Racing community mourns Kyle Busch: ‘Hard to understand’
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch died suddenly at 41, Fox News reports. The motor sports world expresses shock and sorrow over his unexpected passing. Busch, known for his fierce competitive spirit, leaves a profound legacy in racing, survived by his wife Samantha, and their two children. Colleagues remember him as a talented driver and a kind individual.
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Kyle Busch texted NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell Tuesday with a specific request, a mere 24 hours before collapsing in a Chevrolet simulator.
Busch, 41, died Thursday in a stunning blow to the racing world. While a cause of death hasn’t yet been disclosed, the 911 call from the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by Fox News and OutKick, painted a grim picture.
The two-time champion was on the bathroom floor coughing up blood and experiencing shortness of breath, according to an unidentified man on the phone. Busch was alert.
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He was then transferred to a Charlotte hospital, and died a day later.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, is introduced before the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 1, 2026. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
O’Donnell, who was named NASCAR’s CEO in April, received a text from Busch one day before all this happened, he revealed during a press conference Friday.
The context of the text? The Truck Series, of course.
“What I look back on is a text from Kyle Tuesday, as only Kyle could do — and I keep looking at it — and he said: ‘Hey, man, what do you think about an over-40 rule to be able to compete in all the Truck Series races next year?’
“I said, you know, we put that rule in place because you were winning so much, but when we looked about it and had a meeting Wednesday internally, we thought, damn, that’s actually good. We need Kyle in the Truck Series. It was twofold. He knew he could help the series, but I think one day had a dream to race against his son in a national series event.
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“That was Kyle, always thinking about the sport and going forward.”
Busch was a two-time Cup champion and a future Hall of Famer. He’d been in the Cup Series since 2004, making 762 career starts with 63 wins. Busch won the championship in 2015 and 2019, and had 234 victories across all three NASCAR national series.
He is the all-time record-holder for wins in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69).
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch and his wife Samantha stand before the start of the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., on Oct. 14, 2018. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)
His final NASCAR win came at Dover in the Truck Series eight days ago. He led 147 laps in what turned out to be a vintage Busch performance.
“You never know when the last one is,” he said after the win.
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The rule O’Donnell was referring to is unofficially known as the “Kyle Busch Rule.” It was first implemented in 2017, and limits how many truck races a NASCAR Cup Series driver with three or more years of experience can race in a season (eight).
Busch was dominant at every level of racing. Winning the two championships with Joe Gibbs Racing and finishing with the 63 Cup wins. But his pure domination of the Truck Series will undoubtedly be one of the things he’s best remembered for.
Kyle Busch celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., on April 23, 2023. (Butch Dill/AP)
So a simple, random text to Steve O’Donnell about it makes sense. Busch loved competing. He loved winning. He loved dominating.
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As O’Donnell said, he loved the sport and was always thinking of ways to drive it forward.
In a way, it was the perfect final text.