Kyle Busch, a two-time Nascar Cup Series champion and the winningest driver across the sport’s three series, died on Thursday at the age of 41 after being hospitalised with a severe illness. No cause of death has been announced.
Busch, who was in his fourth season with Richard Childress Racing, had been hospitalised earlier on Thursday, his family confirmed. He was scheduled to compete in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to a 911 call obtained by the Associated Press, Busch experienced shortness of breath, felt he was overheating and was coughing up blood the day before his death. He became unresponsive while testing in a Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina, on Wednesday and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte.
Tributes poured in from across the motorsport world. Denny Hamlin, a 22-year Nascar veteran and Busch’s former teammate, said on social media: “Absolutely cannot comprehend this news. We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB.” Driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr added: “There aren’t really words for today. I’ve raced against Kyle for a long time… he gave you everything he had, every single lap, and he made all of us better for it. Rest easy, Rowdy. The sport won’t be the same without you.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr, who had a long-standing rivalry with Busch before they became friends, called him one of the “greatest drivers in Nascar history”. He said: “Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years. But we luckily took the time to figure out our differences… I will never be able to make sense of this loss but I am thankful that we had found a way to become friends.”
Busch, known as “Rowdy” and “Wild Thing” for his on-track feuds, won the Cup Series championship in 2015 and 2019 with Joe Gibbs Racing. He ranked 24th in the standings this season with two top-10 finishes in 12 races. He won a Nascar Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway last week. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway lit its scoring pylon with Busch’s image, and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes held a moment of silence before their game.
