The sport of NASCAR won’t be the same, even as the racing is set to go on without the late Kyle Busch this weekend

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By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)

Kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

Some days will live on forever. It can be for a happy or sad reason. In some of these cases, you remember where you were when something big happened, whether it was in sports or world events.    

We will all remember where we were on May 21st, 2025. The reason for this is that the 2-time NASCAR Cup Series champion passed away at the age of 41 after being hospitalized with an unnamed illness that was supposed to keep him out of the Coca-Cola 600. Before this weekend, he hadn’t missed a race in over 10 years. He was an iron man of the sport. 

However, just a few hours after that was announced, a joint statement from NASCAR, Richard Childress Racing, and the Busch family confirmed the death. This is the first active driver death since 2001, when Dale Earnhardt died on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

“On behalf of the Busch family, everyone at Richard Childress Racing, and all of NASCAR, we are devastated to announce the sudden and tragic passing of Kyle Busch.

“Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch. A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled, and he cared deeply about the sport and fans. Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR’s highest level, and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation.’ Our thoughts are with Samantha, Brexton, and Lennix, Kyle and Samantha’s parents, Kurt, and all of Kyle’s family, Richard and Judy Childress, everyone at Richard Childress Racing, his teammates, friends, and fans. NASCAR lost a giant of the sport today, far too soon.

“During this incredibly difficult time, we ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy and continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Further updates will be shared as appropriate.”

The thing that makes this even more sad is the fact that just last week he was out on the track in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series picking up a vintage and dominating win at Dover. This was his 234th NASCAR national series win and his 69th alone in the truck series. 

“You never know when your last win is going to be, so cherish them – trust me,” he said after the win. 

Busch is arguably the best driver of the 2010s. He won 63 NASCAR Cup Series races and a whopping 102 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races. He also swept all 3 of NASCAR’s divisions at Bristol in August of 2010 and 2017. He had won on every single track that the Cup Series raced on before the schedule changed with new venues in 2021. Finally, he is a two-time Toyota/Save Mart 350 winner at Sonoma Raceway, while also winning in 2008 and 2015, and also winning the first truck series race back at the track in 2022. But we will never get to see this final chapter written because of this tragedy. He ranks 9th all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series wins list with 63 and wanted to eclipse Dale Earnhardt’s 76. Sadly, that won’t be the case either. 

There is no doubt that he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he comes up in five years. But beyond that, he had a family. Like everyone, the first people I thought of were his wife, Samantha, son Brexton, and daughter Lennix. His car owner, Richard Childress, has now lost two of the most iconic drivers of a generation when they were driving for him. 

The races will still go on, but they will never feel the same. I’m just lucky I got to see some of his most dominant performances as a fan. Then, I saw him turn into more of a mentor by the time I became media at NASCAR races. I don’t envy Corey Day or Austin Hill for what they have to do to fill the seat of Rowdy, either.

This still doesn’t feel real on Friday.  But I felt like the best way for me to make sense of it was to put words together. What do you mean he won’t be at Sonoma in June or Las Vegas in the fall and next spring? What do you mean this March in Vegas was the last time I ever saw him race? This is a reminder that even the men who seem immortal are human and experience the same things as you and I. Let’s all take a bow and honor Rowdy one more time.