NASCAR: Kurt Busch sets date for update, announcement

Kurt Busch is set to provide an update on his status this weekend ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series race at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch hasn’t been behind the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series car in more than two and a half months. He was sidelined in late July after a single-car qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway left him with concussion-like symptoms.

This Sunday afternoon’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Busch’s home race track, is set to mark his 13th consecutive missed start, as Ty Gibbs is again set to fill in as Bubba Wallace’s teammate.

Before the 267-lap South Point 400 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas, Nevada oval, the 44-year-old is set to provide an “update” on his status moving forward. He has a news conference scheduled for the announcement on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. ET.

This news comes after it was revealed that Richard Childress Racing had been working to buy out Tyler Reddick’s contract, presumably setting up his move to 23XI Racing for 2023. Richard Childress Racing had picked up an option in Reddick’s contract for 2023 before he announced that he had signed with 23XI Racing for 2024.

Could this mean that Busch has decided it is better to retire and focus on his long-term health instead of trying to return?

That is certainly what many have been speculating, but there are a few other things to consider.

23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin recently said that the team had a contingency plan in place in the event that Busch could not return for 2023, and he added that Reddick wasn’t part of that plan.

It later emerged that John Hunter Nemechek, who was the team’s original emergency driver before they called upon Ty Gibbs to replace Busch at the last minute, was likely the subject of that plan.

So with Reddick slated to join the team a year early, could this mean that he is simply joining in a third car instead of replacing Busch behind the wheel of the #45 Toyota, potentially setting up a Nemechek move in 2024?

If so, have the team acquired a third charter for Reddick’s entry — something that Richard Childress Racing claimed to have done when they initially stated that they would be keeping him in a third car next year, despite signing Kyle Busch as his replacement behind the wheel of the #8 Chevrolet?