Kyle Busch NASCAR great and 2-time Cup Series champion, dies at 41 after illness

Kyle Busch, one of the purest racing talents NASCAR has ever seen and winner of more national series races than any driver in history, has died after falling severely ill, NASCAR announced Thursday.

Busch was hospitalized this week with an unspecified illness and never recovered. He was 41.

“We are saddened and heartbroken to share the news of the passing of Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion and one of our sport’s greatest and fiercest drivers,” NASCAR said in a statement.

For more than two decades, the man who fittingly called himself “Rowdy” captivated and divided NASCAR fans like no other. He combined his skill with an unapologetic swagger that entertained, outraged and, most of all, won a whole lot of races.
Busch won 234 NASCAR national series races — combining the top-tier Cup Series, O’Reilly Series and Truck Series — which is the most of any driver in history. He won two Cup Series titles, in 2015 and 2019.

Now, shockingly and suddenly, Busch is gone. He is survived by his wife, Samantha; 11-year-old son, Brexton, himself a promising young racer; and 4-year-old daughter, Lennix.

Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation,” Busch’s family, his race team (Richard Childress Racing) and NASCAR said in a joint statement. “He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled, and he cared deeply about the sport a Busch appeared to be ill two weeks ago at Watkins Glen, when he radioed his team during the race and asked for Bill Heisel, a veteran sports physician assistant who has worked with NASCAR drivers and crew members for years, to meet him at Busch’s motorhome after the checkered flag.