Kyle Busch died Thursday at 41, becoming the first active NASCAR driver to die since Dale Earnhardt in 2001.
Busch’s family released a statement hours before his death, only saying that the two-time Cup champion would miss Sunday’s race at Charlotte after being hospitalized with a “severe illness.” Busch died sometime Thursday afternoon, with no cause of death given.
The Associated Press has since reported that Busch collapsed in a Chevy simulator sometime Wednesday and was transported to a Charlotte hospital. Sources have confirmed that timeline with OutKick and Fox News.
NASCAR called Busch a “future Hall of Famer” and a “rare talent” in a release Thursday evening.
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“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,” the statement continued.
“His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation.’”
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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).
His most recent win came last Friday at Dover, when he led 147 laps in a dominating Truck Series victory.
“You never know when the last one is,” Busch said after the win.
The 41-year-old made his mark in NASCAR during his time with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he spent the majority of his career and won the two championships. Busch left JGR for Richard Childress Racing after the 2022 season, and won three times during his first season.
His last Cup Series win came in June 2023. While he struggled for much of this season, Busch did start on the pole in February’s Daytona 500 and was coming off a season-best finish of eighth two weeks ago at Watkins Glen.
Busch’s stunning death is the second tragic loss for NASCAR in the past six months. Former Cup driver Greg Biffle died in a plane crash last December, along with his wife and two children.
