“I had to put the emotional blinders on”: Kurt Busch bares raw sentiment after prestigious NASCAR Hall of Fame induction

Kurt Busch has been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Right after the announcement, he shared a personal message about how emotional the moment was.

A video posted by CBS Sports reporter Steven Taranto on X shows Busch reflecting on his feelings. He admitted that he had to stay focused and not let his emotions take over.

In the clip, Busch said he felt like he was in “race mode” during the announcement. He described watching a video that highlighted his career, which brought back memories from the past while also making him think about the future.

Busch added that every person on the ballot deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, which made the moment even more meaningful for him. He shared:

“ I felt like it was race mode, I had to put the emotional blinders on. You're watching the video of the past, you think of the present and future all at once. Everyone that's one the ballot is someone that can go into the hall because of the impact that they made on the sport.”

Busch also opened up about how much he had to learn when he first entered NASCAR. He said he didn’t know how to handle everything that came with the sport at a young age, and it took help from others to guide him.

One key person Busch remembered was NASCAR’s Jim Hunter. He shared a piece of advice Hunter once gave him:

“Son, you can get in as much trouble as you want because you have that much talent to dig yourself out of these holes you keep putting yourself in. But wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t dig those holes and you could just stay on top riding with your talents?”

That message stuck with Kurt Busch. He said it took years of learning and growing to finally understand what it meant. Even so, he called the Hall of Fame news “a fun announcement” and looked forward to expressing himself more in his official speech.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026 includes Kurt Busch, Harry Gant, and Ray Hendrick. Busch and Gant were picked from the Modern Era Ballot with 61% of the votes each. Hendrick was selected from the Pioneer Ballot. Reuters confirmed that Kurt Busch made the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility — a rare honor.

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Kurt Busch will return to Pocono Raceway, where his racing career ended

After being named to the Hall of Fame, Kurt Busch was invited back to Pocono Raceway — the site of the crash that ended his NASCAR career.

NASCAR reporter Kelly Crandall shared on X that Pocono officials reached out to Busch after the Hall of Fame nominees were announced and asked him to visit the track. The reason hasn’t been made public.

Busch had his career-ending crash at Pocono in 2022 while qualifying in the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing. He suffered a concussion that kept him out for the rest of the season. In 2023, he officially retired from full-time racing. Ty Gibbs took over driving duties during his recovery, and Tyler Reddick later replaced him full-time in the same car.

This year will mark Kurt Busch’s first time back at the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track since that accident. Crandall reported that Busch doesn’t know what the track has planned but confirmed that he will attend.

Pocono Raceway will host the Great American Getaway 400 on June 22. The race comes just after NASCAR’s Mexico City event, which is the first points-paying race held outside the U.S. since 1958.