Kurt Busch has been absent from the racing scene since he retired from NASCAR. This was after he suffered a head injury during an accident at the Pocono Raceway back in July 2022. While it does not seem like the former 23XI Racing driver will make a return to the Cup Series, Kurt is currently gearing up for a return to the race track, but at the Race of Champions.
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Recently, he was announced as a teammate of Travis Pastrana for Team USA in the 2025 Race Of Champions, set to take place at Accor Stadium in Sydney on March 7-8. His last attempt to race in 2022 was thwarted as he wasn’t medically cleared to compete following a concussion from the accident, causing him to miss the last five races of the regular season.
This time around, Kurt has received the green light to participate in the 2025 Race of Champions. Fredrik Johnsson, the President and Co-Founder of the Race Of Champions expressed his enthusiasm about Kurt’s return, stating, “We were very happy when Kurt confirmed that he has received his medical clearance… Kurt and Travis are aiming to win it all for Team USA…”
“Like Travis, Kurt is tremendously patriotic and they are both going to do everything they can to win the ROC Nations Cup for Team USA on the Friday night before trying to beat each other to clinch the individual ‘Champion of Champions’ trophy on the Saturday,” he added.
Kurt Busch expressed his gratitude towards the Race Of Champions for granting him another opportunity to compete. He views the invitation to return to the Race Of Champions as a privileged chance to measure himself against some of the finest competitors globally, considering it an honor to do so.
Travis Pastrana’s thoughts on Busch joining the championship
Pastrana, who has tasted success across multiple disciplines, such as freestyle motocross, rally racing, NASCAR, and stunt performance, recently commented on Kurt Busch joining the team for the Race Of Champions.
He stated, “There is no one that I’ve seen at past Race Of Champions from America that’s been able to jump in the cars and perform like Kurt Busch. “I’ve talked to Kurt a few times over the past months and pleaded with him to come out of retirement since his crash in NASCAR.”
Pastrana also mentioned his hope to team up with someone like Kyle Larson, but Larson was unavailable due to a conflicting race schedule. He emphasized that his primary goal was to assemble a team capable of clinching victory for Team USA, making Busch the ideal choice.
Pastrana expressed his excitement, concluding, “I’m so stoked that he has confirmed and we are going to do everything we can to win ROC Sydney for the USA.”
Fans are now simply awaiting to see the 2004 NASCAR Cup champion get into the car once again and compete fiercely.
