CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — The NASCAR community and more than 10,000 race fans celebrated the life of the late Kyle Busch during an uplifting ceremony Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch's widow, Samantha Busch, spoke at the free event and shared memories of their life together during an emotional 10-minute speech. But it was 11-year-son Brexton, a budding racer, who stole the show with a burnout on the track's frontstretch in his father's No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Cup Series car before climbing on the roof and honoring his dad by doing his traditional bow with a checkered flag.
“I don't want to feel like we are putting a period on (his life) today,” Samantha Busch said. “This is not the end of Kyle's story. His story continues every time we give a young racer a chance, share something he taught us or share with the next generation what made Rowdy unforgettable."
She added: “Years from now I hope people remember Kyle as one of NASCAR's greatest drivers. He worked his entire life for that. But I also hope they meet someone whose life is better because Kyle was here. That's a legacy that no checkered flag can contain.”
Busch died unexpectedly in May from hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation after complications from bacterial pneumonia led to sepsis, according to the former NASCAR star’s death certificate.
Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator about two miles from CMS when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte and later died. He was 41.
The news sent shock waves throughout the sport and several drivers have celebrated their wins this season by honoring Busch with his post-race bow in victory lane.
Friday night was about remembering the good times.
Samantha Busch talked about how happy Kyle was at the end of his career — despite not winning many races during one stretch — because he loved being a father and raising Brexton and 4-year-old daughter Lennix.
She shared memories of spending nights at dirt tracks across the country, being exhausted late at night following a race while Brexton ran around with his friends covered in dirt and grease.
Those, she said, are the memories she will cherish the most, calling it their happiest times.
She also thanked the racing community.
“I never fully understood what this sport meant until we lost him," Samantha Busch said. "The races kept going, the cars kept circling the track, but our world had stopped. I didn't know how we would find our way without him. But then all of you showed us. You came to Brexton's races. You honored Kyle at every racetrack across the country and shared what he meant to you.”
Kurt Busch, Kyle’s older brother and former Cup Series champion, shared stories, memories and funny moments about the driver fondly known as “Rowdy.” Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, Daniel Suárez, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon also spoke at the one-hour ceremony.
“Even at a young age, he wanted to do everything better than me,” Kurt Busch said. “It was tough to beat him on the track, even though I had six years on him.”
After Kurt Busch won his first Cup Series pole at Darlington in 2001, he was asked by reporters about his little brother who was winning races in lower level series across the country.
“I said back then, ‘You think I’m good, you just wait until Kyle gets here,’” Kurt Busch said.
Busch’s 234 race wins across NASCAR’s top three national series, the most of any driver in history and he is considered a certain first ballot Hall of Famer.
He won 63 Cup Series races and earned season championships in 2015 and 2019.
Most of his success came at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Team owner Joe Gibbs recalled Busch's fiery personality while he was driving for him.
Earlier in Busch's career following a race in Loudon, New Hampshire, Gibbs was eavesdropping on his driver's post-race interview after he had finished second. After Busch finished up, Gibbs thought to himself “well, that wasn't too bad” thinking the emotional Busch had kept his emotions in check.
A few seconds later Busch walked over to Gibbs and pointed his finger at his chest and said slowly, word by word, “Your. Cars. Suck.”
“He was very driven, and he was hard on people,” Suarez said.
Larson called him the most talented driver he's raced against.
The celebration was put on by Kyle Busch Motorsports and featured 10 iconic cars representative of Busch’s motorsports career. The evening concluded with an acoustic musical performance by country artist Cole Swindell.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte on Friday also unveiled a new exhibit “Kyle Busch: Honoring A Legacy” honoring Busch's 25-year professional racing career.
The exhibit features Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry from his 2015 NASCAR Cup Series championship season, along with videos and images highlighting his achievements and influence on the sport.
Samantha Busch was given the choice of selecting a car for the exhibit and picked her husband's No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&M's car which he raced for his first Cup Series championship.
“When I look at this car, I don’t just see a championship. I see everything Kyle overcame to earn it," she said.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
FILE - Kyle Busch is introduced during the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, May 17, 2026, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File, File)
