Kurt Bosch announces the return of the Cup Series

Team 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch gave a major update on his return to the Cup series. The driver of the #45 Toyota Camry has announced that he will miss the remaining races of the regular season as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms.

“As much as I want to get back in the car, the time is still not right,” Bosch said in a statement on August 18. “Over the past few weeks, I’ve focused all my efforts on getting better. And to focus my recovery fully on trying to get back into qualifying, I won’t be competing in the next two races to get better. Watkins Glen and Daytona.

“It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one,” Bush continued. “I want to race 100%. I owe it to everyone at 23XI, and all of our partners, fellow competitors and fans.”

Bosch confirmed his goal is to return to the #45 Toyota Camry with the start of qualifying at Darlington Raceway on September 4. Then he thanked everyone for the support and good wishes.

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This decision has an impact on the field

GTKurt Busch’s decision put Alex Bowman (above) into the playoffs.

Heading towards Watkins Glen International, there were five drivers with one win that needed some help getting to qualifying. This list included Alex Bowman, Daniel Soares, Austin Cendrick, Chase Briscoe, and Bush.

Those drivers would get all guaranteed spots in qualifying if a previous winner returned to Victory Lane. This would have created a scenario where there could only be 16 winners in the regular season, so none of the drivers would lose their spots.

With Bosch announcing that he will miss the remaining two regular season races, the situation is changing. Bowman, Suarez, Cendrick and Briscoe all snatch their places in the playoffs. They will never see a scenario where Busch wins again and knocks them near the cut-off line.

Ty Gibbs will go on to start the Trophy Series

GTTy Gibbs will be returning to the #45 Toyota Camry.

With Busch announcing his absence from the next two races, that means Ty Gibbs will have more start in the #45 Toyota Camry TRD. He’s already warmed up for the first four races of the Cup Series in his career, and will add two more while doing double duty.

Gibbs’ most recent debut was at Richmond Raceway. He raced head-to-head against Kyle Busch and turned heads by moving Number 18 off the road at some point in the race. However, his day ended early due to an engine problem.

Before the trip to Richmond, Gibbs competed at Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway. He finished 16th, 17th, and 10th in the 45th positions while driving two total laps.

“I know Ty will continue to do a great job in my absence, and I appreciate the competitiveness he has brought to the ring,” Bush added in his Twitter statement.

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