Brian Scott announced Thursday that he will retire from full-time competition in NASCAR at the end of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Scott said he is leaving the sport full time to focus on his family and the next phase of his career.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that I made myself for my family,” said Scott. “Racing and specifically NASCAR has been and will always be in my heart, but right now, I want to turn all my attention to my family and to be able to spend more time with them. Racing has blessed me with great opportunities, and I’m very grateful for everything that it has allowed me to do, but for me, it’s time to move on. I can’t thank everyone enough who helped me in my career. I would not have made it to where I am at today without their trust and commitment.”
The 28 year old native of Idaho married Whitney Kay in 2014. He adopted her daughter from a previous marriage, and the couple have a son.
Scott has been racing since the age of 12. He moved up to NASCAR’s national series in 2007, debuting in the NASCAR Camping World Series. He competed full-time in that series in 2008 and 2009 and scored his first win at the Dover International Speedway in 2009. He also won at Phoenix in 2012.
From 2010 through 2015, Scott competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, racking up 20 top five, 77 top 10 finishes and five poles. Scott finished inside the Top 10 in championship standings in five of his six seasons. In 2016, Scott was signed by Richard Petty Motorsports to compete in his first full-season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His best finish came at Talladega Superspeedway in October when he finished second. Overall, he has 51 starts in the Cup series winning a pole at Talladega in 2014 with Richard Childress Racing.
“Brian made it to and competed at a level that very few do in NASCAR,” said Brian Moffitt, Chief Executive Officer, Richard Petty Motorsports. “Brian became part of the Petty family this year, and he committed himself to making our organization better. We feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know Brian and wish him nothing but the best for him and his family.”
The team said they will continue to field the No. 44 Ford Fusion in 2017 with further announcements to be announced later.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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