Kyle Busch’s death shattered the racing world. The story of his legacy is still being written

By Dianne Gallagher, Kyle Feldscher, CNN

Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) — The shock and devastation of Kyle Busch’s sudden death at just 41 years old has shattered the racing world as it heads into one of its premier weekends of the year.

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s family announced on Thursday that he would not be taking part in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to a severe illness. Just hours later, Busch was dead.

It’s a stunning turn of events that has left the world of NASCAR stunned.

“To me, Kyle Busch just defines what it means to be a racer in NASCAR, everything about it – the fire, the greatness, the heart that sometimes you rarely saw. The sport was truly lucky to have him, and I believe I can speak for everybody in the sport, and I’ll just say this for me personally, the family reunions week to week are just not going to be the same without him, but we’re going to do our damn best to continue his legacy and support his family,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said in a press conference Friday afternoon.

The winningest driver in NASCAR history, with 234 victories across the sport’s top three series, Busch was a polarizing figure. He often loved to play the role of the villain, but he had legions of passionate fans as well. In the wake of his death, many of his peers pointed to that polarizing personality as one of the things that makes racing great – people loved Busch and they loved to hate him.

But that hate – which was always tinged with admiration for his undeniable driving ability – melted in the face of his sudden death.

Tributes at Charlotte Motor Speedway quickly popped up and memories from his fellow competitors came fast as the emotions caught up with much of the racing world. His team, Richard Childress Racing, announced on Friday that it will suspend the use of Busch’s No. 8 car and will instead run the No. 33 car.

“Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8 and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry,” the team wrote in a statement.

“No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”

Brexton is Busch’s 11-year-old son who has already begun following in his father’s footsteps and has racked up numerous wins in races around the country.

A heartbreaking week

As the racing world tried to comprehend what had happened to Busch, attention was quickly turned to an exchange the driver had with his team over the radio while competing in Watkins Glen, New York, during the May 10 NASCAR Cup Series race.

During that race, Busch asked his team to have a doctor waiting for him after the race because he was “going to need a shot.” The broadcast mentioned he had been battling a severe sinus cold and Busch told reporters last week in Dover that he had been suffering from a substantial cough during the race.

Busch appeared to have recovered – he won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Dover on May 17 – though he was spotted coughing during a post-victory interview. But things took a turn on Wednesday.

According to a 911 call obtained by CNN on Friday, Busch required medical attention on Wednesday after coughing up some blood and experiencing shortness of breath while getting ready for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.

According to a call obtained by CNN in response to a request for recordings related to Busch’s medical emergency, a caller – whose name is redacted in the recording – asks for an ambulance to come to a training facility in Concord, North Carolina.

“I’ve got an individual that’s (experiencing) shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out and producing a little bit of blood – coughing up some blood,” the caller said.

The caller states that Busch was lying on the bathroom floor and was awake at the time of the call. The caller requested that the ambulances approach the building with sirens off and gave directions on the quickest route to Busch.

That call was made to emergency services at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The next morning, Busch’s family announced he was hospitalized for a severe illness and wouldn’t be competing in Charlotte. A little more than 24 hours after that initial 911 call was made, NASCAR, Richard Childress Racing and Busch’s family issued a joint statement announcing he had died.

O’Donnell declined to give more information on Busch’s health in the days leading up to his death, citing the Busch family’s request for privacy.

It’s all led to just a large amount of shock in the racing community.

“It’s one of them bits of news that just completely shocks you, and probably still processing it,” said Jack Murray, a driver in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, held at a track where Busch dominated during his 22-year career.

A lasting legacy

Nicknamed “Rowdy,” “Wild Thing” and simply “K-F-B,” Busch was known as a combustible personality who took pride in the showmanship that comes along with the racing life.

He always gave a signature bow in victory lane after racking up another win and was always noticeable in his brightly colored, M&M-branded uniforms.

“The sport’s a bad ass sport. Kyle Busch, to me, is an American bad ass – behind the wheel, who you want to be. And I think when you look back at all those things, that’s part of being a race car driver, that’s part of representing this sport,” O’Donnell said. “We’re not always going to agree – if we did, I think people would be really bored, and you know, we certainly had our battles right, but I’d give a lot of money to have a few more battles going forward.”

But beyond that style was a whole lot of substance. Not only did Busch win races, but he fought through debilitating pain to do so. His first Cup Series win in 2015 came after he broke bones in both of his legs early in the season and then fought back throughout the season to end up on top. His second Cup Series win came in 2019 and his last win in NASCAR’s top series came in 2023.

Even as he suffered a dry spell in a stock car, Busch was racking up wins all over the rest of NASCAR’s top series all the way up until his final weekend.

“I can’t thank you enough, KB. You are the ultimate racer and my favorite teammate and driver of all time. I always felt like I had your back and you had mine… I love you brother,” teammate Austin Dillon wrote on Facebook.

However, his most lasting legacy may come away from the track.

Busch and his wife Samantha, were pioneers in discussing infertility and their struggle to have children before bringing son Brexton and daughter Lennix into the world.

They established the Bundle of Joy Foundation in 2015 to increase awareness and help others offset the financial burden of the fertility treatments that helped them grow their own family.

“He gave people a chance. He started the Bundle of Joy Foundation with Samantha because he knew how difficult it was to start a family, and he wanted to spread that message, and yet had time to be a philanthropist off the track,” O’Donnell said.

Since its founding, the Bundle of Joy Fund says its grant recipients have welcomed more than 100 babies into the world.

Throughout his journey, Busch always lived in the moment and savored every single victory as much as he could. While being interviewed after his win at Dover last weekend, Busch reflected on why he still took so much joy in winning even after cementing his legacy in racing history.

“Take whatever you can get, man,” Busch told reporters after winning the Trucks Series race. “You never know when the last one is gonna be. So cherish them all, trust me.”

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