Kurt Busch gets medical clearance to race again
Kurt Busch received medical clearance to represent Team USA in this year’s Race of Champions.
The Race of Champions made the announcement Monday. Busch and Travis Pastrana will represent Team USA.
Busch received medical clearance this week, giving him the greenlight to race competitively for the first time in nearly three years.
“Race car drivers always push the limits to be the best, and drive to win,” Busch said. “That is what I have strived for my whole career, and to receive another invite from Race Of Champions is a chance to go up against the best of the best from around the world.”
“What an honor!” he added.
Busch was sidelined by a concussion while qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in July 2022. The 2004 Cup Series champion announced his retirement from full-time racing in August 2023.
However, he didn’t rule out returning to the track on a one-off basis, like the ROC, if doctors cleared him.
“I’ve talked to Kurt a few times over the past months and pleaded with him to come out of retirement since his crash in NASCAR,” Pastrana said.
“We were very happy when Kurt confirmed that he has received his medical clearance and will be making his return to racing as part of Team USA with Travis Pastrana at the Race Of Champions,” said Fredrik Johnsson, the president and cofounder of Race Of Champions.
Now cleared, Busch will compete over two nights, March 7-8, on a purpose-built 1 km. track at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Competitors include F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel and World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.
Late last year, Busch also posted on social media that he was prepping for the Baja 1000 with Trophy Truck driver Rodrigo Ampudia.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com