DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kurt Busch said goodbye to NASCAR Cup Series racing Saturday, doing so on the same stage where he celebrated one of his most memorable victories.
It was an emotional farewell for sure.
Busch, 45, held back tears as he announced his retirement at Daytona International Speedway. The 2004 Cup Series champion and 2017 Daytona 500 winner called it quits mostly because he’s been unable to shake the lingering effects of a significant concussion that rocked NASCAR a year ago.
“My body is just having a battle with Father Time,” Busch said. “I’ve had arthritis ever since I can remember. My gout has flared up where I can barely walk in some days. Just pushing to get through physical therapy and continuing to work out.”
Busch joins the list of drivers in recent years whose bodies helped prompt decisions to walk away: former longtime most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (concussions) and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon (lower back). Busch said he was receiving injections before races last summer — and that was before his concussion — “just so I could move my knee and move my feet.”