NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch has retired from Cup Series competition, but he has continued to dabble in some fun one-off events. This could continue with another possible bucket list race.
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Busch said that he has looked at the possibility of competing in a prestigious Australian Supercars race.
"Road racing, I had fun this summer in Le Mans," Busch said about his gradual return to racing. "I was able to race one of my old Monster Energy winning cars here from Vegas in 2020. I took it over to Le Mans and raced in a historics race there this summer, and that was a huge, huge bucket list item.
"I got to go to the Goodwood Festival and drive a car up the Duke's driveway. Been checking off some fun global events, and I've talked to SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) a little bit maybe about Bathurst down in Australia.
"You know, those guys get after it, though. That's a tough crowd with speed and the competitiveness down there. So I'd have to definitely prep to be ready for that."
The race he referenced is the Repco Bathurst 1000, also known as the Great Race. This endurance race features teams of 52 drivers competing in 26 Australian Supercars entries on the iconic Mount Panorama in New South Wales, Australia.
These teams of drivers compete over 1,000 kilometers (621.37 miles) while racing on the 6.213-km (3.861-mile) street circuit. It is a test of both man and machinery.
Shane van Gisbergen, who now competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, won the prestigious endurance race three times during his Supercars career.
The three-time champion first captured the endurance win 2020 while partnered with Garth Tander. They then won again in 2022. Van Gisbergen won the Bathurst 1000 for the third time in 2023 while partnering with Richie Stanaway.
Busch last competed full-time in NASCAR during the 2022 season. He made 20 starts for 23XI Racing, and he won at Kansas Speedway before a suffering a career-ending concussion in a crash at Pocono Raceway.
The Hall of Famer has remained in NASCAR from a mentor standpoint, but he has not returned to the stock car racing series since. However, he has slowly begun adding more racing to his schedule while continuing his recovery and being officially cleared to race.
Busch has notably raced in the revived IROC series. He won at Laguna Seca while competing in the historic race cars. He also joined forces with Travis Pastrana for the 2025 Race of Champions in Sydney.
Will he have the opportunity to check off another bucket list item in Australia? Will he compete in the Bathurst 1000? He doesn't have this answer yet, but he noted that the "phone calls are coming in" while he fills out his 2027 schedule.
