The Twitter-sphere was awash with “breaking news” Tuesday that Kurt Busch will not return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018 — though the team claims all those reports are bogus.
Stewart-Haas tweeted Tuesday that it doesn’t comment on its drivers’ contractual situations, and added that it expects Busch to be back with the team next year. The post came roughly 10 minutes after various outlets, citing team sources, claimed that SHR had opted not to renew the 38-year-old’s contract.
Many have speculated that the veteran driver’s future at SHR has been in doubt since team co-owner Gene Haas said in June that the fact his sponsors don’t like to negotiate until January is “a problem.”
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
The news of Busch’s exit, had it been true, would have been especially surprising given that he won this year’s Daytona 500 and his primary sponsor, Monster Energy, now is heavily involved in NASCAR.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
