Kurt Busch Withdraws from NASCAR Playoffs Following Concussion
Kurt Busch has withdrawn his NASCAR playoff waiver, surrendering his spot in the 16-driver field as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered at Pocono in late July, his team announced Thursday. Busch, who has missed the past five NASCAR Cup Series races, has not ruled out a return later in the season.
As Busch had already won a race and only 14 other drivers are currently locked into the playoff field on race wins, he would have made the postseason with a shot at a championship if he had returned to the car at Darlington next weekend. Instead, Busch is voluntarily giving up that spot. 23XI Racing's No. 45 car will still be eligible to win an owner's championship, a separate and little-discussed bracket for points tied to an individual entry rather than its driver.
Until Kurt Busch returns to the car, Xfinity Series standout Ty Gibbs will remain in the No. 45 throughout that push. Gibbs has one top-10 and three top-20 finishes in five career Cup Series starts.
Busch's withdrawal means that there are now two open spots in the more commonly-recognized driver's championship bracket with just one race remaining in the season. As both Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are about 200 points ahead of Erik Jones, each will comfortably make the playoffs without a surprise winner on Saturday. If a new winner does shake the picture up, that driver and one of Blaney or Truex will make the field of 16. Blaney currently leads Truex by 25 points in that battle.
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