If poorly handled, concussions can end careers and lives regardless of sport. Four weeks since his Pocono wreck, Kurt Busch hoped his recovery would allow him to be physically able to pilot a NASCAR Cup Series car again, but difficulties in simulator testing proved otherwise. As a result, he will miss his fourth straight race as he sits out Sunday’s Richmond Raceway event. Ty Gibbs will continue his substitute role in the #45 23XI Racing Toyota.
“Brain injury recovery doesn’t always take a linear path. I’ve been feeling well in my recovery, but this week I pushed to get my heart rate and body in a race simulation type environment, and it’s clear I’m not ready to be back in the race car,” Busch wrote on Wednesday.
“This was by far the hardest week emotionally because I do feel the progression of recovery, but racing requires an extreme physical and mental effort, and my body is not 100% able to sustain the intense race conditions.
“I am making progress and pushing hard each day. I am encouraged by my team of doctors, and we will continue to do everything it takes to get me to 100% to return to competition.
“Thanks to everyone for the continued support and best of luck to the 45 team and Ty this weekend in Richmond.”
In Busch’s place for the first three races at Pocono, Indianapolis, and Michigan, Gibbs recorded finishes of sixteenth, seventeenth, and tenth.
While he has fallen six spots from fourteenth in the standings since his injury, he is virtually locked into the playoffs with his Kansas win. Even if he misses the rest of the regular season (Watkins Glen and Daytona), he is far enough to avoid falling out of the top thirty and therefore remain eligible via waiver.