Kurt Busch Net Worth

What Is Kurt Busch's Net Worth?

Kurt Busch is an American professional race car driver who has a net worth of $70 million.

Kurt Busch is one of the most intense, talented, and polarizing drivers of his generation, a former NASCAR Cup Series champion whose career combined elite success, controversy, reinvention, and longevity. Bursting onto the national scene in the early 2000s, Busch quickly established himself as a fearless competitor with raw speed and a relentless edge. His defining achievement came in 2004, when he won the NASCAR Cup Series championship driving for Roush Racing, becoming one of the youngest champions in series history and cementing his place among the sport's elite.

Over a Cup Series career that spanned more than two decades, Busch earned 34 race wins and competed for multiple powerhouse teams, including Roush Racing, Penske Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, and 23XI Racing. Known for his adaptability, he won races in different eras of NASCAR, across changing car generations and playoff formats, a rare accomplishment that underscored his versatility as a driver. Busch was especially strong on intermediate tracks and road courses, where his aggressive yet calculated approach often paid dividends.

Busch's career was also marked by well-documented conflicts with teams and officials early on, which at times overshadowed his on-track achievements. However, he later underwent a personal and professional transformation, emerging as a respected veteran leader and mentor. His late-career resurgence included victories with Stewart-Haas and Ganassi, along with a key role in helping launch Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing team.

After suffering a concussion in 2022, Busch stepped away from full-time competition, effectively closing the book on a career defined by championship success, resilience, and reinvention. He is widely regarded as one of the most naturally gifted drivers of his era and a future NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.

Career Earnings

During his racing career, Kurt earned over $90 million from racing prizes alone. He has earned an equally large amount from endorsements. Busch announced his retirement from racing in August 2023.

(Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)

Early Life

Kurt Busch was born Kurt Thomas Busch on August 4, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada. His father was a salesman, and his mother worked at a public school. When he was six years old, he began going to the racetrack with his father and competing in go-kart racing. He entered his first competition when he was 14 years old. Kurt raced in a dwarf car at the Pahrump Valley Speedway. His father was very supportive of his racing aspirations and allowed him to compete as long as he maintained good grades.

During his teenage years, he participated in modified stock car racing and won his second competition, which took place at the Las Vegas Speedway Park. He and his father traveled around the southwest competing in races. Kurt is the older brother of two-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch. Kurt attended Durango High School, and upon his graduation, he enrolled at the University of Arizona, where he intended to study to become a pharmacist. He was there for less than a year and left to focus on his racing career.

Early Career

After professional racecar driver Chris Trickle was seriously injured in an unsolved drive-by shooting, the Star Nursery team began searching for a replacement. Kurt Busch had already built a strong reputation in the mid-to-late 1990s, winning the Nevada Dwarf Car championship in 1995 and the Legend Cars Western States championship in 1996. He joined the Star Nursery team and quickly made an impact, competing in and winning the semi-professional NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series. In 1998, he was named AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series Rookie of the Year, and in 1999, Busch and the Star Nursery team captured the Southwest Tour Championship.

That success drew the attention of Jack Roush, who signed Busch to Roush Racing later in 1999. The move placed Busch within one of NASCAR's fastest-growing organizations, alongside rising talents who would soon include Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards. The signing gave Busch access to top-tier equipment and a clear path toward NASCAR's national divisions.

Success

In 2000, Busch competed in the Craftsman Truck Series, then widely viewed as a proving ground for NASCAR's next generation of stars. He won four races and finished second in the championship standings, becoming the youngest driver at the time to win both a pole and a race in the series. Following that breakout season, Roush announced Busch would be promoted to the Winston Cup Series, replacing Chad Little. Busch ran seven Cup races late in 2000 and, despite failing to win, impressed the organization enough to earn a full-time ride for the 2001 season.

Busch's early Cup career unfolded alongside teammates such as Kenseth and, soon after, Biffle, as Roush Racing assembled a deep and highly competitive driver lineup. In 2001, Busch recorded three top-five finishes and earned more than $2 million. He also famously raced against Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500, a moment remembered as part of Earnhardt's final season.

In 2002, Busch took a major leap forward, winning four races, posting twelve top-five finishes, and ending the season third in the final points standings. He earned more than $5 million that year and emerged as one of the sport's elite young drivers. While his 2003 campaign was less consistent, he still won four races before finishing eleventh in points. Busch returned to the top ten in 2005, finishing tenth during a season that also marked the end of his tenure with Roush Racing. By that time, the organization's lineup, which included Kenseth, Biffle, and Edwards, had become one of the most formidable in NASCAR history. Busch left Roush after the season and signed with Penske Racing in 2006, closing one of the most important chapters of his career.

(Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)

Career Controversies

Although he has had a successful career, it has not been without controversy. In 2005, he was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving in Maricopa County, Arizona. The sheriff's department would not release the results of his sobriety test because they claimed their machine malfunctioned. Roush Racing suspended him for the last two races of the season.

In 2007, he was in a race with his brother, Kyle, and their cars made contact, which caused both to crash. This resulted in a falling out, and the two not speaking. The brothers reconciled later that year at their grandmother's behest.

In the 2011 Richmond Races, Kurt had an incident in which he accidentally crashed into driver Jimmie Johnson, and Johnson retaliated in the next race. When asked about the rivalry by a reporter, Busch lost his temper and had to be physically restrained. NASCAR put him on probation until December 2012. In 2015, he was suspended by NASCAR due to domestic abuse allegations made by his former girlfriend. No charges were filed, and his suspension was lifted upon his completion of the reinstatement program several months later.

Personal Life

Busch has been involved in a number of feuds and rivalries with other drivers, and in 2006, he was named the third most hated athlete behind Barry Bonds and Tyrell Owens. He underwent cosmetic surgery in 2006 to have his ears pinned closer to his head.

Kurt was married to Eva Bryan from 2006 to 2011. He wed Ashley Van Metre in early 2017, and in 2019, they began starring on the CMT reality television show "Racing Wives." Ashley filed for divorce in 2022.

Real Estate

In 2013, Kurt paid $3.29 million for a 9,500-square-foot lakefront mansion in Mooresville, North Carolina. In 2018, he listed the home, which he dubbed "Chateau de Busch," for $3.6 million. He ultimately accepted $3.3 million a few months later. Here's a video tour of his former home:

In 2019, he listed a 138-acre undeveloped parcel down the road from the above mansion for $7.6 million. After trying to sell the parcels separately, he removed the listing in February 2020 and appears to still be the owner as of this writing.

In 2009, Kurt paid $2.8 million for a three-bedroom penthouse condo in Virginia Beach, Va. In 2019, he sold the unit at a major loss. The final sales price was reportedly just $920 thousand.

Kurt continues to own an undeveloped oceanfront plot of land in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He tried to sell this property in 2016 and 2017 for $1.5 million.

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