“Race car drivers always push the limits to be the best, and drive to win,” Kurt Busch said just a few months ago. Little did fans know he lived every word. Three years ago, as the Cup Series visited Pocono, the older Busch sibling drove his #45 Camry in practice. As cars ran on the track, Busch came out, doing his usual routine. But when his car got just a little loose and the rear wheels sent him spinning into the wall, fans knew there was something serious. A crash that put Kurt Busch out of the car. Well, after participating in the Race of the Champions, NASCAR has sent him something special for this year’s race at Pocono.

But for Busch, it won’t be easy. While it seemed like a normal crash, the wreck left him with a concussion and significant vestibular issues, effectively retiring him from racing. The recovery wasn’t easy at all.

“It was taxing for a while. Basically every other day, it was a doctor visit somewhere and going to get hearing checked, eyes checked, balance checked. The vestibular movements were what was greatly affected. I still feel the lingering effects but it has calmed down, and it has been through all the physical therapy and all the great doctors who have helped me,” he explained in December. It hasn’t kept him away from NASCAR, since he does work as a consultant for 23XI Racing.

This year at the Pocono race weekend, Busch will be back. In an X post, Kelly Crandall revealed, “Kurt Busch will be back at Pocono Raceway this year for the first time since the crash that ended his career. Busch said the track reached out to him after NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees were announced and said they want him to come back, but he’s not sure what they have planned.” 

Busch’s return lines up with a packed NASCAR weekend at Pocono, running June 20-22, 2025. The schedule includes the MillerTech Battery 200 and the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250, drawing fans and drivers from across the sport. While Busch’s exact role hasn’t been revealed, many expect him to participate in pre-race ceremonies, fan events, or even serve as an honorary starter.

Now, in June 2025, Busch is returning to the “Tricky Triangle” for the first time since that fateful day. This time, he’s coming back as a newly minted Hall of Famer, having been nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Pocono Raceway extended a special invitation to honor his legacy, which includes a 2004 Cup Series championship, a dramatic 2017 Daytona 500 victory, and three wins at Pocono itself.

And it’s something Kurt Busch treasures, especially with the way his career took off. “I felt like it was race mode. I had to put the emotional blinders on. For me, as just a blue-collar kid out of Vegas, I never would have imagined this. We were a family where it was just a hobby. It’s like a hobby to race, you know. It was just fun to go to the track as father and son. My dad had his car, and he helped me build mine, and you meet this guy or you meet this sponsor or you say thank you to this person, and the next thing you know — I mean, I’ll talk about this later on at the speech — but I’m running a Legend Car in 1999 at the (Las Vegas) Bullring in September of 1999. September of 2000, I’m in Jack Roush’s Cup car qualifying at Dover. Jeff Gordon’s next to me. Dale (Earnhardt) Senior’s behind me. I mean, that’s how fast things happened for me. I don’t know how. I don’t know why.

For Busch, this trip is about more than nostalgia or recognition. It’s a chance to face the track that changed his life, this time on his own terms. It’s also a moment for fans to celebrate a true survivor—one who turned adversity into Hall of Fame greatness. This year’s honorees are Kurt Busch, Harry Gant, and Ray Hendrick, each bringing their own unique legacy to the sport. Busch and Gant were selected from the Modern Era Ballot, each earning 61% of the cast votes. On the other hand, Hendrick was chosen from the Pioneer Ballot.

While we wait for the weekend, let’s take a look at one of Busch’s rivals, except he can’t stop praising Kurt!

Jimmie Johnson celebrates Kurt Busch’s nomination

Back in 2011, in the peak of Johnson‘s dominance, he found himself being challenged by one of the Busch siblings, Kurt. Kurt even famously said, “We’re in his head.” And the rivalry reached a head in Richmond when two separate incidents on the track saw the rivals tangle with each other, with Johnson retaliating in the second instance.

However, with both drivers retired, it seems Johnson has moved past their battles on the track. Speaking about Busch, the 7-time Cup Series Champion said, “We certainly had strong opposing feelings for one another at different points, but it’s wild, man. You put the helmet on and just kind of become a different person, and he and I have always gotten along really well outside of the car, and certainly in these last five, eight years, I don’t know, our relationship has gone to new levels. With his injury, the role that he’s playing now, I know it’s filling him up in a different way. He’s been very supportive of me. He came to my Hall of Fame induction and the after-party, we’ve seen a fair amount of each other over the last little bit of time and happy to see him go in.” 

At the same time, Johnson appreciated Kurt’s dedication to the sport, despite the injury. “For me, ultimately from my seat on the bus, an amazing career. He unfortunately didn’t go out on his terms, but he has stayed engaged, he’s found new purpose, and then this moment and experiencing it and knowing how he’s going to feel in January after he leaves that stage, he didn’t maybe get the finish he dreamed of, but I think he’s going to end up with a finish that would greatly exceed that dream he had as a kid.”