Tag: Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch will race one of the coolest cars with an Air Jordan-inspired paint scheme at Kansas

Kurt Busch’s Kansas car is inspired by maybe the greatest Jordan sneaker of all time.

If there’s one car you’re sure to notice during this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, it’s this one — the one with a paint scheme inspired by an iconic sneaker. An iconic Jordan sneaker.

Kurt Busch’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota is sure to turn some heads in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1), first because the paint scheme is a spectacular look but also because the design is inspired by the Air Jordan 3 Black Cement sneaker. Along with the Black Cement design elements, the car will feature the Jumpman logo on the hood.

Busch’s team, 23XI Racing, is, of course, co-owned by Michael Jordan, and the 2004 Cup champ became the latest Jordan Brand athlete in NASCAR when he joined the second-year team for the 2022 season.

And when Jordan became a team owner in NASCAR ahead of the 2021 season, we figured cool paint schemes were sure to follow. But this one is next-level awesome. 23XI has been teasing this paint scheme, and Thursday, it was finally shared.

So what’s so special and cool about the Air Jordan 3?

When the Jordan 3 was first released in 1988, it set the highest standard possible for what a basketball sneaker should be.

It performed better than anything else on the court at that time while also becoming a fashion staple off of it. Now, the sneaker is an absolute icon — maybe the greatest Jordan sneaker of all time.

So it’s certainly fitting to see the classic Black Cement colorway being honored on the race track. If you’re going to emulate a Jordan sneaker, this is definitely the one you do.

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6 things NASCAR fans should know about the newly unveiled Next Gen car

NASCAR and its manufacturers unveiled their new Next Gen car, set to debut in 2022.

After years of planning, production and anticipation, NASCAR and it’s manufacturers — Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford — unveiled their Next Gen car on Wednesday. After being pushed back a year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the car is set to make its NASCAR Cup Series debut with the 2022 season-opening Daytona 500.

The development of the Next Gen car has been a collaborative effort between NASCAR and its manufacturers, and it’s designed to be more cost effective for teams, to be safer for drivers and to more closely resemble the products sold to the general public, compared with the current Generation 6 car. And, of course, this car is supposed to intensify the quality of racing.

“It accelerates quick, it stops quicker, it turns quicker, it’s nimble,” Kurt Busch said after testing the car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in November.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘steroids’ – it’s just the car is more effective, and the car is more sensitive to changes and to feel. … You feel everything more vividly.”

In February, NASCAR announced the development of the Next Gen car was complete, and teams are expected to be able to begin building their new cars in the coming weeks.

Here are six things NASCAR fans should know about the new car.

New episodes of The Sneak: The Disappearance of Mario Rossi are out now

Kurt Busch’s ‘wild ride’ involved him flying over two cars in scary Talladega wreck

“I saw his tire mark on my roof when I got out, so that was pretty crazy,” Cole Custer said about Kurt Busch’s car.

First Kyle Busch briefly went airborne during Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in a crash that was fairly mild for the famously chaotic track. He was able to continue racing.

Then older brother Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Chevrolet left the ground in a much scarier multi-car wreck, but he’s amazingly OK. And just like Kyle’s wreck, Kurt was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was collected in a huge crash known as “the big one.”

With much of the field running in a pack together on Lap 109 of 188 on the 2.66-mile track, Clint Bowyer in the No. 14 Ford was pushing Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Chevrolet near the start-finish line. It’s unclear if they made contact, but Johnson got loose and turned into Kurt Busch in the No. 1 Chevrolet.

From the inside lane, Kurt Busch’s car turned up the track, and as it smashed into the outside wall, it left the ground and flew over the top of Bowyer’s car and Cole Custer’s No. 41 Ford.

Kurt Busch, Bowyer and Custer were all evaluated and cleared by the infield medical care center, but that means they were done for the day. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were also involved in the wreck but were able to continue racing.

After being cleared by the care center, Kurt Busch told NBC Sports it was a “wild ride.” He added:

“That’s the nature of this sport. You’re on top one week with a win and everything’s fantastic. And then this week here at Talladega, was hoping for a nice, smooth run and gain some points. I was just doing my job as a Chevy helper running top-5, and the next thing you know, I’m going for one of the wildest rides I’ve ever been in.”

Kurt Busch and Bowyer are among the 12 remaining playoff drivers competing for the championship. Busch won last weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so he automatically advances out of the playoffs’ Round of 12 and into the Round of 8.

But Bowyer entered Sunday’s race 20 points below the top-8 cutoff mark and will likely need to win next weekend’s elimination race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to keep his title hopes alive.

Bowyer said he had to be aggressive but didn’t expect to cause a wreck. He said he could see Johnson ahead of him was getting loose, but added: “I was hoping he’d save it, but he didn’t and we all wrecked.”

About Kurt Busch wrecking literally on top of the No. 41 Ford, Custer said:

“I didn’t know he was flipping at first because you’re just kind of looking at what’s in front of you and he was above me. I saw his tire mark on my roof when I got out, so that was pretty crazy.

“Thankfully, he’s OK. Obviously, they have a lot of safe things in these cars, so I can’t thank NASCAR enough for it.”

Although Johnson was able to continue racing briefly, he was furious with Bowyer and said on his team’s radio:

“Oh, I’m destroyed! And I just got drove through like six times by the 14. What the [expletive]’s he thinking?”

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Kurt Busch says there’s a ’50-50′ chance 2021 will be his final NASCAR season

The 2004 NASCAR champion weighed in on the possibility of calling it a career sooner than later.

After winning his first race of the 2020 season Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch kept joking about becoming “that old guy” in racing. And he later floated the idea of retiring from NASCAR.

After all, at 42 years old, Busch is in his 20th full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, and he is one of the oldest drivers on the track. Plus, it didn’t help that his nephew, Kyle Busch’s 5-year-old son, Brexton, won his first race the night before Kurt took Sunday’s checkered flag in the first of three Cup Series playoff races in the Round of 12.

“I honestly had a feeling on the plane ride out here [Sunday], with his win, it was like, you know, my job is almost done here,” Kurt Busch told reporters on a Zoom call after his Vegas win.

“I’m starting to become that old guy. Got to find the rocking chair because Brexton is taking over. But not so fast. It’s great to be back in Victory Lane.”

But calling it a career might not be too far off in Busch’s future. In an interview Tuesday with CBS Sports’ Matt Mayer, he said there’s a “50-50” chance the 2021 season will be his last in NASCAR.

Busch said:

“I’ve been at this game a long time. Been out there 21 years, and my wife is a great supporter of mine and she loves the racing. But it’s been a bunch of years out on the road and out on the circuit. And we’ll see what 2022 brings us when we get there.”

Busch and Chip Ganassi Racing agreed to a multiyear contract extension in 2019, and it’s rumored to be through the 2021 season.

In 20 seasons, Busch was the 2004 Cup Series champion, and he has 32 wins, including the 2017 Daytona 500 and the 2010 Coca-Cola 600. His checkered flag Sunday was his first at his “home” Las Vegas track moved him into a tie with Dale Jarrett for 26th on the all-time wins list.

Sunday’s win also guaranteed Busch will advance out of the playoffs’ Round of 12 to the Round of 8 and remain eligible for the championship.

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Kurt Busch weighs in on brother Kyle Busch’s winless season ahead of NASCAR playoffs

2020 hasn’t been the most memorable NASCAR season for the Busch brothers.

Neither of the Busch brothers is having a particularly memorable 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season as they head into the 10-race playoffs.

Older brother Kurt Busch has had some winless years sprinkled in between one- or two-win seasons in the last decade of his 20-year career. So showing up for the playoffs without a checkered flag is a little unusual but not super shocking.

But for defending champion Kyle Busch — the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver who won a total of 18 races in the previous three seasons — entering the postseason without a win is a huge surprise.

“We put ourselves in this position to be playoff-eligible and to have a shot at the championship,” 42-year-old Kurt said Wednesday during a Zoom press conference when asked about competition between him and 35-year-old Kyle going into the postseason.

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Kyle’s last checkered flag was at the 2019 championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for his second career title, and he’s never had a winless season since he started racing full-time in the Cup Series in 2005. Kurt’s last trip to Victory Lane was at Kentucky Speedway in July of 2019, when he held off Kyle to win, and his last winless year was 2013.

Kurt — who drives the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet — continued about his and Kyle’s approach to the playoffs:

“We know that this is an opportunity to do something great. So just one week at a time. …

“I know my little brother, though. He’s putting a little extra stress on himself because he wants to win a race and continue his streak of winning seasons. And so, he’s thrown a little extra pressure on himself that way. And so maybe that’ll be a distraction for him.”

Without winning during the 26-race regular season, the Busch brothers made their way into the playoffs based on points. Kyle is 14th in the standings while Kurt is 15th out of 16 playoff drivers, and they have three races to get a win an automatically advance to the next round or to sneak into the top-12 drivers based on points again.

The first playoff race is Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, followed by races at Richmond Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway — where Kyle and Kurt are the winningest active drivers with eight and six wins, respectively — before the playoff field drops to 12 drivers.

When asked Wednesday if he could have imagined he and Kyle entering the playoffs winless, Kurt said:

“I never would have guessed. I felt like the way our season started was strong and consistent, and then we had a shot to win the first race back, after our delay [because of the COVID-19 pandemic], at Darlington [in May]. And then, it just seemed like these opportunities here or there just like slipped through our fingers and we didn’t execute to get those wins.

“And so, my little brother, same thing. I feel like his luck — he’s challenged his luck in many different ways and it just hasn’t unfolded for him to get those wins. But hey, we’re both championship eligible. We’re in the playoffs, and here’s the reset. So here we go.”

The Southern 500 opens the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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NASCAR: Busch brothers vent on radio during frustrating Las Vegas race

Kyle and Kurt Busch had a bad time during their homecoming race.

NASCAR’s return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend was a homecoming for local heroes Kyle and Kurt Busch, but both Vegas natives had awful days at the track on Sunday.

Kyle Busch’s weekend opened on a high note, as he dominated the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race on Friday night, and then earned pole position due to owner points after qualifying was rained out on Saturday.

Kyle Busch was forced to the back of the field to start the race, though, as several Toyota cars were penalized for failing pre-race inspection due to an issue with the nose. He fought his way up into the top ten by the third stage, but battled an ill-handling race car and dropped back in the field. NASCAR’s Radioactive compilation revealed that Busch was furious inside the car.

“Our cars suck. Gone from sixth to eleventh. Cool! [Expletive] awesome!”

Kyle Busch also sounded off on lap cars that impeded his progress.

“They are so stupid! They don’t even know when to get out of the way when there’s a guy’s on the bottom of them.”

Kurt Busch, meanwhile, also wasn’t happy with the setup of his car, and finished 25th.

“Plowing! Plowing tight! It’s a [expletive] joke.”

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Fontana for the Auto Club 400 this weekend.