville move are pure gold

9. Which driver is most likely to believe in wild conspiracy theories?

(Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Blaney: Oh, gosh, Chase [Elliott]. This was when we were living in the same apartment complex together in North Carolina years ago, like 2015. He’d go down rabbit holes of conspiracy theories all the time. And I’d be over at his apartment sitting there, and he’d just go into a deep dive. I don’t know if he’s still that way or not. But back in 2015, ’16, Chase was a big conspiracy theorist on the aliens, government schemes, all this kind of stuff. And I wasn’t really interested in them. But yeah, he was pretty big into it a handful of years ago.

Wallace: Brad Keselowski.

Logano: Brad [Keselowski] will read the conspiracy theories, for sure, and get fairly deep into stuff before he realizes what the heck’s going on.

Byron: Oh man, I’d say Brad Keselowski. He comes across that way on social media, I think. He definitely reads into things for sure. So I would say him. I’ve seen him do some things with his methods, [like] when he goes out to qualify, he’ll do something different than everybody else.

Bowman: Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski: Me. I’m assuming everybody else has answered me.

Larson: Kyle Busch, for sure. Kyle or Kurt — either of the Buschs.

Burton: I don’t really know why, but the first guy that came to my mind is Denny Hamlin.

Elliott: Tyler Reddick. He just strikes me as a conspiracy theorist maybe, I don’t know.

Cindric: Oh, Michael McDowell. I’ve got a hunch, I’ll leave it at that.

Chastain: Michael McDowell. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. I know him well, and so I can say this: He doesn’t get the credit he deserves for being a little different, little out there in some ways. I love him. I love everything about him and what he stands for and being his friend. But you give him a few crumbs of maybe truth, and he’s gonna run with it.

10. Which driver is having the largest impact on the sport this season?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Logano: Kurt Busch. Kurt, right now, has a very loud voice, and he has more time than anybody to focus on the health of our sport and health of our drivers and health and the safety of our cars. And he has taken the ball and run with it. And we all should be appreciative for what Kurt’s been doing for us lately. Kurt takes the cake by a mile.

Truex: Kevin Harvick has had a big impact, especially in talks with NASCAR about the Next Gen car and just bringing things out in the open. And I feel like things are starting to get changed and looked at a lot harder because of him being outspoken.

Cindric: I’d say it’s a toss up between Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. I wouldn’t say it’s positive or negative, just impact on the larger scale. They’ve been very outspoken about the car and the series and some things are productive. Some things probably aren’t aimed at being productive. So, from that standpoint, they’ve definitely been been the leaders in that category.

Keselowski: Probably either Kevin Harvick or Denny Hamlin because they’re so outspoken across the board.

Larson: Probably if I had to pick one over everybody, Harvick just on the safety side. Him and Denny together, them two. They’re moving the needle.

(Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Wallace: Ross Chastain. He’s obviously made a lot of headlines this year for the way he races, and obviously, Martinsville was no shortage of that.

Blaney: Honestly, I think like last two years, we’ve seen Bubba [Wallace] have a huge impact on the sport, reaching new audiences, and that’s grown the sport tremendously. I think he’s had a great influence on it. He’s grown different fan bases and grown the sport in a good way. So he’s had a massive impact on it, and I think it’s really cool what he’s done.

Chastain: I’ll say Darrell [Wallace]. He won a race. The following he has and the reach that he has, [it’s] far beyond what I have, in good and bad. What he does travels farther, and what he says carries a heavier weight than something I say. So I think in his winning moments and his not great moments, his car makes it to front pages and headlines farther than mine. He has this opportunity to carry the sport through his career and through his accomplishments on track that I hope to get to. He’s got the potential to just really elevate this sport. I’m glad to be his friend and a competitor. I want to beat him, right? But yeah, I think he’s got the most potential.

Suárez: Honestly, I will say myself because of the win that we had in Sonoma and everything that came with that. I felt like we gained a lot of traction with the Hispanic community, and that was great and I feel like that was amazing, not just for myself but for the entire sport and the history of the sport. So I think that that was pretty remarkable, and it just happened that I was driving.

Byron: I’d say Denny Hamlin because of just the 23XI being a new team and the national presence that the Jordan brand has and stuff like that. So I would say they’ve had the biggest impact on on the way the seasons gone with how vocal they are.

Blaney: Hard to argue against Ross [Chastain] after [Martinsville].

Burton: I’d say probably Kevin Harvick. Actually, I take that back — I’d say Kurt Busch is. Even though he was out for the year, he has been a really good advocate for the drivers and comes to meetings with NASCAR and the drivers and is really involved still. So a guy like that who kind of has just recently announced his retirement, I think he’s been really influencing the sport a lot. So either those two guys have been really influential though.

Chase Elliott: Ross Chastain has certainly been a storyline a lot throughout the year, both good and bad. But he’s been talked about quite a bit, so seems like a pretty good story between him and and Trackhouse and the things they’ve had going on.

Joey Logano on how he won his second NASCAR championship: ‘You can’t fake confidence’

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NASCAR Superlatives 2022: We polled drivers to see what they think of everyone else

For The Win polled NASCAR drivers to see what they think about their competitors on and off the track.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season ended Sunday with Joey Logano winning his second championship after taking the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway. And the end of the season means it’s time for For The Win’s annual NASCAR Superlatives.

Throughout the last several weeks, we polled 13 drivers with the same 10 questions about their competitors’ skills behind the wheel, as well as their personalities away from the track.

Obviously, there have been numerous examples this year of drivers being furious and frustrated with each other, but some of them are friends who have been racing against each other for a while. Our annual investigation reveals what some of them really think about each other.

Here’s what some of NASCAR’s top drivers had to say about each other this year. And if you’re curious about previous editions…

NASCAR Superlatives: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

These answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

1. Which driver who is not a champion will be a champion at some point?

(Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Daniel Suárez: You’re talking to him.

Joey Logano: Probably Ryan Blaney. I see the improvement he’s made over the last few years, and he’s got a ton of speed. So I’d say he’s getting closer and closer. He’s consistently in the Round of 8 every year for the last few, so I’d say he’s on the brink of making it to the Championship 4.

Bubba Wallace: Ryan Blaney.

Chase Elliott: Ryan Blaney.

Ryan Blaney: I don’t want to say myself because that would be too obvious of like, boosting your own ego. But obviously you want see yourself win a championship. Other than me, [William] Byron has been strong. Obviously, Denny Hamlin has kind of been on the verge of one for a long time.

Austin Cindric: It’s hard to not say Denny Hamlin. He’s come very close, and I think he’s probably the most realistic answer.

Ross Chastain: Ross Chastain.

Kyle Larson: William Byron. I feel like he’s very driven, very focused, works really hard and has a lot of talent, mentally is pretty tough. He just seems like a NASCAR champion.

Martin Truex Jr.: Christopher Bell.

Alex Bowman: William Byron.

Brad Keselowski: I’m going to say William Byron. He’s growing, he’s maturing, he’s with a great team. I think it will click, it just hasn’t yet.

William Byron: I’d first like to say myself, selfishly. There’s a lot of options there. Denny Hamlin comes to mind. If he’s not a champion really soon, I think he’ll be a champion, just the way that he is able to run consistently well. And I think he’s an intelligent race car driver and knows how to put himself in position towards the end of the year to have a chance to win in this format.

Harrison Burton: I think there’s a lot of good young guys that haven’t won one yet. But I think a good one would probably be William Byron. He’s been fast a lot, won a lot of races, so he’ll probably end up being [a champion] one day.

2. Which driver who hasn’t won the Daytona 500 will win it at some point?

(Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Suárez: Same question, same answer, me.

Chastain: Ross Chastain.

Wallace: Us! It’s funny, [Ryan] Blaney’s also had two or three second-place finishes, so we’re kind of tied on that scenario. But I’m gonna go with myself.

Elliott: Same guy for me, [Blaney]. He’s finished second about 10 times.

Blaney: Either myself or I think Chase Elliott. He runs pretty good at superspeedways.

Truex: [Laughs] I want to say me.

Bowman: Probably also William Byron.

Larson: Ryan Blaney, for sure. I think he’s just a really good superspeedway racer and is in contention a lot of times. All drivers, they’ll probably mostly say Ryan Blaney.

Cindric: Ryan Blaney.

Logano: Pick one, anyone could win.

Byron: I’d say Ryan Blaney because I think he’s really good at the superspeedway races. He’s always, always at the front. He’s very aggressive, knows how to make the right decisions and stuff. He’s been close already.

Burton: That’s a hard, hard race to win. I think Ryan Blaney will probably get one soon.

Keselowski: Shoot, the last three years, I’ve been in the top-3 in the last few laps and gotten wrecked or something’s happened. Just gotta keep [getting into position] and eventually it’ll happen.

3. Which driver has the best social media personality?

Suárez: Oh my god, you want to have the same answer for every question?

Blaney: [Kevin] Harvick’s been cracking me up here the last couple months, which has been fun to watch. He’ll get all sassy with everybody, and I get a good chuckle out of that. He and Hamlin have a really funny Twitter. I love waking up and seeing [Harvick] go on rants the next morning. I love reading all through it.

Bowman: Me or Noah Gragson.

Chastain: Not Ross Chastain. Pretty much anybody but [me]. I honestly don’t even have a good working knowledge of what people are posting.

Logano: Can I pick myself? I pick myself because I like cars.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfaMwfjpZ0y/

Wallace: Depends on what you’re going for. First ones that come to mind are Denny, Kyle [Busch], myself.

Byron: I don’t think any of us are that great at it, I’ll be honest. Bubba comes to mind. He’s probably the most comfortable with social media, I would say, so his personality comes across. I would look at it as who’s the most authentic? Whose personality is really showing? And I think he’s the most authentic on there, speaks his mind.

Keselowski: I like Erik Jones. I like that he does the reading to the kids thing and all that. That’s pretty cool.

Larson: Probably Denny [Hamlin]. Over the last probably three or four or five years, he’s really stepped up, it seems, his social media stuff, and he’s pretty funny on there. He does do, I would say, a lot of it himself, but I know his social media guy, and he’s pretty witty with all that too.

Cindric: I don’t really like Twitter. I use it, but I don’t like it. I like Instagram a lot better. But I don’t know.

Burton: I don’t follow them all. So I don’t know. I would say my dad, Jeff Burton. He’s killing his Instagram game recently. For an old guy, he’s doing pretty good.

4. Which driver has the best sense of humor?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Truex: I got nothing.

Bowman: Definitely me. Dry as the desert.

Blaney: Bubba [Wallace] and Chase [Elliott]. I think you get different personalities out of people away from their job. It’s kind of hard to judge somebody from how they act at the race track or something because a lot of times, you’re you’re dead-set focused on the task at hand, and it’s hard to kind of really let loose or joke around too much. Everyone’s personality is very different away from the race track.

Wallace: Myself.

Chastain: Ryan Blaney. It’s dry, but I think I understand it though. Most people probably don’t.

Keselowski: Blaney. He’s just a fun guy to be around, and he’s chill.

Elliott: Skip.

Logano: This used to be the Clint Bowyer answer back in the day. Can I pick myself again? I can’t keep picking myself [laughs].

Cindric: Kevin Harvick has a pretty dry sense of humor, which I always enjoy. Sometimes it’s at the expense of something or someone else, but it’s Kevin Harvick.

Byron: Kyle Busch kind of has a pretty funny sense of humor. Like, when I drove for for [Kyle Busch Motorsports], I always thought he was kind of funny. He’s pretty brash, but it’s kind of funny sometimes because he’s so unfiltered.

Suárez: Probably Noah Gragson.

Burton: Todd Gilliland is the guy that probably makes me laugh the most in the garage. He’s a rookie, so I hang out with him quite a bit. And yeah, he’s funny as heck, that’s for sure.

Larson: The first name that came to my mind was Corey LaJoie. He’s really funny and quick.

NASCAR’s Noah Gragson won at Bristol, vomited and shotgunned a White Claw opened with a gladiator sword

5. Which driver is most likely to drop an f-bomb in a live TV interview?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Logano: Typically, I’d say Kyle Busch, but he seems like he’s cleaned it up a little lately. Kevin [Harvick] is not likely anymore either. Those are two likely candidates back in the day. Bubba [Wallace] maybe?

Suárez: Probably me! I did that a few times after I won.

Cindric: Kyle Busch.

Keselowski: Yeah, probably Kyle Busch.

Chastain: Darrell Wallace.

Elliott: [Kevin] Harvick.

Byron: Oh, for sure [Kyle Busch]. I think that’s already happened. He’s for sure halfway there, if not already there.

Burton: Kyle Busch, I’d say it’s a good guess.

Truex: Kyle Busch.

Larson: Probably Noah Gragson.

Wallace: Noah Gragson.

Bowman: Noah Gragson.

Blaney: Man, I think any of us are capable of it. It’s just a matter of how upset you are. But I feel like that’s a big one to drop. I could see dropping a number of other cuss words, so you really have to mean it to drop that one. I could see Kyle Busch dropping one, but he hasn’t yet, I don’t believe, in his whole career, so maybe he won’t.

6. Which driver has had the most surprising season?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Truex: I would say Ross Chastain because they just consistently perform well, and they’re still a fairly new team.

Keselowski: Ross Chastain. He’s still in the final four, and I guess I probably didn’t see that coming.

Blaney: Chastain’s had a really good first year at Trackhouse. Not surprising, he’s doing well, but I think he’s, you know, run better than people have thought in his first year over there. Another one who I’m surprised hasn’t run better or won like they’re used to doing is [Martin] Truex.

Cindric: Daniel Suárez. He’s been in the sport for a while and, quite honestly, in very capable cars. And whether he’s grown or he’s in a great situation or he wasn’t in good situations before, I feel like it’s kind of his third attempt at being in a top team, and he’s done very well with it.

Wallace: Probably Briscoe. Obviously got that win at Phoenix [in the spring], and the Stewart-Haas [Racing] cars haven’t been that great all year. But the last 10 races, he’s gotten hot at the right time.

Byron: Definitely Ross Chastain. I assumed he would be a playoff contender, for sure, based on how he ran the 42. But I felt like it would just be a steady progression from last year and the 42 car. Those guys, as soon as the season started, have been contenders and been difficult and hard to beat basically a lot of tracks.

Suárez: My team as a whole — not just myself but my teammate as well. Trackhouse as a whole, more [successful] than most people expected. We are having some good success and that has been very, very good.

Bowman: Ross Chastain. I just didn’t see that much success coming this year. They’ve been really strong, and I know Ross is really good. I just didn’t expect them to do what they’ve done.

Logano: This whole year’s been a surprise. Kurt Busch is one who comes to my mind, not for good reasons. Obviously, the win early in the year was great, but his whole year is just a surprise probably to all of us.

Burton: Chase Briscoe is having a really good year. Not that it’s surprising, I guess, because he’s won a lot of races in Xfinity, but he’s done a really good job from last year to this year, making it as far as he has in the playoffs and getting good finishes when he hasn’t run well. I feel like there are days where he’ll run towards the back and then find a way to finish up front, which is really hard to do in this series.

Larson: Surprisingly good — great! — Ross Chastain. I knew he was going to be good. I wasn’t surprised to see them strong early in the year, but I thought that that team might tail off as the season got on. But they haven’t. Surprisingly not good — not that he hasn’t been great because he’s been in contention a lot — but Martin Truex. I’m just surprised that they haven’t won.

Chastain: Ross Chastain. I’ve never won races. I’d only finished in the top-5 three times in my career before this year, and now we’ve done it [15] times. Brand-new team, new ownership and two drivers that had never competed at the front consistently, and we’ve done that this year. I’m a [watermelon] farmer, so it’s surprising that I can drive a race car.

7. You’re leading the race and there are two laps left; which driver would you want behind you?

(Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Blaney: None of them. I don’t think you want any of them within a car length or two of you.

Logano: All of them.

Elliott: No one. I hope they’re far enough away or nobody’s close to you.

Wallace: I’ll go with Blaney.

Bowman: I don’t care.

Truex: Probably Kyle Busch, just because I know he’d race with respect. We have a good relationship, and we always race well together. Very, very hard racing, but clean and fair.

Byron: A teammate would be better than than others probably. So I’d say maybe Chase [Elliott] or Alex [Bowman] or Kyle [Larson]. Any of those three would be a good one to have.

Larson: I guess it depends on the race track, but I don’t I don’t really care. I guess any of them.

Suárez: For a comfortable situation, I’d say my teammate, Ross [Chastain].

Keselowski: Probably Chris Buescher. He’s a good teammate.

Burton: Another rookie, probably Todd Gilliland or Austin Cindric, I’d say, because I feel like we’re all in the same boat. So we’ll be in good shape there.

Chastain: Line ’em up however they want, doesn’t matter.

8. You’re leading the race and there are two laps left; which driver do you absolutely not want behind you?

(John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Logano: I really don’t care. You’ve got to beat them all, so it doesn’t matter. Whoever, I don’t think it makes a difference, honestly. Everybody’s gonna be willing to do something to win a race, and what they’re willing to do is sometimes pretty fluid. I think you treat them all the same because you just don’t know.

Truex: I guess best chance of getting run into would be Joey Logano.

Elliott: I’m good with any of them, no issues.

Wallace: Let’s go with Logano.

Suárez: A driver that is in a must-win situation, that has a lot of pressure. Any of the drivers that are in the playoffs that are below the cutline, those guys, they have to do whatever they have to do. If I was in their position, I would do the same thing. Those guys, it’s not good to have them behind me because they will have to do dumb moves to do whatever they have to do to get the job done.

Keselowski: Probably Chase Briscoe. the last few times he’s been running second with like two or three laps to go, he’s wrecked the leader — in case you were wondering the rationale.

Bowman: Ross [Chastain] is just gonna ride the wall, so maybe not Ross.

Byron: Man, I don’t want any of them behind me. But I don’t think really any of them intimidate me, per se. I think some are more strategic than others. It just depends on the situation. I can’t pick one there.

Blaney: It doesn’t really matter. To me, you kind of understand and you race around guys enough to where you know who will be more aggressive than others. But this year, everyone’s been really aggressive, so you never know.

Burton: I think I don’t want Ross Chastain behind me because I feel like he’s gonna probably put me in a spot where I’m gonna either have to crash us both, or crash him to try and win. So it’s gonna be crazy at the end if he’s right behind you.

Larson: Seems like Ross Chastain — and I’m not saying this on the on the part that he would crash you for the win — I just feel like he’s really good right now, and he’s really fast. He understands traffic really well. I feel like he does the best job of passing.

Cindric: Ross Chastain. Probably a popular answer.

Chastain: I don’t discriminate. Pick anybody you want, put them right behind me. That’s fine by me.

NASCAR drivers’ and spotters’ real-time reactions to Ross Chastain’s wild Martinsville move are pure gold

9. Which driver is most likely to believe in wild conspiracy theories?

(Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Blaney: Oh, gosh, Chase [Elliott]. This was when we were living in the same apartment complex together in North Carolina years ago, like 2015. He’d go down rabbit holes of conspiracy theories all the time. And I’d be over at his apartment sitting there, and he’d just go into a deep dive. I don’t know if he’s still that way or not. But back in 2015, ’16, Chase was a big conspiracy theorist on the aliens, government schemes, all this kind of stuff. And I wasn’t really interested in them. But yeah, he was pretty big into it a handful of years ago.

Wallace: Brad Keselowski.

Logano: Brad [Keselowski] will read the conspiracy theories, for sure, and get fairly deep into stuff before he realizes what the heck’s going on.

Byron: Oh man, I’d say Brad Keselowski. He comes across that way on social media, I think. He definitely reads into things for sure. So I would say him. I’ve seen him do some things with his methods, [like] when he goes out to qualify, he’ll do something different than everybody else.

Bowman: Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski: Me. I’m assuming everybody else has answered me.

Larson: Kyle Busch, for sure. Kyle or Kurt — either of the Buschs.

Burton: I don’t really know why, but the first guy that came to my mind is Denny Hamlin.

Elliott: Tyler Reddick. He just strikes me as a conspiracy theorist maybe, I don’t know.

Cindric: Oh, Michael McDowell. I’ve got a hunch, I’ll leave it at that.

Chastain: Michael McDowell. I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. I know him well, and so I can say this: He doesn’t get the credit he deserves for being a little different, little out there in some ways. I love him. I love everything about him and what he stands for and being his friend. But you give him a few crumbs of maybe truth, and he’s gonna run with it.

10. Which driver is having the largest impact on the sport this season?

(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Logano: Kurt Busch. Kurt, right now, has a very loud voice, and he has more time than anybody to focus on the health of our sport and health of our drivers and health and the safety of our cars. And he has taken the ball and run with it. And we all should be appreciative for what Kurt’s been doing for us lately. Kurt takes the cake by a mile.

Truex: Kevin Harvick has had a big impact, especially in talks with NASCAR about the Next Gen car and just bringing things out in the open. And I feel like things are starting to get changed and looked at a lot harder because of him being outspoken.

Cindric: I’d say it’s a toss up between Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. I wouldn’t say it’s positive or negative, just impact on the larger scale. They’ve been very outspoken about the car and the series and some things are productive. Some things probably aren’t aimed at being productive. So, from that standpoint, they’ve definitely been been the leaders in that category.

Keselowski: Probably either Kevin Harvick or Denny Hamlin because they’re so outspoken across the board.

Larson: Probably if I had to pick one over everybody, Harvick just on the safety side. Him and Denny together, them two. They’re moving the needle.

(Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Wallace: Ross Chastain. He’s obviously made a lot of headlines this year for the way he races, and obviously, Martinsville was no shortage of that.

Blaney: Honestly, I think like last two years, we’ve seen Bubba [Wallace] have a huge impact on the sport, reaching new audiences, and that’s grown the sport tremendously. I think he’s had a great influence on it. He’s grown different fan bases and grown the sport in a good way. So he’s had a massive impact on it, and I think it’s really cool what he’s done.

Chastain: I’ll say Darrell [Wallace]. He won a race. The following he has and the reach that he has, [it’s] far beyond what I have, in good and bad. What he does travels farther, and what he says carries a heavier weight than something I say. So I think in his winning moments and his not great moments, his car makes it to front pages and headlines farther than mine. He has this opportunity to carry the sport through his career and through his accomplishments on track that I hope to get to. He’s got the potential to just really elevate this sport. I’m glad to be his friend and a competitor. I want to beat him, right? But yeah, I think he’s got the most potential.

Suárez: Honestly, I will say myself because of the win that we had in Sonoma and everything that came with that. I felt like we gained a lot of traction with the Hispanic community, and that was great and I feel like that was amazing, not just for myself but for the entire sport and the history of the sport. So I think that that was pretty remarkable, and it just happened that I was driving.

Byron: I’d say Denny Hamlin because of just the 23XI being a new team and the national presence that the Jordan brand has and stuff like that. So I would say they’ve had the biggest impact on on the way the seasons gone with how vocal they are.

Blaney: Hard to argue against Ross [Chastain] after [Martinsville].

Burton: I’d say probably Kevin Harvick. Actually, I take that back — I’d say Kurt Busch is. Even though he was out for the year, he has been a really good advocate for the drivers and comes to meetings with NASCAR and the drivers and is really involved still. So a guy like that who kind of has just recently announced his retirement, I think he’s been really influencing the sport a lot. So either those two guys have been really influential though.

Chase Elliott: Ross Chastain has certainly been a storyline a lot throughout the year, both good and bad. But he’s been talked about quite a bit, so seems like a pretty good story between him and and Trackhouse and the things they’ve had going on.

Joey Logano on how he won his second NASCAR championship: ‘You can’t fake confidence’

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Kurt Busch to fans as he steps away from full-time NASCAR: ‘I’m not done racing’

Kurt Busch is stepping away from full-time NASCAR racing to focus on his recovery from concussion-like symptoms.

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.

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.

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.

Kurt Busch is stepping away from full-time NASCAR, and Tyler Reddick will replace him at 23XI Racing

“I will be stepping away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2023,” Kurt Busch announced Saturday.

Kurt Busch is stepping away from full-time NASCAR competition next season as he continues to recover from a head injury he suffered this summer behind the wheel of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota.

The 44-year-old driver — a veteran of the sport after 22 full-time seasons in the Cup Series that included winning the 2004 championship — announced Saturday that he’s stepping away from full-time NASCAR competition in 2023 to focus on his recovery and his long-term health. He did not explicitly say he’s retiring.

Busch has been sidelined since July 23 after he crashed during a qualifying round at Pocono Raceway. He subsequently began experiencing concussion-like symptoms and has yet to be cleared to compete. His last race was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17, the weekend before his Pocono crash.

In a statement on Twitter, Busch said:

“The doctors have come to the conclusion that it is best for me to ‘shut it down’ for this season. Even though I have made solid gains since I have been working with top specialists, and the team at Toyota Performance Center, I’m still not 100% and I’m still not cleared to compete.

“As I continue to focus on my health and work towards being cleared, I will be stepping away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2023.

“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.”

Busch has been open in his head injury recovery, leading by example for other NASCAR drivers and the racing world. He’s provided occasional updates in his recovery.

“I know I’m not 100% in my ability to go out and race at the top level in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Busch added in his Twitter statement. “These are the best of the best drivers, and lately, I haven’t felt my best.”

In Busch’s absence, second-tier Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs first filled in behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota before switching car numbers with 23XI’s other full-time driver, Bubba Wallace, putting the more experienced racer in the 45 for the playoffs. Thanks to Busch’s May win at Kansas Speedway, the No. 45 car was competing for the owners’ championship but has since been eliminated.

23XI — which is co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — announced in July that Tyler Reddick would join the team in 2024, and Reddick was expected to stay with his current team, Richard Childress Racing, through 2023.

But now, Reddick will switch teams before the 2023 season to take over the No. 45 car for 23XI. Reddick won his first three Cup races (Road America, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and Texas Motor Speedway) in 2022, his third full-time season at the top of NASCAR.

In a statement on Twitter, 23XI said:

“With Kurt choosing to not race full-time next year, 23XI Racing announced today that upon reaching an agreement with Richard Childress Racing, Tyler Reddick will join 23XI in 2023 to drive the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD. We look forward to competing against Tyler over the remaining four weeks of the season and look forward to having him join our team thereafter.”

Since Kurt Busch began full-time racing in the Cup Series in 2001, he’s accumulated 34 race wins — including the 2017 Daytona 500 — ranking him 25th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. Throughout his full-time Cup career, he’s had just three seasons (2001, 2012, 2013) without at least one trip to Victory Lane.

In a statement, NASCAR president Steve Phelps said:

“For more than two decades, we have been privileged to watch Kurt Busch compete. He has proven himself a champion on the racetrack, but perhaps just as importantly, he has grown to become a true ambassador for the sport.  Kurt’s drive to improve the future of motorsports has set him apart. We are thrilled that he’ll remain in our sport as a leader and trusted resource. Kurt’s unparalleled passion for racing gives us hope that we will see him in a race car again.”

Busch’s most recent win was in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas earlier this season when he absolutely dominated, leading a race-high of 116 of 267 total laps with an incredible Jordan Brand paint scheme to go with it.

“Next year my contributions to racing may look a little different, but I will continue to give my best to this sport. And, if I’m cleared, maybe you’ll see me at select races,” Busch added on Twitter.

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Best images of Bubba Wallace’s surge to victory in NASCAR’s Hollywood Casino 400

Bubba Wallace powered his way to victory in NASCAR’s Hollywood Casino 400

The Hollywood Casino 400 was a playoff race in the Chase for the NASCAR Championship. However, it didn’t go to one of the drivers vying for the title. Rather, it was won by Bubba Wallace in the 45 car. Wallace has moved into that ride with Kurt Busch unable to drive due to an injury suffered earlier in the campaign.

Why Bubba Wallace is switching car numbers for the last 10 NASCAR races of the season

Same team, same crew chief but a different car number for Bubba Wallace in the rest of the NASCAR season.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. You may have heard that NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace is switching car numbers for the remainder of the season and have a lot of questions? That’s OK because we’re here to help.

Since joining 23XI Racing, Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s team, ahead of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Bubba Wallace has been behind the wheel of the team’s No. 23 Toyota. He won his first career race with that car number last fall at Talladega Superspeedway.

But for the NASCAR playoffs — which begin Sunday with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway — Wallace is switching to 23XI’s other car, the No. 45 Toyota.

Some quick background: Wallace in the No. 23 car did not qualify as a driver for the 10-race playoffs. His teammate, Kurt Busch, the regular driver of the No. 45 car, did by winning a race in May at Kansas Speedway.

But Busch has been sidelined since July following a wreck at Pocono Raceway, and he still has not been medically cleared to race after experiencing “concussion-like symptoms” and withdrew himself from the playoffs. In his absence, second-tier Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs has been filling in behind the wheel of the No. 45 car.

Although Busch is no longer part of the postseason and his timeline for returning remains unclear, the No. 45 car itself is still eligible for the owners’ championship in the playoffs, while the No. 23 car is not.

So, instead of having Gibbs — who does not race full time in the Cup Series currently — continue competing in the No. 45, 23XI is opting to put its more experienced driver in that car to compete for the owners’ title, the team announced Wednesday. It’s a move that the team said offers it “the best chance for the highest possible finish at the end of the season.”

Wallace’s sponsors and his crew chief, Bootie Barker, will remain the same for the last 10 races of the season – only the car number is changing.

“After consulting with NASCAR, we made this decision in the best interest of the entire organization and for all our employees who helped earn a spot in the playoffs for the Owner’s Championship through their hard work,” team president Steve Lauletta said in a statement. “While Ty has done a great job for us in the No. 45 car, we feel that Bubba’s experience in this car, at the upcoming playoff tracks and his recent momentum will give 23XI the best chance at maximizing our points each weekend. We recognize that this is a unique opportunity in the Cup Series, and we’re grateful to our employees and partners for standing with the team and supporting this decision.”

But this adjustment is only for the rest of the season, after which Wallace — who recently signed a multi-year contract extension with 23XI — is expected to return to the No. 23 car.

23XI’s No. 45 car is currently 12th in the owners’ standings, putting it 33 points behind the leader, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

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Kurt Busch pulls out of NASCAR playoffs because of head injury, opening additional postseason spot

Kurt Busch will miss the beginning of the NASCAR playoffs.

Kurt Busch is not returning to the NASCAR race track in the near future. The No. 45 23XI Toyota driver is pulling out of the playoffs and will miss the beginning of the postseason, 23XI Racing announced Thursday morning.

The team did not specify exactly how many playoff races Busch will miss, but he has not competed in the last five Cup Series events.

Along with missing more races, the 44-year-old driver is withdrawing from NASCAR playoff contention, providing the remainder of the unqualified drivers with an additional opportunity to make the cut for the 16-driver, 10-race postseason, set to start September 4 with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, has not raced since July 17 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The weekend after that at Pocono Raceway, Busch spun and crashed hard into the wall during a qualifying round and was able to get out of the car on his own. However, he has not been medically cleared to return to racing and previously noted he’s experiencing “concussion-like symptoms.”

He also previously announced that he would not compete this weekend in the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway, marking his sixth straight missed race.

More via 23XI Racing on Thursday:

“As much as I wanted and hoped to be able to get back in the No. 45 car to make a playoff run with our team, it’s still not the right time for me,” said Busch. “In addition to not being cleared to return to racing, I know that I am not ready to be back in the car. I respect the sport of NASCAR, my fellow drivers and the fans too much to take up a playoff spot if I know I can’t compete for a championship this season. The decision was not an easy one, but I know it is the right thing to do. I will continue to take time to heal and strengthen as I prepare to be back in the car and will do all I can to help 23XI continue the success we have had this season.”

With Busch sidelined, 19-year-old Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs — the grandson of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs — has been filling in behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota and will continue to do so.

As we recently wrote, this is an awful situation for injured Busch, but he should be applauded for his transparency about his head injury in a sport where concealing it has often been the norm.

After winning at Kansas Speedway in May, Busch qualified for the 10-race playoffs. Although he has not entered every race since his injury, NASCAR granted him a medical waiver to keep him playoff eligible in a tight competition for the postseason.

But NASCAR confirmed 23XI is withdrawing the waiver request, and the governing body added in its own statement:

“Kurt Busch has managed this difficult situation like the champion that he is. Working closely with his doctors, every decision made has been in the best interest of his health, his competitors and the sport. Kurt has NASCAR’s full support as he continues to heal, and we look forward to seeing him return to the race car.”

Prior to Busch’s and NASCAR’s announcement Thursday, there were 15 different race winners this season, meaning 15 drivers qualified for the 16 available playoff spots.

But with 23XI withdrawing the medical water, there is now an additional available playoff spot with two drivers instead of one having the opportunity this weekend to qualify for the postseason, trying to compete for a championship in November at Phoenix Raceway.

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Kurt Busch’s openness about his head injury sets a strong, needed example for NASCAR drivers

Kurt Busch is leading by example with transparency in his recovery.

Kurt Busch won’t race again this weekend, and his continued absence from NASCAR events he surely dreads missing is proof of seismic, important change: Drivers are starting to understand the importance of taking care of their brains.

More and more, they seem to be prioritizing their health and safety, as the sport sheds the misconception that injuries equate to weakness and recognizes the serious implications that come with concussions and head injuries.

There’s no doubt Busch would do anything to be behind the wheel of his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota this weekend at Richmond Raceway. The same was likely true for the last three races he’s missed at Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway.

But Busch is set to miss his fourth consecutive NASCAR race, and the reason behind it, though obviously unfortunate, should be applauded.

During a qualifying round at Pocono in late July, Busch spun and crashed hard, smacking the wall and wrecking his car. Though he was able to exit the car on his own, he was not cleared to compete after multiple evaluations in the infield care center. Busch said he was experiencing “concussion-like symptoms” after the wreck and has been unable to return to the track since.

In Busch’s latest statement on Twitter about missing his fourth straight race, he said:

“Brain injury recovery doesn’t always take a linear path. I’ve been feeling well in my recovery, but this week I pushed to get my heart rate and body in a race simulation type environment, and it’s clear I’m not ready to be back in the race car.”

Good for him.

This is obviously a difficult and perhaps painful path for 44-year-old Busch, but all the more reason he, NASCAR and his doctors should be commended for taking brain health and concussion symptoms seriously. He’s not hiding his symptoms and prioritizing his health over his race car and position in the point standings.

The response from Busch — along with NASCAR and his team, 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — is the latest example of what appears to be a (relatively recent) shift in the sport toward valuing athletes’ health over the need to be competitive above all else. In this instance, Busch is setting a strong example, especially at a time when his precarious playoff spot could be in jeopardy if there are more than 16 different regular-season race winners this season (there are currently 15).

It resembles what we’re seeing in other sports, particularly in football with the rise of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and increased knowledge about head injuries and their subsequently longterm effects, which potentially can be fatal. More and more athletes are aware of their brain health and taking precautions to keep themselves safe.

It’s encouraging to see NASCAR and its athletes embrace that mentality shift, but it wasn’t always the case.

Not that long ago, drivers would conceal their injuries or concussion symptoms for the sake of their jobs, further endangering themselves and their competitors. They feared being viewed as weak or damaged, they worried their teams or potential future teams would hold it against them, they didn’t know where to turn for help and they anticipated forever being attached to a longterm stigma about head injuries.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. — NASCAR’s loudest concussion health awareness advocate who pledged to donate his brain to science — noted all that in his 2018 book, Racing to the Finish. He acknowledged hiding his own concussion symptoms, especially early in his career, and detailed why that was a mistake. He knew how people spoke about others in the garage, how they wondered if a driver was permanently affected after a bad accident or head injury.

The Hall of Famer explained that if a driver was in a wreck, evaluated by the infield care center and cleared, most interpreted that as the driver being OK both physically and mentally. He wrote:

“Those infield checkups were the same as they’d basically always been: pretty simple. Everyone has fibbed to their doctor from time to time during a routine physical, right? He says, “How have you been feeling?” and we say, “Oh, I’m fine,” just to get out of there and go home. Racecar drivers didn’t just do that from time to time. They did that all the time. Most probably still do. Why? I said it to those reporters in 2002 and it’s still true: I didn’t want to tell anyone how bad I’d felt until after I got better and I started running better because I didn’t want anyone to think I was broken, that I was messed up.”

Earnhardt explained he’d be shaken up or possibly concussed after a bad wreck Sunday, feel better by Thursday and get back behind the wheel the following weekend, opening himself up to further injuries. He didn’t want to miss a race or alter people’s perceptions of him, so he kept going, sometimes when he shouldn’t have.

Of course, some NASCAR drivers have been in Busch’s position in the past and missed races because of head injuries. Back in 1997, Ricky Craven suffered a concussion during a wreck and missed a handful of races as his symptoms worsened.

During Earnhardt’s full-time NASCAR career, he was sidelined more than once with concussion-related symptoms — most recently when he missed the second half of 2016 before returning in 2017 and then retiring at the end of season. Tragically, he estimates he’s had between 20 and 25 concussions throughout his career, but he’s spun his experiences into awareness advocacy that’s almost certainly having an impact on the NASCAR garage.

So while this is not a new topic in the sometimes-violent sport, it certainly seems like head injuries are being taken far more seriously now by both NASCAR and its athletes. In 2017, NASCAR expanded its concussion protocol, emphasizing awareness for symptoms of head injuries.

NASCAR’s medical team provides neurological support and evaluations for the other physicians in the infield care centers, where drivers must go to be cleared after serious on-track incidents. If a driver isn’t cleared, they’re further evaluated, like in Busch’s case. And if they ultimately aren’t cleared by neuro specialists at the track, like Busch, the driver then must get medical clearance to return to competitions from an approved, board-certified neurologist, neurosurgeon or neuropsychologist with at least five years of experience treating sports-related injuries.

Unfortunately for Busch, that hasn’t happened yet, but he’s doing everything in his power to ensure a safe return to competition. The 2004 NASCAR Cup champ been granted a medical waiver to keep him eligible for the 10-race playoffs this fall — though whether or not he’ll make it could depend on the number of regular-season winners, in addition to his health.

Of course, it’s never a positive when an athlete suffers a head injury, and surely everyone, including his competitors, hopes he recovers quickly.

But instead of fighting or concealing it, Busch has been transparent about his situation, and hopefully that inspires other NASCAR drivers, should they find themselves in a similarly unfortunate position, to follow his example, choosing to value their brains over racing.

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NASCAR’s 23XI Racing shows off latest awesome Air Jordan-inspired paint scheme

Who knew the Jordan 11 would look so great on a race car?

The last time Kurt Busch’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota had a paint scheme inspired by a Jordan-brand shoe, he ended up with a checkered flag in Victory Lane. Whether that will happen again remains to be seen — for multiple reasons — but once again, the No. 45 car as an awesome, iconic shoe-inspired look.

23XI — which is co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — announced Wednesday that this weekend at Richmond Raceway, the No. 45 Toyota will run a paint scheme inspired by the oh-so-famous “Concord” Air Jordan 11, complete with the dominant black and white colors of the shoe.

Of course, the Jumpman logo is also prominently displayed on the hood of the car. And on the front and back of the car are hints of Carolina blue — surely a hat tip to Jordan himself and his college days playing for North Carolina.

Who knew the Jordan 11 would look so great on a race car?

The more we think about it, the more it feels like the Jordan 11 is just perfectly suited to morph into a race car. It’s the sleek design, the shifty nature of the shoe, the carbon fiber shank plate. It all just looks incredible here.

The 11 is one of the most popular Jordans, so it’s not like it’d ever be hard to get this design right. But they really nailed this one. We wish we could drive it.

Since Jordan became a NASCAR team owner ahead of the 2021 season, 23XI has turned out some really fantastic paint schemes for Busch and for Bubba Wallace, the team’s other driver. But this one has to be up there, along with Busch’s winning car, inspired by the Air Jordan 3 Black Cement sneaker, from Kansas Speedway back in May.

However, while getting to Victory Lane with up to 40 other cars on the track is no easy feat, and Busch may not be the one piloting this cool car. The 44-year-old 2004 Cup Series champ has missed the last three races at Michigan International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and Pocono Raceway, and it’s unclear if he’ll be back behind the wheel this weekend at Richmond for the Federated Auto Parts 400.

Busch was sidelined late last month after he crashed during qualifying and experienced concussion-like symptoms. He was not medically cleared to compete after that, and he wrote in a statement on Twitter last week that he’s “working hard to get back to 100% and it’s [his] hope to be back in the car at Richmond Raceway.”

(23XI Racing)

Since Busch’s absence, Ty Gibbs has been filling in behind the wheel of the No. 45 car. Who will drive at Richmond this weekend remains unknown.

UPDATE: Busch confirmed in a Twitter statement Wednesday that he will not be competing this weekend at Richmond. Gibbs will fill in instead.

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Kurt Busch hints at NASCAR retirement, saying he ‘might be done’ after 2023 season

Could NASCAR champ Kurt Busch be seriously eyeing retirement?

Kurt Busch is exactly two weeks away from turning 44 years old, which doesn’t make him the oldest driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, but in his 22nd full-time season at the sport’s highest level, he’s up there.

So naturally, talk of his retirement comes up every once in a while, or, as he put it, rumors and questions are “out there all the time.” Even two years ago, the 2004 Cup Series champion said there was a “50-50” chance he’d be done after the 2021 season. But he’s still in it and earned his 34th career Cup win in May at Kansas Speedway, moving him into 25th on the all-time wins list.

However, while a guest on CBS Mornings on Thursday, Busch — who currently pilots the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s team — hinted that his NASCAR retirement might be approaching.

Busch was promoting NASCAR’s newest move in announcing a street course race in downtown Chicago in July 2023, which he called an “unprecedented, bold move” that could “create the buzz not just for the city but for our sport.”

But while the Chicago Cubs fan is excited about NASCAR’s new race, he said he could be done racing after the 2023 season.

MORE NASCAR: Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon tried to fight with their race cars during NASCAR’s New Hampshire race

Busch told CBS Mornings:

“I’ve been in this sport 23 years, and this, 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.”

Naturally, this caught the three hosts off guard. So when they pressed him on what exactly he meant by that or if he has a plan for his future, Busch elaborated:

“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.’

“Well, we needed to start to look at who the next new talent is, where the sponsorships are. … We just signed a new guy, Tyler Reddick, to 23XI, so we’re building.”

That last line from Busch is precisely why his talk of retirement now perhaps means a little bit more than in the past.

Just last week, 23XI announced it signed Reddick — who currently competes for Richard Childress Racing and won his first career Cup race earlier this month — to a multi-year deal beginning with the 2024 season. Hamlin and the team said they were eager to sign Reddick, but whether the team will field a third car or Reddick will replace Busch or Bubba Wallace is still one of their “unanswered questions” right now.

If Busch really is contemplating retirement after the Chicago street course race and the 2023 season, 23XI already has a driver waiting to take over. If not — and assuming Wallace remains with the organization — the team will have to acquire a charter to field a third car.

But when asked if he’s actually ready for retirement, Busch replied: “Maybe not.”

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