Kyle Busch, a two-time champion of the NASCAR Cup Series and the association’s winningest driver in history, has died at age 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 Thursday afternoon. “We extend our deepest condolences to the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and the entire motorsports community.”
No cause of death has been disclosed.
Earlier on Thursday, Busch’s family posted a statement on the driver’s X account saying that Busch had been hospitalized with a “severe illness” and would not be participating in this weekend’s NASCAR events at Charlotte Motor Speedway — including the Coca-Cola 600, a race Busch won in 2018.
During a Cup Series race on May 10 at Watkins Glen International in Dix, N.Y., Busch told his crew on the radio that he would need medical aid and a shot after the race. The TV broadcast mentioned that Busch had been dealing with a sinus cold all week. He ended up finishing in eighth place, his best Cup Series finish of the season.
Last week at Dover Motorspeedway in Delaware, Busch finished 17th in the Cup Series exhibition All-Star race but won his second Truck Series race of the year.
Busch won the Cup Series championship in 2015 and 2019 and the series regular-season championship in 2018 and 2019. He has won 63 Cup Series races and 69 Truck Series races. The last time Busch missed a Cup Series race was in 2015, when he was recovering from a compound leg fracture and broken foot and was unable to take part in the first 11 events that season.
“A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation,” NASCAR said in a separate statement, released Thursday also on behalf of the Busch family and Richard Childress Racing.
“He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans. Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships and NASCAR’s highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. … NASCAR lost a giant of the sport today, far too soon.”
He is survived by his wife Samantha, son Brexton, 10, and daughter Lennix, 4.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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