Kyle Busch death: Dale Earnhardt Jr. pays tribute to ‘one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history’

Kyle Busch died suddenly on Thursday, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. paid tribute to the NASCAR legend in an emotional post. On X/Twitter, Earnhardt shared the relationship he had with Busch and the reaction to his death.

“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,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I was super eager for us to get on better terms. But it was he who made the effort for that to be possible.

“We did some media together also to laugh through some of the things we put each other through many years ago. Most recently, we had even been discussing him running my Late Model at Wilkesboro this summer. He seemed extremely happy, and we had planned to meet up next Thursday to get his seat to the shop. He laughed over the idea of his fans and JRM fans having to cheer in unison during that race.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. can’t ‘make sense’ of Kyle Busch’s death

Earnhardt continued, “Kyle was one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. No one can deny that. But he was also a father, a husband, brother, son, and a friend to many. My heart is broken for the Busch family. I will never be able to make sense of this loss, but I am thankful that we had found a way to become friends.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch had their battles on the racetrack from Busch’s first season as a full-time Cup Series driver in 2005 to Earnhardt’s final season in 2017. Both drivers have made a major impact in NASCAR, as they were named NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers in 2023.

Earnhardt is not the only one who will “never be able to make sense of this loss.” The entire NASCAR world is shaken over the passing, as Busch competed up until last weekend. He last won a Cup Series race in 2023, but Busch won his final NASCAR race last Friday, a Truck Series event at Dover.

Busch won 63 Cup Series races in his career. He also won two NASCAR Cup Series titles and two regular-season championships.