Kurt Busch retires from NASCAR at Daytona: 'My body is having a battle with Father Time'
Kurt Busch called it, 'a Hollywood ending'.
“Going for pole in my last race, going out on top,” he said in an emotional press conference at Daytona International Speedway ahead of Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400.
After announcing last fall that his full-time status in the Cup Series was over, he officially retired from the sport on Saturday, closing the book on a 22-year career that included 34 wins, a Daytona 500 and the 2004 championship.
He was injured in a qualifying run at Pocono in 2022, suffering a concussion in what turned out to be his lap in a Cup Series car.
With his brother Kyle Busch, 23XI drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick and NASCAR brass including Mike Helton and Ben Kennedy in attendance, Busch fought through a statement and questions as he reflected on his career.
“Last year in Las Vegas, where my racing career began, I sat in front of many of you and that was one of the toughest and hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my racing career and that was to talk about not being behind the wheel of a racecar,” Busch said. “After decades spent at a racetrack with helmet in hand preparing to compete, I was forced to take a step back and focus on my health.
“While stepping away from full-time racing for the 2023 season, it’s been difficult, but it has provided me with a different perspective and more time to continue focusing on my recouperation and reflect on all the sport has given me and all I still have left to give back to it. Racing at NASCAR’s highest level requires every last bit of focus, heart, stamina and determination and I know right now I can’t give what is required to compete at that level week in and week out.”
NASCAR AT DAYTONA LIVE UPDATES: The latest from the Coke Zero Sugar 400
He also pointed to other physical ailments that have hindered him in recent years and that also factored into his decision.
“It’s a few different factors and my body is having a battle with father time,” Busch said. “I’ve had arthritis ever since I can remember. My gout has flared up so much I can barely walk some days.
“Father time. I’m 45 years old. I’m very happy, complacent and there’s nothing I look back and regret about having this opportunity at the top level of NASCAR.”
While competition at the top may be a thing of the past for Busch, he left the door very much wide open when it came to future racing endeavors.
"It's difficult to know which avenues will lead to what here in the short-term future," Busch said. "Still wanting to get doctor approval and to get cleared, that's the first step. That's what I need to do personally. Then we'll have opportunities to talk to different motorsports teams, different sponsors and doing other races. But the perspective and taking a little step back from being in the car every week, the most joy that I've found is that everything has slowed down for me.'
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kurt Busch retires: 22-year NASCAR Cup Series career ends at Daytona
