After Tony Stewart’s Painful Exit, NASCAR Fans Unearth the ‘Kurt Busch Curse’ That Brought SHR Down

What led to the downfall of Stewart Haas Racing in NASCAR? There have been plenty of theories on how mismanagement and financial crunch ultimately put Tony Stewart’s and Gene Haas’s racing operations to rest. But there’s a rather spooky angle to this ordeal, and it involves former SHR driver, Kurt Busch.

The NASCAR community is known for its deep-rooted interest in the sport and unique analytical approach. And they did the same, highlighting how the ‘Kurt Busch Curse’ could have played a part in SHR’s exit.

What exactly is the Kurt Busch Curse?

It’s fair to say that SHR’s downfall had a lot to do with their on-track performances in recent years. Furthermore, over-reliance on the #4 team, which Kevin Harvick commanded in the last decade or so contributed to it. And NASCAR being a financially demanding sport, backing out of major sponsors like Anheuser-Busch and Hunt Brothers Pizza was a big blow to the team’s future plans.

Ultimately, all the cracks within the racing organization got exposed as Tony Stewart and his partner Gene Haas officially announced the closure of SHR from NASCAR. But, apart from sponsorship woes and the mediocre on-track results, Kurt Busch’s exit from the team back in 2018 might have also contributed to their departure from NASCAR racing.

Call it a big coincidence or a recurring theme, but whenever Kurt Busch left a NASCAR race team, it eventually ceased to exist in the sport. His championship team, Roush Racing, folded and rebranded to RFK Racing, thanks to Brad Keselowski’s initiative. Phoenix Racing also closed down in 2013, after Busch’s one-year stint.

A similar pattern followed with his next few teams as well. After moving on from the defunct Phoenix Racing, Kurt found himself a seat at Furniture Row Racing in 2013. During this time, he got an offer from then-powerhouse team Stewart-Haas Racing, and he jumped ships after a single season at FRR, taking the wheel behind the #. 41 SHR car. Although FRR didn’t crumble the following season, the curse finally caught up to them, as they exited NASCAR racing in 2018.

So given that his former team, Stewart Haas Racing, has now shared a similar fate, fans were convinced that the ‘Kurt Busch curse’ is real. And soon they started to support this theory with their views and opinions online on Reddit.

Fans link closure of Tony Stewart’s SHR with Busch’s infamous coincidental pattern

Taking a quote from the movie Oppenheimer, a firm believer in the Kurt Busch curse said, “I have become Death, destroyer of worlds race teams -Kurt Busch.”

Apart from the racing organizations mentioned above, Chip Ganassi Racing was also the team that employed Kurt in recent years. Next thing you know, after his departure, the team sold their charter to Justin Marks and the Trackhouse Racing team. Highlighting the number of teams affected by Busch’s curse, a user added, “Chip Ganassi, Stewart Haas, Furniture Row and Phoenix Racing all don’t exist, or will cease to exist in NASCAR. He drove for all them in a 10 year span.”

Despite this theory, many fans believed that he somehow managed to make the most of those opportunities and gave his best. “And the ironic thing is that he made each team better while he was there”.

It’s difficult not to talk about Kurt’s temper whenever his name pops up in NASCAR conversations. He is remembered for losing his cool in a post-race interview, threatening to “beat the sh*t out” of Bob Pockrass back in 2012. The same year, he completely lost his bearings and was going berserk over the team radio during the Darlington race.

Highlighting his major flaws as a NASCAR personality and how he could have achieved greater feats in the sport if not for his temper, a fan replied, “He was incredibly talented had he not self-sabotaged his prime he probably had another title.”

Making a meal out of this curse theory, some fans were hilariously sounding the warning bells for RFK, Team Penske, and 23XI Racing. All of them saw Kurt race under their banner during his career, just like Tony Stewart’s SHR. “Roush and Penske in shambles as they read this,” “23XI too haha.”

Given that there are a few exemptions to this ‘Kurt Busch curse’ it cannot be said that this was the definitive cause of SHR’s fall from grace. But again, talk about superstition theories. They do keep the community entertained and engaged, and this sure isn’t the last one.