The world of sport is saddened by the untimely death of Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR's three national series.
Busch was 41 years old.
Kyle Busch was the younger brother of Hall of Fame racer Kurt Busch. He leaves behind his wife, Samantha, and children, Brexton and Lennix.
The Busch family, Richard Childress Racing, and NASCAR issued a joint statement on Thursday.
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.
The statement read via NBC5 ChicagoBush grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, but instead of supporting the Las Vegas Raiders, he was an admirer of the Raiders' AFC West rivals, the Denver Broncos.
Scrolling through Busch's Instagram and Facebook accounts confirmed that he avidly followed the Broncos and attended a few games at Mile High Stadium.
Busch's death came as a massive shock to everyone, including the football fraternity. Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III uploaded a video on Twitter of him meeting Busch in the pit. RG3 captioned the tweet:
Kyle Busch's passing away is so devastating to the racing community. He is a legend of the sport. Life is so fragile people. Tell your people you love them and give them their flowers today. Don't wait. Kyle Busch was a fierce competitor, but he was such a great person and representative of the sport of racing outside of the car.
Former Indianapolis Colts punter turned host and football aficionado, Pat McAfee, wrote:
I'm a bit shell-shocked at the moment. Kyle was incredible to me and our program. A phenomenal hang, husband, father, and wheelman. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
Retired NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson tweeted:
RIP to one of my favorites, Kyle Busch.
RIP to one of my favorites, Kyle Busch.
Taylor Lewan, former Tennessee Titans tackle and host of Bussin With the Boys, wrote:
Rest in peace to Kyle Busch, guy was a racing legend. Thinking about his family.
NASCAR royalty Dale Earnhardt Jr.wrote about how he and Busch were able to step aside their differences.
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 terms. But it was he who made the effort for that to be possible… Kyle was one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. No one can deny that.
On Wednesday, May 20, Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord. During the testing period, Busch reportedly became unresponsive and was subsequently admitted to a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. He passed away soon after. However, the actual cause of his death has not been made public.
Although the timing of Busch's passing is very sudden, NASCAR has confirmed that the Coca-Cola 600 will happen as planned on Sunday, May 24.
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