Only this season, in 2025, Joe Gibbs found the leniency in his heart to allow his drivers to race outside NASCAR. Before now, he wouldn’t let them cross the boundaries, regardless of how great the opportunity was. Kyle Busch’s missed chance to race in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in 2017 serves as a testament to that.
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Rowdy spoke about it on Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin and revealed that every box, from sponsor to car, was checked for his attempt at the Double Duty.
The only person who wouldn’t sign off was Gibbs. And without his consent, Busch couldn’t go anywhere. At North Wilkesboro last weekend, the benefactor was asked why he wouldn’t let Busch do the job.
He said, “I think anytime you’re confronted with something like that, you have to make the best decision you can. Number one for me is our NASCAR team. When I considered anything like that, the number one thing for me was the fact that when you race cars, things can happen. So you’ve got to make sure that our race team is protected.”
Despite his reservations, Gibbs had been willing to allow the participation to go ahead if he was given an insurance policy to protect his team and the sponsors.
But that’s something neither Busch nor any other driver on the circuit can provide. Fortunately, nearly a decade later, there aren’t any hard feelings between them.
Gibbs continued, “I respect Kyle. That guy is gifted. He did so much for us. He had a big part in putting our race team where it is. I think he’s 56 wins or something. So it’s a big deal for us.”
It is rather interesting that Gibbs let Tony Stewart attempt the Double Duty twice, in 1999 and 2001. It can only be speculated what he thought was the difference between the two drivers.
Busch had also narrated this story of his botched Double Duty attempt during the All-Star Weekend at Texas in 2022. He confirmed to the press that he wasn’t done trying to complete both the races and be a bigger part of history. “Yeah, it is certainly on my radar,” he said. It is to be known if he still has the same goals now that a lot has changed.
The driver is in a rut with Richard Childress Racing. He has gone 69 races without reaching Victory Lane. First things have got to come first. His focus will be on adding more wins to his tally right now than on attempting larger-than-life goals.
