Former NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch will race again in 2025. However, this will not be the traditional form of racing that fans are used to seeing the 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion race in.
On Monday, Busch announced that he will join Travis Pastrana in representing the United States in the 2025 Race Of Champions. The Race Of Champions is an all-star racing event. The ROC pits drivers from select nations against each other in a closed-circuit racing format.
Busch has not raced competitively since his 2022 qualifying crash at Pocono. Following this incident, Busch stepped away from driving but not the sport of racing. Busch is medically cleared to race in this event. However, this could be thanks to the format utilized by ROC. This racing is not as risky as Busch racing on a 2-mile speedway and bouncing around with 39 other cars.
In these closed-course stadium races, drivers have an individual lane, and the risk of an incident is minimal. Busch has a history with this event when he and his brother Kyle came short of winning the Nations Cup in the 2017 Race Of Champions in Miami, Florida.
NASCAR fans may be familiar with the ROC thanks to a clip from 2008 when then-NASCAR driver Carl Edwards defeated seven-time Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher.
The 2025 Race of Champions will be held on March 7 and 8 at Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia. Once again, an elite lineup of drivers from across the world will compete for the Nations Cup.
Busch’s competition includes Formula 1 veterans Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel and Supercar Champions Jamie Whincup and Will Brown. There are also drivers from Extreme E, Rallycross, and WEC.
When Busch stepped away from NASCAR competition following the crash at Pocono, his future was unsure. His team at the time, 23XI Racing, shuffled around drivers, putting Bubba Wallace in Busch’s No. 45 to help in the owner’s points battle.
While Busch had not formally retired due to his injury, 23XI signed Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick to drive the No. 45 in Busch’s place. Busch moved to an advisory role with 23XI before officially retiring in August 2023.
Since then, Busch has not been a stranger to NASCAR or its fans. He makes appearances on TV and at the track with 23XI and FOX Sports throughout the season. Prior to Monday’s announcement, Busch last made headlines in August when he was arrested and charged with a DWI.
While this does not mean he is returning to racing action on any form of a full-time basis, fans are happy to see Busch back behind the wheel.
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