Busch plays winning card, gets it back from Michael Jordan

Make that in the card.

A very special rookie card. One with his car owner’s picture on it.

Before Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star race at Texas Motor Speedway, the 2014 Cup Series champion from Las Vegas told Fox reporter Josh Sims about a Michael Jordan rookie card that he presented to his new boss at the Daytona 500 in February.

The 2017 Daytona winner said when he was signing the entry form, he got an idea when he saw Jordan’s autograph on the line above his.

“I gotta find a (Jordan) rookie card — a legit one,” Busch said. “Spend money on it.”

Busch called a card collector friend in Las Vegas. The friend said he was going to need some money wired to him. Busch didn’t ask how much.

“So I have the card,” the veteran driver said on TV. “Down in Daytona, I meet with MJ, and it’s quintessential MJ — he’s got the cigar, the tequila, after the qualifying races. I said I got something for you. He opens it up and says, ‘Woo … you paid a pretty penny for this.’”

Busch refused to tell the basketball legend how much he spent on the card. Instead, he handed him a felt-tipped pen.

“You sign it, you keep it,” Busch said. “But when we win together, I’d like it back.”

After passing Kyle Larson with eight laps to go to win at Kansas Speedway on May 15 while driving the No. 45 Jordan-Jumpman themed Toyota, Busch got the card back. It has been certified and locked away in a safe.

Busch plans to frame the card with the entry form from Daytona and something from the victory at Kansas. He said it’ll join a hand-written letter to him from Edsel Ford II, great-grandson of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, as one of his most cherished possessions.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.