{"id":38544,"date":"2026-05-19T12:20:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=38544"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:20:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T17:20:36","slug":"kurt-busch-to-compete-in-historic-sportscar-racing-2026-nascar-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/sports\/more-sports\/38544-kurt-busch-to-compete-in-historic-sportscar-racing-2026-nascar-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurt Busch To Compete In Historic Sportscar Racing 2026 NASCAR Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MOORESVILLE, North Carolina (May 19, 2026) 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch announced that he will compete in the 2026 Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) NASCAR Classic presented by Goodyear at Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France. The event runs from July 2-5 and will celebrate 50 years since NASCAR\u2019s first attempt in the 24-hour race.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HSR is North America\u2019s premier vintage and historic racing series, celebrating the cars, sights and sounds that define motorsport\u2019s golden eras. Founded in 1977, HSR has evolved into a vibrant community where legendary race cars return to the track and motorsport history comes alive. Now operating under the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) banner, HSR stages seven major events annually at world-renowned venues including Daytona International Speedway, Sebring International Raceway, Road Atlanta, and Watkins Glen International.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Busch, who collected 34 victories throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career \u2013 including the 2017 Daytona 500 and a Series championship in 2004 \u2013 will pilot the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet in his HSR debut. The car, a former Chip Ganassi Racing chassis, was used when Busch won at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in 2020. Ganassi later gifted Busch the car as an additional trophy from the victory.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, the car has received a fresh engine from Hendrick Motorsports and undergone a complete overhaul to prepare it for road-course competition rather than its original oval-track setup. The field is expected to include 40 entries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHaving this opportunity to race at Le Mans is a dream come true,\u201d Busch said. \u201cThere are only a few places in the world with the allure, prestige and pageantry of a motorsport venue like Le Mans. I\u2019ve been fortunate to win the Daytona 500, compete in the Indianapolis 500, tour N\u00fcrburgring, experience Fuji Speedway, and now race at Le Mans. The kid racer in me gets to live out another dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In preparation for the event, Busch participated in a shakedown session at Road Atlanta last month. Following the session, the car was loaded into a shipping container and transported to the Le Mans paddock ahead of the event.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The HSR NASCAR Classic will run over three days during the 2026 Le Mans Classic weekend. Serving as a support series, the schedule includes two qualifying sessions and three 35-minute sprint races. The races will add to the atmosphere of a weekend expected to draw large crowds for the Le Mans Classic endurance event.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat makes this event even more special is that this is the 50<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of NASCAR sending a car to compete at Le Mans,\u201d said Busch. \u201cThis is a one-and-only opportunity to race on the historic track with my race-winning Monster Energy Chevrolet from Las Vegas in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information on the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Goodyear including entry lists, streaming schedule and more, visit the HSR website by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsrrace.com\/hsr-nascar-classic-to-le-mans-classic\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.hsrrace.com\/hsr-nascar-classic-to-le-mans-classic\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1779296567861000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2fqyRVibAAOKvlig7isHwz\">clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want a look behind the scenes? Follow Busch\u2019s journey on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kurtbusch\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kurtbusch\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1779296567861000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0tFZp2zIgnHCC9BziqR3Ke\">Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialKurtBusch\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialKurtBusch&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1779296567861000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3F4Fp10iW2sxFhPpgtq57d\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KurtBusch\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/x.com\/KurtBusch&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1779296567861000&amp;usg=AOvVaw02m5-UD1XhdAte-mjy9ObF\">X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MOORESVILLE, North Carolina (May 19, 2026) 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch announced that he will compete in the 2026 Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) NASCAR Classic presented by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-more-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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