Context:

Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, has long desired to participate in the Indianapolis 500, similar to his brother Kurt Busch's success in 2014. Despite having opportunities in 2017 and later, his plans were thwarted by Joe Gibbs’ reluctance to allow his drivers to engage in other racing events and later by Kyle Larson securing a deal Busch believed was nearly finalized. Busch revealed that he had a sponsor ready, but complications arose when the sponsor was asked to purchase the car, ultimately leading to Larson taking the opportunity with a two-year deal. Busch now believes his chance to race in the Indianapolis 500 has passed, although he wishes he could have emulated his brother's achievement. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, having secured the deal, will race in the Indianapolis 500, backed by Rick Hendrick and aiming for a better performance after a previous setback due to a pit road penalty.

Dive Deeper:

• Kyle Busch has been keen on participating in the Indianapolis 500 for nearly a decade, hoping to follow in the footsteps of his brother Kurt, who achieved a sixth-place finish and a rookie of the year award in 2014.

• In 2017, Busch had a promising deal with M&Ms as a sponsor, but Joe Gibbs, his team owner at the time, halted the opportunity, despite other stakeholders like Chevrolet, Toyota, and M&Ms being supportive.

• After leaving Joe Gibbs Racing in 2022, Busch had another chance to compete in the Indianapolis 500, but Kyle Larson secured the Arrow McLaren deal before Busch could finalize his agreement.

• The deal's collapse was partly due to a request from Zac Brown for Busch's sponsor to purchase the car, which the sponsor declined, wanting only to sponsor Busch as the driver.

• Kyle Larson, now driving the car for a two-year stint, is supported by Rick Hendrick and aims to improve his performance after a pit road speeding penalty hindered his previous race results.

• Busch now doubts he will ever race in the Indianapolis 500, feeling the window of opportunity has closed, though he still admires his brother Kurt's accomplishments in the iconic race.

• Motorsports journalist Matt Weaver, who has covered a wide variety of racing events, highlights the intricacies and setbacks faced by drivers like Busch in their pursuit of racing in prestigious events like the Indianapolis 500.

• For the better part of a decade, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch had pursued an opportunity to follow in older brother Kurt’s footsteps and compete in the Indianapolis 500.

• Speaking to Denny Hamlin on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Busch revealed the two times he thought he had the deal done.

• "2017, I had it," Busch said. "It was done. M&Ms was going to do it. Guess who said no."

• Joe Gibbs.

• "Yep. Chevrolet was okay with it. Toyota was okay with it. m&m's was paying for it."

• Joe Gibbs has famously kept his drivers from racing in other disciplines up until this year where he finally allowed the likes of Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe to participate in extracurricular racing activities.

• Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2022 season where he again had a deal to run the race, with the blessing of current owner Richard Childress, and of all people, Kyle Larson took the Arrow McLaren deal out from under him.

• “No, I had it signed, sealed, and delivered again, and then Larson took it,” Busch said. “Yes, I won’t release the sponsor but I had a sponsor talking to Zac Brown, the deal was done, and we were about ready to go to contract and Zac Brown was like, ‘Well, hey,’ told the sponsor, he was like, ‘Hey, I need you to buy the car.’ And the sponsor was like, ‘Why do I want to buy the car? I don’t want to buy the car, I don’t need the car, I want to sponsor the car. I’m sponsoring Kyle, he’s going to drive the car. I don’t want to buy the car.’ ‘In case he wrecks the tub, we want you to buy the tub.'”

• Hamlin didn't understand why there just couldn't have been a crash clause.

• “Well, it wasn’t two weeks later that then I’m talking to this sponsor guy, and he was like, ‘Yeah, I guess that we’re too late anyways now that the opportunity’s closed because Larson got it.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean Larson got it?’ Then I found out Larson signed a two-year deal, and we were only going to do a one-year deal.”

• Nevertheless, Busch thinks the door has closed on his chances to ever run the Greatest Spectacle in Racing but wishes he could have followed what Kurt accomplished in 2014, with a sixth place and rookie of the year award.

• Larson will compete in that car again the next two weeks, with Rick Hendrick having bought the car and sponsored it, and the 2021 Cup Series champion looking for a mistake free race after a pit road speeding penalty eliminated him from a top-10 run in 2024.