On the biggest racing day of the year in the United States, the country’s two most prominent racing series staged several tributes for Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR champion who died unexpectedly Thursday.
Busch, who was 41, died following a bout with severe pneumonia and sepsis, three days before the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600. Busch was meant to drive in the latter.
NASCAR held a moment of silence for Busch following an address from CEO Steve O’Donnell, in which he said, “Kyle Busch is NASCAR. He was one of a kind and there will never be another.”
O’Donnell stood beside Busch’s widow Samantha and the couple’s two children, 11-year-old son Brexton and 4-year-old daughter Lennix. Earlier this week, NASCAR said it was retiring Busch’s No. 8 car until Brexton is old enough to take it over.
“Samantha, I want you to know that this sport stands with you, and that you and your children are NASCAR family forever. And Brexton and Lennix, your dad loved you with all his heart. Everyone gathered here, everyone behind you, everybody watching on TV, and all those people up in that grandstand are your family — and we’ve got you.”
At Charlotte Motor Speedway, race organizers displayed a large No. 8 and Busch’s signature on the frontstretch grass. All 39 cars in the field bore a Busch decal.
Then, in the eighth lap of the race, both the public address system and the TV commentators went silent in Busch’s memory.
Busch had driven the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing since 2023, but he was best known as the No. 18 Toyota driver for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008-22. He won the 2015 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series titles with Gibbs.
At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch was mentioned in an opening prayer, while the Dale Coyne Racing team replicated Busch’s font on Romain Grosjean’s No. 18 car.
On Lap 18, the speedway’s scoring pylon was lit up with the late driver’s name and face along with “1985-2026.”
Busch won NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 twice (2015, 2016) at Indianapolis.
