HAMPTON, Ga. — Former NFL star running back Jamal Lewis was invited to last Sunday’s Autotrader 400 outside Atlanta. Little did he know he would end up watching a former NFL player in the pits.

Former Broncos safety Josh Bush is a front tire changer for the No. 88 car for Trackhouse Racing, driven by Connor Zilisch. And just as he sought to keep up with speedy receivers a decade ago, Bush is now trying to beat the clock to help get Zilisch back on the racetrack.

“It’s cool, man,’’ Lewis, an Atlanta resident who played in the NFL from 2000-09 and rushed for 2,066 yards for Baltimore in 2003, said at EchoPark Speedway. “I can see that athleticism and how it can be used in pit crews. It’s good to see (Bush) out there competing and the teamwork behind it.”

Former Denver Broncos safety Josh Bush (right) is a front tire changer on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch’s car. He is shown before the Autotrader 400 in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22, 2026, with former NFL star running back Jamal Lewis, who attended the race. (Chris Tomasson/The Denver Gazette)

Bush, 36, played in the NFL from 2012-15, including 2014-15 with the Broncos. To conclude the 2015 season, he played 24 snaps on defense and 24 on special teams as Denver defeated Carolina 24-10 in Super Bowl 50.

As it turned out, that was Bush’s last NFL game. But he wasn’t done when it came to participating in pro sports.

In 2021, Bush, who is from Lexington, N.C., became friendly with NASCAR driver Austin Dillon and he joined Richard Childress Racing as a rear tire changer for Dillon’s car. In 2022, he moved over to Trackhouse, based in Concord, N.C, outside of Charlotte. He previously worked on the pit crew for Daniel Suarez’s car before joining Zilisch’s team this year.

“It’s definitely different,’’ Bush said of his current line of work. “But it’s still around a group of guys that have a common goal and there are obstacles and adversity in the way. You still got to find a way to pull together to achieve that common goal.”

That, of course, is winning. In the first two races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series, Zilisch finished 33rd at Daytona on Feb. 15 and 30th in the Autotrader 400. But Zilisch, the youngest driver in the race at 19, had some good moments in Georgia, being in fourth place early on. He was knocked out of the race when a crash that wasn’t his fault doomed his Chevrolet after completing 223 of the 271 laps.

“We’ll come back next week on a road course,’’ said Bush, referring to Sunday’s DuraMax Texas Grand Prix in Austin. “That’s one of (Zilisch’s) strong suits, so we’ll get after it for sure.”

Former Denver Broncos safety Josh Bush is a front tire changer on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch’s car. He is shown at the Autotrader 400 in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22, 2026. (Chris Tomasson/The Denver Gazette)

Just like in the NFL, there’s usually next week after a defeat. That’s one similarity between football and racing.

Asked to name some others, Bush needed some prodding. He did come up with how Zilisch’s pit crew practices during the week between races. And he does see some similarities between how precious seconds can be in football and racing.

As for Bush’s athleticism from the NFL now being used to change tires, he downplayed that.

“You don’t have to be a former (pro) athlete to do this,’’ Bush said. “I think a lot of people kind of get that a little confused. There are plenty of guys up and down pit row who just played in high school, and they are very good at their job. I will say something that translates as a (defensive back) is the next-play mentality. It doesn’t matter to me if I did well or the team did well, you got move on to the next play.”

Each NASCAR team is allowed five members on the pit crew. There are the front and rear tire changers, a tire carrier, a jackman and a fueler.

#88: Connor Zilisch, during Media Day for a NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/David Graham)

During last Sunday’s race, Bush closely watched the action from the pits. When it came time for a stop, he leaped over a cement wall and, using a wheel gun, first changed the right tire, which had been rolled to him by the tire carrier. Then he changed the left tire, with the whole process taking less than 10 seconds. In between pit stops, he studied film of previous stops.

“Josh is really talented at what he does,’’ said Zilisch, a rookie on the NASCAR Cup Series. “He’s got a really critical job. It’s a very physical job. You’re running around the race car and you’re jumping in front of a race car that can hit you at any time. People don’t realize how much work those guys put in to shave tenths of a second off their pit stops. You’ve got to do (the pit stop) in anywhere from 8 to 10 seconds, but 8, that’s where you make your money.”

Speaking of money, Bush wouldn’t give details on his salary. But he said some pit crew members make as much as $300,000 a year.

“I have a job to do and I do it almost like a specialist, like a kicker or something,’’ Bush said. “I’m just doing my job.”

Bush isn’t alone when it comes to being a former NFL player on a NASCAR pit crew. Marshall McFadden, a linebacker from 2012-14 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams, is a jackman for Trackhouse’s No. 97 car, driven by Shane van Gisbergen, and has been doing pit work for nine years. Among other former NFL players on crews are linebackers Jeremy Kimbrough and Jonathan Willard, tight end Aaron Walker, defensive tackle Andre Neblett and long snapper Boone Stutz.

“Josh is doing well,’’ McFadden said. “He’s obviously been down this road, coming from the NFL, the highest of the high (in a sport), and being able to transfer that into being a pit crew member on a race car. He carries himself like a pro.”

Among NFL players on pit crews, McFadden said Bush stands alone in one regard.

“He’s the only one I know of who has a Super Bowl ring,’’ McFadden said.

Denver Broncos defensive back Josh Bush (20) talks with quarterback Peyton Manning (18) before an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Fred Vuich)

Bush’s NFL road began after being a sixth-round pick by the New York Jets in 2012 out of Wake Forest. Bush played in all 32 games for the Jets in his first two seasons, primarily on special teams, before being waived during the 2014 campaign. Bush was picked up by the Broncos and appeared in two games for them in 2014, getting his first career interception in their one playoff game.

Bush spent time with Buffalo in 2015 before being waived midseason without playing a game. He then returned to the Broncos and played in eight regular-season games, getting another interception and making an impact in their three playoff games.

With the Broncos having some injuries in the secondary, Bush played 30 snaps on defense and 21 on special teams in a 23-16 divisional playoff win over Pittsburgh. He got in for 70 snaps on defense and 19 on special teams while having six tackles in a 20-18 win over New England in the AFC Championship Game. Then came the Super Bowl win over the Panthers, when he had two tackles.

“Josh was always a smart player,’’ said Kayvon Webster, a Broncos defensive back from 2013-16 who also was a reserve for Denver’s iconic “No Fly Zone” secondary. “He was behind some really talented guys and he always had to be ready to be the next man up. And he was pretty reliable when his number was called.”

Bush’s ultimate sports thrill came when the clock ticked down to all zeroes in their Super Bowl win on Feb. 7, 2016.

“You can’t put it into words,’’ Bush said. “That was something you’d worked toward all your life. It’s always hard to describe those moments and how you felt at the time. But I’ll never forget that feeling.”

Not long after that, there were feelings of a different kind. Bush became a free agent in March 2016 and the Broncos elected not to re-sign him. No other team called to offer a deal.

Former Denver Broncos safety Josh Bush is a front tire changer on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch’s car. He is shown changing at the Autotrader 400 in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22, 2026 watching video of a previous pit stop in the race. (Chris Tomasson/The Denver Gazette)

“After playing such a huge role in the playoffs, never am I thinking that’s my last game,’’ Bush said of the Super Bowl victory. “So the offseason comes around and I’m just training like I always do and the next thing you know, something goes (awry). Teams are paying guys $100 million (in multi-year deals) and then you’re trying to penny pinch with the salary (cap). I was on everybody’s short list (but no team offered a contract).”

Bush insisted he wasn’t disappointed his NFL career came to an abrupt end.

“I was good with it,’’ he said. “I already had accomplished my dream of playing in the league. It was a dream come true.”

Little did Bush know then he eventually would be involved in another pro sport. In 2020, Dillon, a fellow North Carolina native, began to recruit Bush for his pit crew.

Bush said it took a year for him to agree to join it. After all, he didn’t know much at the time about racing even though he grew up in North Carolina, a hotbed for the sport.

“I didn’t have a clue,’’ Bush said about his NASCAR knowledge while growing up. “I knew who Dale Earnhardt was, who Jeff Gordon was, stuff like that. But as far as actual racing, I didn’t have a clue.”

Former Denver Broncos safety Josh Bush is a front tire changer on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch’s car. He is shown changing the right front tire at a pit stop at the Autotrader 400 in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22, 2026. (Dayton Barr Photography)

Dillon eventually got Bush to join his team, and he liked it. Looking on from afar during his first season was Trackhouse pit coach Shane Wilson, who was impressed with the rookie.

“I kind of brought Josh over here,’’ Wilson said of recruiting Bush. “He’s very talented and he’s been doing a great job. I think he’s very detail-oriented. He’s big in breaking down film, which I think comes from the NFL. He’s still competitive. He loves to do it.”

Wilson said one thing Bush doesn’t like to do is brag.

“He’s kind of a quiet guy,’’ Wilson said. “He’s very humble. You would never know he won the Super Bowl. I introduce him to everybody as, ‘Meet Super Bowl champion Josh Bush,’ and he gets really upset with me all the time. He just says, ‘That was a past life.’ He was really good at football at one time but now he’s a NASCAR guy.”

Zilisch said Bush is “a really good guy” and he’s glad to have him on his pit crew. There is one thing, though, that does not thrill Zilisch.

“That’s a sore subject,’’ he said with a laugh about Bush’s Broncos winning Super Bowl 50. “I’m a Panthers fan. I can remember watching the game in my basement (when he was 9 and growing up in Charlotte) and that was definitely not the best game as a Panthers fan. But it’s cool to hear the stories about Josh playing in the NFL and winning a Super Bowl, although he beat my Panthers.”

Bush tells NASCAR stories to former teammates. He attended the Broncos’ 10-year Super Bowl 50 reunion last October and got his share of racing questions.

Former Denver Broncos safety Josh Bush is a front tire changer on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch’s car. He is shown on the far left running to change the left tire after changing the right tire at a pit stop at the Autotrader 400 in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22, 2026. (Chris Tomasson/The Denver Gazette)

“They’re excited for me,’’ Bush said. “A lot of it was they didn’t really understand my job from a day-to-day basis but they knew that I was on (a NASCAR) team. They knew I was competing and that was enough for them because most of those guys aren’t doing that anymore.”

Bush has yet to have a former Broncos teammate attend one of his races, but he expects it soon will happen. Cornerback Aqib Talib had looked into attending the Autotrader 400 when he was scheduled to be in Atlanta on business, but his plans ended up changing.

Webster, who lives in South Florida, had planned to attend the Daytona 500, but that didn’t work out. He vows, though, to eventually attend a race.

“I think it’s really cool that Josh has found something else outside of football with it being in NASCAR,’’ Webster said. “That’s professional as well. So it’s always good when (former players) are not sitting around moping about what they used to be or what they did and they take action in something else.”

While there were no former Broncos players watching Bush last Sunday, there was a former Pro Bowler on hand in Lewis, 46. He was asked if he might also want to join a pit crew.

“No,’’ he said with a laugh. “I don’t move that fast.”

Former Denver Broncos safety Josh Bush is a front tire changer on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Connor Zilisch’s car. He is shown at the Autotrader 400 in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 22, 2026. (Chris Tomasson/The Denver Gazette)