Silly Season just got a whole lot sillier.
As first reported by Motorsport.com and NBC Sports, Kurt Busch‘s contract option with Stewart-Haas Racing will not be picked up for the 2018 season.
The team, according to the reports, has until midnight on Tuesday to reverse its decision and pick up the option.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Busch is out of the No. 41 for 2018. Shortly after the news broke, SHR’s official Twitter account tweeted that “we expect @KurtBusch back in our @MonsterEnergy / @Haas_Automation Ford in ’18. Just sayin’.”
We don't comment on contract status, but we expect @KurtBusch back in our @MonsterEnergy / @Haas_Automation Ford in '18. Just sayin'.
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) August 1, 2017
Busch joined the team at the start of the 2014 season and won his first Daytona 500 this season for SHR, currently slotting him into the playoffs in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after Richmond Raceway. In all, Busch has a win, two top fives and nine top 10s in 2017, putting him 14th in the overall point standings.
In 597 career starts, Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, has 29 wins to his credit, five of which have come with SHR. He joined the series with Roush Racing in 2000, winning his first race in 2002.
SHR currently fields cars for Busch, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick in the series. Harvick and Bowyer are confirmed as two of its drivers for next season.