Kurt Busch officially sticking with Stewart-Haas Racing
Kurt Busch will be with Stewart-Haas Racing past 2016.
The 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion and the team announced Wednesday that Busch had signed a "multi-year" extension. As part of the contract extension, Monster Energy will have a larger presence on his car. Monster has been an associate sponsor of Busch's as well as a sponsor of the No. 54 (primarily driven by Kyle Busch) in the Xfinity Series.
“I’m very happy to be back with Stewart-Haas Racing and proud to take Monster Energy to the Sprint Cup Series,” Busch said in a statement. “This is exactly where I want to be and I have two partners who want to win as much as I do.”
The contract extension with SHR is not much of a surprise. Because let's be real, there was no place for Busch to go. He certainly wasn't going to go to a lesser team and there are no openings at Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing. He's already driven for Team Penske. Plus, his team is self-funded primarily by SHR co-owner Gene Haas' machine tool company. SHR is the best fit for him.
Busch has two wins in 2015 (and 27 in his career) and is currently still in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Monster will be on the hood of Busch's car for 17 races, the quarterpanels for 18 others and have full sponsorship for the car for one race. Haas CNC has been the primary sponsor of Busch's car for the two seasons he's been with the team.
“I’ve always respected Kurt’s talent and determination, and I’m glad it’s staying at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Stewart said. “Kurt can win at every racetrack we visit, and his feedback and attention to detail make our entire organization better.”
The multi-year extension means the SHR lineup is unchanged for 2016 with Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart in his final Sprint Cup season. Stewart will be replaced by Clint Bowyer in 2017 after Bowyer drives for HScott Motorsports in 2016.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
