For the first time since his 2022 accident at Pocono Raceway that left him with lingering concussion symptoms, Busch is back in a competitive environment at the Race of Champions.
His contract with 23XI Racing lapsed and since then the 46-year-old has not competed in NASCAR at any level.
In the lead-up to this year’s Race of Champions, Busch received medical clearance for the event that pits stars from different disciplines including Formula 1, Formula 2, WEC, Supercars, rally, and more against each other.
Speaking with Speedcafe, Busch said the March 7-8 event at Sydney’s Accor Stadium was the first step towards more racing opportunities.
“It’s great,” said Busch. “It’s like a fraternity of friends – the competitors from all around the world, and it reminds me of being a kid again, of racing as a teenager.
“You try to get your hands on any car you can at any track at any time and that’s what Race of Champions is about is you don’t know what car you’re gonna go in, you don’t know who you’re gonna go up against, you’ve just got to bring your A game.
“It’s been fun to do some track days, drive different people’s cars, all the way up to a Radical I was doing 170 miles an hour in, so I got all the cobwebs out and the spider webs cleared.
“Yeah, this is the perfect step,” he added.
“I’m not going to go run a Cup car right now at 500 miles side-by-side with all the boys, right? And so it’s just the steps that it takes, and this is the perfect one. And so a ripple effect from this, positive or negative, will open up more doors.”
Asked whether he would like to get back into stock car racing, Busch said he would like to get back into “anything” if the opportunity exists.
“It’s to get back into anything, whether it’s an opportunity to do sports car stuff, rally, drag racing like I did before. We’ll see. We’ll see what my body tells me and the fun level, you can’t beat that here a Race of Champions.”
Asked whether he wanted to have a proper farewell, Busch replied, “No, not at all.”
He added: “My time was getting short anyhow. I was at the end of what I would call my last contract.
“I poured my heart and soul into it for 23 years, won a bunch of stuff, wrecked a bunch of stuff, and all in all I was fulfilled.
“And so whether it ended there or I get back in the car later on, who knows? It was a good career that I can look back on and go, you know what? Two thumbs up.”
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