Kurt Busch to make racing return in Race of Champions
Yesterday at 06:00 AM
Kurt Busch has been named alongside Travis Pastrana as part of Team USA for the unique Race Of Champions stadium spectacular at Sydney‘s Accor Stadium, March 7-8.
Busch, who won the NASCAR Cup Series in 2004, will join global racing and action sports superstar Pastrana to create an American "Super Team", which will start among the favourites for the highly-prized Nations Cup trophy on the Friday night.
A qualifying accident at Pocono last year brought an end to Busch‘s full-time NASCAR career, but this week the Nevada native was provided a medical clearance to compete in front of an Australian crowd in March.
Busch was IROC Champion in 2003 and as well as his 2004 championship, has claimed the biggest prizes in NASCAR including the Coca-Cola 600 and Sprint All-Star Race (2010), Budweiser Shootout (2011) and Daytona 500 (2017).
He was named as one of NASCAR‘s greatest ever 75 drivers in 2023 and was also inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, being born and bred in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During his NASCAR career which started in 2000, he had 776 starts for 34 wins, 339 top 10s and 28 pole positions driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Phoenix Racing, Penske Racing and Roush Racing.
With a 2006 win in the Busch (Xfinity Series), he became one of only 36 drivers to win races in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series.
In 2014 Busch put his oval open-wheel skills to test at the Indianapolis 500 and was named as Rookie of the Year after qualifying 12th and finishing sixth for Andretti Autosport.
His attempt to do the full 1,100 miles (1,760km) of both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 fell 191 miles (305.6km) short later that day when the engine of his Charlotte car blew on lap 273.
Later that year Busch had his first start in the Race Of Champions when he teamed with Indycar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay in Barbados.
Three years later he joined younger brother and two-time NASCAR Cup champion Kyle "Rowdy" Busch and the pair made the final of the Nations Cup before losing to Team Germany‘s Sebastian Vettel (his teammate Pascal Wehrlein was injured the day before) in front of a home crowd at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida.
Busch had his first "taste" of Australia back in 2013 when he swapped his Furniture Row NASCAR for James Courtney‘s V8 Supercar in a promotional event at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.
The Race Of Champions comes two weeks after the 2025 Supercars opener at Sydney Motorsport Park (Feb 21-23) and one week before the opening round of the F1 World Championship in Melbourne (March 13-16) – creating a massive month of motorsport in Australia.
In Sydney, Busch and Pastrana will be going head to head with no less than four-time Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel; current F1 ace Valtteri Bottas; seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup, reigning Supercars champion Will Brown, Extreme E champion Molly Taylor, nine-time FIA World Rally Champion, Sébastien Loeb; 7-time FIA World Rallycross Champion, Johan Kristoffersson; former FIA F2 champion and F1 driver, Mick Schumacher, two-time European Rally Champion, Kiwi, Hayden Paddon and two-time Dakar winner Toby Price.
The Race Of Champions will run over two nights with a purpose built 1km tarmac track taking centre stage at Accor Stadium, Sydney‘s Olympic Stadium.
What Kurt Busch said:
"Race car drivers always push the limits to be the best, and drive to win," said Busch.
“That is what I have strived for my whole career, and to receive another invite from Race Of Champions is a chance to go up against the best of the best from around the world."
“What an honor!"
“Thank you ROC. Go Team USA."
What Travis Pastrana said:
"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," said Pastrana.
“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."
“I would have loved to see another ultra talented driver like Kyle Larson come to Race Of Champions as well, but he has a NASCAR race the same weekend. I said if I‘m going all the way to Australia then it has to be with someone that can help me win it all for Team USA."
“Hopefully Kurt can teach me how to drive on Tarmac. I‘m so stoked that he has confirmed and we are going to do everything we can to win ROC Sydney for the USA."
He’s really back! We are thrilled to share @KurtBusch will make his return to racing for Team USA at #ROCSydney on 7-8 March. 🇺🇸🇦🇺
The NASCAR great has been called up by USA team-mate @TravisPastrana for the all-star event, facing Vettel, Loeb, Bottas and many more aces. pic.twitter.com/yFOIIWNNkW
— Race Of Champions (@RaceOfChampions) January 13, 2025
