Jack Hewitt was 46 years and 7 months old when he debuted in the Indianapolis 500. Al Unser Sr. was 47 years and 360 days old when he won it. These icons are testaments to the fact that age is the last thing that would stop a driver with a hunger for greatness from achieving something remarkable in the greatest spectacle in motorsports. Soon, Kyle Busch could join their elite ranks.
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The two-time Cup Series champion has come close to starring in the iconic event more than once in the past. In 2017, he had the sponsors to back him and the drive to make a mark in open-wheel racing. But Joe Gibbs, his Cup Series team owner at the time, decided not to let him race. He got yet another opportunity around the time Kyle Larson made his debut in the discipline.
But, again, he couldn’t make every piece fit together. In the wake of these repeated disappointments, a different driver might just have given up. But not Busch and not yet. ‘Rowdy’ assured his fans during a recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he still has every intention of racing in the Indianapolis 500. The only question on his mind is whether he should do so before or after retiring from NASCAR.
He said, “I have seen the issues that Larson had the last couple of years with the weather. That definitely does not seem fun. It seems like a lot of anxiety for not a lot of payoff. Anything is possible. I certainly wouldn’t throw it out. Whether or not I do it, post my Cup Series career just to go do it, just to go run it.” He went on to stress that being a part of the race was number one on his bucket list.
Was Larson a reason for Busch not getting to race in the Indy 500?
A Cup Series champion racing in the Indy 500 is great press for both the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. But when it comes to choosing between Busch and Larson, the saner mind would stick with the latter based on recent form. That’s what Arrow McLaren did as well.
Richard Childress, Busch’s current team owner, had been interested in the Indianapolis discussion in both 2023 and 2024. But Arrow McLaren decided to go with Larson and Rick Hendrick instead. This has left Busch waiting by his phone eagerly to get a phone call from the concerned parties.
He said in an interview back in May, “I wouldn’t say I have given up on it, but the phone hasn’t been ringing. I think Larson has got the seat I was supposed to get for the last two years.” At 40 years of age, he doesn’t have a long career ahead of him in the Cup Series. Running the Double (Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500 on the same day) at this age is next to impossible.
Busch might be better off waiting till retirement to attempt Indy. But then, a lot more factors might not come together by then. Hopefully, he gets to check the Indy 500 off his bucket list before he calls it quits altogether in motorsports.
