I didn’t even know this was happening. After Kurt was forced to retire, people didn’t cover things about him as much. What a cool surprise.
Here’s an exerpt from this Jayski article to get you up to speed.
“From blue collar to blue jacket”—the blazer awarded to each inductee into the Hall of Fame—was Busch’s description at a pre-induction party of his meteoric journey from a hobby racer who worked on his father’s cars in his native Las Vegas to a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series, stock car racing’s foremost division.
After winning the Southwest Tour championship in 1999, Busch graduated to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series through team owner Jack Roush’s “Gong Show” audition for prospective drivers.
In 2000, his only full season in trucks, Busch won four times, claimed Rookie of the Year honors and finished second in the series standings behind teammate Greg Biffle. By mid-season, Roush already had earmarked him for a full-time Cup Series ride.
Busch struggled during first season and finished 27th in the standings, but a year later he rocketed to third in the final rankings after winning at Bristol, Martinsville, Atlanta and Homestead-Miami.
Two years later, Busch won the first Cup championship contested under the 10-race Chase format, despite a freak occurrence in the decisive season finale at Homestead, when his right front tire broke loose from his No. 97 Ford as the car approached pit road.
Busch rallied to finish fifth and wrapped the title by eight points over NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson.
Busch, 47, went on win 34 Cup Series events, tied with Martin Truex Jr. for 26th all-time. His resume includes a victory in the 2017 Daytona 500 and a rare sweep of the NASCAR All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010.
The final inductee of the evening, Busch received his Hall of Fame ring from brother Kyle Busch. With 97 victories between them, Kurt and Kyle boast more Cup victories than any other pair of brothers in NASCAR history.
“To be here with the alumni of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, NASCAR executives, the voting panel, team owners, sponsors, my family and friends, and the thousands of fans who are watching tonight, this is something I never could have imagined,” Kurt Busch said.
Busch offered special thanks for the support of his parents, Tom and Gaye Busch, and those who encouraged him during his early racing days.
“I was just a blue-collar kid from Las Vegas, with a dream to be a racer,” Busch said. “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for all the support through the years. The work ethic that you instilled in me, and the village of people around me in Las Vegas… you guys were always there to help me out, both on and off the track. Love ya.”
Busch scored his last Cup victory at Kansas Speedway in 2022 in a 23XI Racing Toyota Camry, making him the only driver to win at NASCAR’s highest level for four different manufacturers—Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota.
Busch’s versatility as a driver was on full display in 2014, when he finished sixth in a one-off appearance in the Indianapolis 500 before flying to Charlotte to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Here’s the video.
I don’t have a transcript this time. I’m going to watch it live and make bullet point notes here. Unlike the last two, this is only 15 minutes long so it’ll be easier to take in the whole thing.
Here goes.
- Cool to let his brother Kyle to introduce him.
- Kyle has a cool suit and tie.
- Kyle presents Kurt the ring.
- Kurt taught Kyle everything he knows.
- Kurt is the only winner at Kyle Busch Motorsports O’Reilly Series
- He congratulates the other nominees.
- Humpy Wheeler was innovative. Night races started because of him.
- Greg Biffle and Kurt were like Peanut Butter and Jelly.
- So many cars.
- “You’ll live a longer life on four tires than two tires.” -Tom Busch
- Tom and Kurt..and Kyle were there to win, not make friends.
- Kurt’s Grandma was the reason Kurt and Kyle were able to get along after the 2005 All Star Race.
- How do you win your first ever late model race? That’s so cool.
- Kurt only had 6 years of racing experience between his first ever race and being in the Cup Series.
- Kurt had 14 different crew chiefs. Won with 9 of them.
- His tough vs mellow years.
- Those Rubbermaid colours were cool
- That was a long time to have those Penske discussions.
- Phoenix Racing didn’t show up.
- “Kyle never won in that car.”
- Furnature Row’s big run was started by Kurt.
- Kurt and Monster were the best sponsor driver combo.
- Stewart Hass Racing was one of his best times as well.
- Gene Hass risked it. Tony didn’t want him originally.
- Kurt did need to calm down sometimes.
- Ganassi folks showed up too.
- Side draft city.
- Winning at Vegas
- And the old Atlanta.
- His last chapter ended sooner than he wanted to.
- Kurt was originally going to retire in 2021, but people still wanted to have him drive.
- “You race from your heart.” -Michael Jordan.
- The final dance.
- Who is Lida?
- So many people helped him along the way.