In a fast-paced sport like NASCAR, the inevitability of gruesome accidents is only natural. Since time immemorial, NASCAR fans have witnessed their favorite drivers facing nerve-chilling crashes, some of which took their lives away, and the rest took away the prospect of racing forever. Unfortunately, Michael Jordan‘s driver for the #45 Toyota faced a major impact last year at the Tricky Triangle that took away his racing.

However, a team owner will never let his valuable employees leave. And that is what happened with Kurt Busch as well. The NBA legend knew better than just firing Busch. Instead, he gifted his driver with a peaceful end to his driving career.

Kurt Busch is content: Recognizing Michael Jordan’s gesture after the Pocono mishap

Last year at Pocono, Kurt Busch ran the first round of his qualifying round, and even though all the Toyotas were fast, he felt super confident and proceeded to the next round along with his teammate Bubba Wallace, brother Kyle Busch, and others. However, the second round was something else. Busch lost control of his #45 Toyota. While coming out of turn 3, his rear dashed into the side wall, and then his front rammed into the wall, leaving his car all battered up on the track.

Moments later, Busch got out of his car, waved to the audience, and moved slowly towards the ambulance. He was safe, but the way he staggered along clearly spoke of the impact that his body had received.

Fast forward to 2023, when Kurt Busch announced his retirement at Daytona. The elder Busch had attempted to make the ‘mythical’ 30 pole and 30 win statistics for himself. However, he fell just two poles short.

However, Jeff Gluck’s friend Jordan (not the NBA star) said, “That’s actually pretty cool. There’s only 20 guys in NASCAR history that have done it. And Dale Earnhardt senior is not one of those guys by the way. Kudos to him!”

“Kurt knows history, and he knows his place and that’s something he wanted,” he added.

Kurt fought his tears as he called it quits at the very stage where he had once won back in 2017. However, MJ was not ready to let him leave his team.

Watch this story: Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Driver’s Furious “Personal Request” to His Team After a Terrible Chicago Upset

Michael Jordan revealed, “He(Kurt)is still involved in going to sim sessions and debriefs and taking notes with drivers.” Besides that, he is also responsible for mentoring other drivers. Moreover, he has also been an off-season test driver for Christopher Bell’s team.

Indeed, no athlete wants their career snatched away from them by factors out of their control. NASCAR fans had seen how a crash at Daytona took away Bobby Allison’s racing career. But the way Kurt handled the responsibilities given to him made Jordan call him “the Kurt 4.0!”

A NASCAR insider corrected a popular misconception

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When NASCAR on NBC posted Kurt Busch’s crash, a fan commented:

“Oof this was the wreck that concussed Kurt? Scary it didn’t really look that bad but I guess I don’t understand how these things works. Sending my love to Kurt Busch, glad NASCAR will do the right thing and clear him to race in the playoffs”

It is true that the crash might not be as serious as Bobby Allison’s. However, in an episode of Door Bumper Clear, a veteran NASCAR Spotter told how it did not tickle either.

Brett Griffin explained, “If the hit is not massive, the driver gets the brunt of the force. If the hit is hard enough to actually move the barriers, the data shows that it’s not as hard on the driver… As weird as it may sound, it hurts the driver, but they’re not gonna face an injury.”

Read more: WATCH: The Five Biggest Crashes at the Daytona 500 – EssentiallySports

Busch’s crash was an eye-opener for NASCAR on the next-gen cars’ safety. But all things considered, it’s a good story for a great driver, don’t you think?