Racing community mourns Kyle Busch: ‘Hard to understand’
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has died suddenly at age 41, PK Press Club reports. The world of motorsport expresses its shock and sadness at his unexpected death. Busch, known for his fierce competitive spirit, leaves a profound legacy in racing, survived by his wife Samantha and their two children. His colleagues remember him as a talented pilot and a kind person.
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Kyle Busch texted NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell with a specific request on Tuesday, just 24 hours before he crashed in a Chevrolet simulator.
Busch, 41, died Thursday in a blow to the world of auto racing. Although the cause of death has not yet been released, the 911 call from the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by PK Press Club and OutKick, painted a grim picture.
The two-time champion was on the bathroom floor, coughing up blood and suffering from shortness of breath, according to an unidentified man on the phone. Busch was alert.
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He was then transferred to a hospital in Charlotte and died a day later.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, is shown 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 CEO in April, received a text message from Busch a day before all of this happened, he revealed during a news conference Friday.
The context of the text? The Truck series, of course.
“What I think back to is a text from Kyle on Tuesday, as only Kyle could do – and I keep watching it – and he said, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about an over-40 rule so you can do all the Truck Series races next year?’
“I said, you know, we put this rule in place because you were winning so much, but when we thought about it and had an internal meeting on Wednesday, we thought, gee, this is really good. We need Kyle in the Truck Series. It was two-fold. He knew he could help the series, but I think one day he dreamed of racing against his son in a National Series event.
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“That was Kyle, he was always thinking about the sport and moving forward.”
Busch was a two-time Cup champion and future Hall of Famer. He had competed in the Cup Series since 2004, making 762 career starts with 63 victories. Busch won the championship in 2015 and 2019 and has 234 victories in the three NASCAR national series.
He is the all-time record holder for wins in 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, Alabama on October 14, 2018. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)
His last NASCAR victory came at Dover in the Truck Series eight days ago. He led 147 laps in what proved to be a vintage Busch performance.
“You never know when the last one will be,” he said after the victory.
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The rule O’Donnell was referring to is informally known as the “Kyle Busch Rule.” It was first implemented in 2017 and limits the number of truck races a NASCAR Cup Series driver with three or more years of experience can run in a season (eight).
Busch dominated at every level of the race. Winning both championships with Joe Gibbs Racing and finishing with 63 Cup victories. But his sheer dominance of the Truck Series will undoubtedly be one of the things he will be remembered most for.
Kyle Busch celebrates at Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama on April 23, 2023. (Butch Dill/AP)
So it makes sense to send a simple, random message to Steve O’Donnell about this. Busch loved to compete. He loved to win. He loved to dominate.
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As O’Donnell said, he loved the sport and was always looking for ways to advance it.
In a way, it was the perfect final text.
