Busch bringing Jordan Brand to NH
Set to make his 39th career start at Loudon
NASCAR Cup Series veteran Kurt Busch enjoys talking shop and sharing driving tips with his new boss Michael Jordan, an NBA icon who is a novice in the race car industry.
Busch, 43, severed his three-year relationship with Chip Ganassi last August and signed on to drive the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, NASCAR’S new kid on pit row.
Busch entered into a partnership as a Jordan Brand athlete with the Basketball Hall of Fame legend and current Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin in an ambitious joint venture. The 23XI Racing headquarters is located in Mooresville, N.C., and he and
Bubba Wallace are the team’s featured drivers.
“It’s cool, he’s our team owner and he has that power and that charisma and yes, he’s the GOAT,” said Busch. “But at the same time, he wants to talk shop, he wants to learn about the little things that are making differences and making our team better. He’s asking me ‘ What do you need to make this team better?’. He is an inspiration to every part of our team and just to see his involvement.
“I thought that I had a strong work ethic when I got here and he brings it our even more in everybody who is here. That is the spirit 23XI has behind it, it is the work ethic from MJ and the championship effort each and every day.”
Jordan joins former Washington Commanders head coach Joe Gibbs as race team owners who made their names and fortunes in other professional sports venues.
The NFL/NBA connection by itself makes for a budding rivalry taking shape down the line. The interesting twist to this plot is that Hamlin and Busch’s younger brother Kyle Busch, both compete under the banner of Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I’ll tell you, Denny Hamlin deserves so much credit,” said Busch. “MJ always gets the big name up top but Denny is in the underground. Denny is behind the scenes working hard. I am happy to race for him and MJ.”
Busch brought instant credibility to 23XI Racing when he joined the team. He is the 2004 Cup Series champion in his 22nd season with 34 wins, 161 top fives and 338 top 10s on his resume.
Operation under the ministrations of crew chief Billy Scott, who he worked with for one season at StewartHaas Racing. Busch visited Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway on May 17 and has five top fives and seven top 10s so far. The Advent Health 400 was Busch’s first victory in a Toyota race car.
Busch followed his second-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway on June 27 with a 23rd placement on Sunday in the Kwik Trip 250 on the Road America course in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Busch remained 15th in the driver standings with 424 points, but he punched his ticket to the Cup Series playoffs with the win at Kansas.
Busch will make his 39th start on the Magic Mile when the Cup Series tour heads north for the Ambetter 301 on Sunday, July 17, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. He has amassed a stellar record at NHMS since finishing 42nd in his Magic Mile debut in the New England 300 for Jack Roush’s crew back on July 22, 2001.
Busch (2004) and Jimmie Johnson (2003) are the only drivers to win both races on the Magic Mile when NHMS hosted two races in the same calendar year. Matt Kenseth won consecutive races in 2015 and 2016.
The last time NHMS had a summer and fall race schedule was the 2017 season. Busch has an opportunity to tie Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton as the only fourtime winners at NHMS.
Busch recalled his early days on the tour battling New England’s favorite son Ricky Craven of Newburgh, Maine. Craven was recognized as the best stock car driver to come out of New England until Joey Logano of Middletown, Conn. began his meteoric rise on the circuit in 2008.
Logano was 19 years, 1 month and 4 days old when he became the youngest driver to win a Cup Series Race on June 28, 2009, in the Lenox 301 at New Hampshire.
“It is crazy to hear 39 races up there but I always enjoy going to New Hampshire,” said Busch. “I had a fun race with Ricky Craven years ago in Darlington and when I came back up there the fans really embraced me because of the cool factor of racing their hero. Ricky Craven was their New England hero.
“With the race wins in the past and the fans, I’m always energized to go up there and enjoy the atmosphere. It is their New England track and they are proud of their track in their backyard.”