NASCAR is mourning the loss of Kyle Busch, whose death last Thursday has stunned the racing community.
Busch, who died aged 41, leaves behind a legacy defined by major achievements on the track as well as a deep commitment to family and charitable work away from it.
In 2015, Busch and his wife launched the Bundle of Joy Fund to support couples pursuing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Their son, Brexton, was conceived through IVF.
As detailed on the foundation’s website, the two-time Cup Series Champion helped provide 178 grants totaling more than $2.3 million. Through the program, Busch and Samantha, 39, supported the arrival of 111 babies via IVF.
Busch had been getting ready for the weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when he became unresponsive on Wednesday while using a driving simulator in Concord.
He was taken to hospital and died the next day.
Over the weekend, his family said the cause of death was severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
Tributes and reflections from fellow drivers have highlighted how highly regarded Busch was within the sport, including remarks from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt Jr shared what he said was the last text conversation he had with Busch.
He said: “I was texting with him the day before he passed away about getting together this Thursday to bring his seat for his late model over to my shop,”
“We had agreed that he was going to race our car in the CARS Tour.”
The CARS Tour is a stock car racing series known for featuring older-style cars, and Earnhardt Jr said the pair had been going back and forth about details—including what number Busch would run.
“He’s texting me, and he’s like, ‘What scheme we going to run?’ And I was like, ‘You can run any scheme you want.’ I was like, ‘What number do you want to run?’”
“He goes … he said it, literally, ‘The Dale Jr. 8.’ I was like, ‘You got it.’”A “scheme” (or paint scheme) refers to the specific visual design, color patterns, and sponsor decals on a race car,
Earnhardt Jr went on to say Busch responded with the exploding head emoji, and he believed fans would have been thrilled to see him take part in the old-model event. Earnhardt Jr notably drove the Budweiser-sponsored No. 8 car from 1999 to 2007, over eight seasons.
While discussing Busch’s passing, Earnhardt Jr became emotional and said it was “extremely” difficult to take in that the driver was gone.
He added that although many fans knew Busch for his intensity in competition, hearing more stories about who he was off the track had been especially significant.
“What I’ve really appreciated is learning more about Kyle as a person,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We all knew who Kyle was in the car, how Kyle came across in racing and in the media.
“I knew Kyle personally, but hearing how Kyle treated people, the jokes shared in texts, the way Kyle interacted with others away from the track… that’s been really special.”
The first reports on Thursday, 21 May, said Busch had been hospitalized with a “severe illness.” Later that day, NASCAR confirmed he had died at 41.
Earnhardt Jr was among the earliest to pay tribute, sharing a long message online and calling Busch “one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history”.
He also acknowledged that their history hadn’t always been smooth, describing a relationship that took time to repair.
Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years. But we luckily took the time to figure out our differences and that was something he instigated with a conversation in his bus around how we each managed our racing teams. I was super eager for us to get on better…
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 21, 2026
“Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years,” Earnhardt Jr. wrote. “But we eventually took the time to work through our differences, and that actually started with Kyle.
There was a conversation on the bus about how we each ran our race teams, and that changed everything.
“I really wanted us to be on better terms, but Kyle was the one who made that possible.”
At the Time, NASCAR released the following statement on Kyle’s passing.
It read: “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.”
It went on to say: “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.”