CONCORD, N.C. — Kurt Busch feels “good” as he continues his recovery from a brain injury he sustained more than two months ago, and he remains hopeful that he’ll eventually return to the NASCAR Cup Series.
The veteran and accomplished driver told reporters Tuesday that “each week is better progress” in his efforts to return to racing.
“I feel good, and I don’t know when I’ll be back,” Busch said, standing a few yards away from Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Victory Lane. “Time has been the challenge. Father Time is the one in charge on this one.”
The driver of the No. 45 car for 23XI Racing withdrew his medical waiver request and vacated his Cup Series playoff spot in late August, right before the regular-season finale at Daytona. He did so because he still “wasn’t 100 percent” to race at the time after suffering a brain injury during qualifying at Pocono on July 23. He hasn’t returned to racing since.
When asked if he thought he would return to racing this year — there are six races left in the 2022 Cup Series schedule — he used the word “hopeful.”
“I know that I have more doctor visits and more distance to go, and I keep pushing each week,” he said. “TPC, the Toyota Performance Center, has been a group of angels who have helped me with the workouts and the vestibular (inner-ear) workouts. Different nutrition, as well. Different supplements and things to help everything rebalance — with my vision, my hearing and just overall balance in general.”
Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, has said that he is not rushing Busch’s recovery and that the company still expects Busch, 44, to race in a 23XI car next year.
That said, Busch’s health and the prospects of his retirement are still of a particular importance in the NASCAR Cup landscape: If he doesn’t return, that could set off a whole bunch of offseason moves — including, perhaps, Tyler Reddick’s earlier-than-scheduled departure from Richard Childress Racing and his early arrival at 23XI Racing, which is where he’s going in 2024.
“We’ve never wanted to push Kurt to any sort of decision,” Hamlin told reporters earlier this month. “That’s why we’ve been patient with him even this year, and obviously the opportunity is always open for him to come back any time he wants. ... Situations that might change around the race team shouldn’t affect our commitment to Kurt whatsoever.”
Busch said he’s learned a lot while sidelined.
“It brought me back to my beginning days,” Busch said. “This is something I never knew would happen as far as, like, any injury. I never knew I would make it in racing, and you keep pushing based on your instincts.
“And the village of people around you, whether it’s the race team — and 23XI has been tremendous — or Toyota or Monster Energy, it reminds me of the beginning of my (racing days).”
The safety of the Next Gen car was thrust into the sport’s consciousness after Busch’s injury, and that conversation has evolved and picked up steam as other drivers, such as Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, have suffered their own injuries or have had their cars catch on fire in recent races.
Busch, in response to a question about the Next Gen car, said safety in the sport is important to him.
“The driver council among our fraternity of drivers, it’s important for all of us to communicate clearly with NASCAR (and) with the teams as far as the direction of where we need to go,” he said.
“And so I would think, like life, it’s a work in progress.”
