Kurt Busch has a new home: Chip Ganassi Racing.
The former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion will drive the No. 1 for CGR in the series in 2019, the team announced Tuesday, Dec. 4. The move had been rumored for months, especially once it was revealed that Jamie McMurray, the driver of the No. 1 since 2010, would not be returning to the ride after 2018.
Last weekend, Busch announced that he was leaving Stewart-Haas Racing after five seasons with the team driving its No. 41. The partnership yielded six wins, including a win in the 2017 Daytona 500.
The veteran brings Monster Energy as a sponsor to the No. 1.
“I am tremendously proud to be joining Chip Ganassi Racing and the prestigious group of alumni,” Busch said in a team release. “Along with Monster Energy, winning races and competing at the highest level, it’s what we are all about. Ganassi’s forward thinking approach is why I have decided to commit all my years of Monster Energy Cup experience to CGR. Let’s win, let’s have fun!”
Added team owner Chip Ganassi: “We have had the good fortune of having a lot of great drivers here at Chip Ganassi Racing across all forms of racing, and Kurt Busch adds to that list of great drivers. He is a former NASCAR Cup Series champion and Daytona 500 winner and I believe still has a burning desire to win races and compete for a championship. In addition, getting to work with and represent a brand like Monster Energy makes it even that much more exciting.”
Busch will be a teammate to Kyle Larson, who will continue to drive CGR’s No. 42. McMurray is also rumored to be competing for the team during Daytona International Speedway’s Speedweeks, though the move has not been made official.
Busch has 30 wins, 137 top fives and 280 top 10s at the Cup level since his 2000 debut for Roush Fenway Racing. In 2018, he scored a win, six top fives and 22 top 10s, finishing seventh in the overall standings.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.