NASCAR Cup Series: Kurt Busch returns for Kansas

Kurt Busch is back in the Fox Sports broadcast booth for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, marking his second appearance of the year.

He won’t be back behind the wheel of a Cup car yet, but May 2022 Kansas Speedway NASCAR Cup Series race winner Kurt Busch is set to be back at the track this weekend in a somewhat familiar capacity.

The 2004 series champion joined the Fox Sports broadcast booth for the March race at Circuit of the Americas, along with Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner and Chase Elliott (remotely), and he is set to return to the booth for Sunday afternoon’s AdventHealth 400.

Busch is set to be back with lead announcer Mike Joy and analyst Clint Bowyer, a former Stewart-Haas Racing teammate of his, to call this 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas City, Kansas oval.

Busch is one of eight individuals who have been in the Fox Sports broadcast booth as the guest analyst this season. In addition to those already listed, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Larry McReynolds, Bobby Labonte, and Rusty Wallace have also spent time in the booth this year.

Stewart leads everybody with six guest appearances, and he is set to make a seventh at Charlotte Motor Speedway later this month. Wallace was the most recent guest analyst, having joined the full-time duo at Dover Motor Speedway on Monday afternoon.

While Kurt Busch’s return to the booth is exciting for fans who miss seeing him behind the wheel of a race car, many are still awaiting his true NASCAR Cup Series return.

Busch was initially under contract to drive the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing for 2023, but he has been sidelined since last July when he suffered concussion-like symptoms after a single-car crash in qualifying at Pocono Raceway.

He still wants to return on a part-time basis at some point in the near future.

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The No. 45 Toyota won both races at Kansas Speedway last year, with Busch winning in May and Bubba Wallace winning in October after the team moved him to Busch’s car for the postseason in a strategic decision to bolster the No. 45 team’s chances of advancing in the owner playoffs, which it did thanks to the win.

During Busch’s first booth appearance of the year at Circuit of the Americas, it was Tyler Reddick, who replaced Busch behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota a year before he was initially set to join the team, who found victory lane, and Busch got emotional in the booth as he watched the celebration unfold.

Don’t miss Sunday afternoon’s AdventHealth 400! The race is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 from Kansas Speedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. If you haven’t already taken advantage of FuboTV’s promotion, do so now and watch for free!