NASCAR Champion Kyle Busch Dies at Age 41

Kyle Busch passed away at the age of 41 on Thursday, May 21.

The news was released in a statement through social media by Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Busch’s team in the Cup Series division.

“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.”

“Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR’s highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation.’ Our thoughts are with Samantha, Brexton and Lennix, Kyle and Samantha’s parents, Kurt and all of Kyle’s family, Richard and Judy Childress, everyone at Richard Childress Racing, his teammates, friends and fans. NASCAR lost a giant of the sport today, far too soon.

“During this incredibly difficult time, we ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy and continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Further updates will be shared as appropriate.”

Earlier on Thursday, Busch, who was ranked in 24th place through 12 scheduled Cup events in 2026, was ruled out of competing in this upcoming weekend’s NASCAR national touring series events at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to being hospitalized from a severe illness that was not revealed. He was scheduled to drive the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST entry in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 event on Friday, May 22, before he would pilot his full-time ride, the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for RCR, in the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24.

Currently, Corey Day has been selected to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet entry for Friday’s Truck event, while Austin Hill will drive Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet entry for the Coca-Cola 600.

Busch, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, made his inaugural presence across NASCAR’s top three national touring series at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in the Craftsman Truck Series division in August 2001. Two years later, he made his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2003 before he made his Cup Series debut at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in March 2004.

Since then, Busch has established a legendary, future Hall of Fame career across NASCAR’s top three national touring series that spans more than two decades. Through a combined 1,313 starts, he achieved a combined 234 victories (63 in Cup, 102 in O’Reilly and 69 in Truck) and holds the most victories all time between the Truck and O’Reilly divisions. Busch’s latest victory between the three series was this past Friday’s Truck event at Dover Motor Speedway (May 15). His latest victory in the Cup division was at World Wide Technology Raceway in June 2023. At 63 victories, he is ranked in ninth place on the all-time Cup wins list.

Among Busch’s iconic victories are winning the Southern 500 once (2008), the Brickyard 400 twice (2015-16), the Coca-Cola 600 once (2018), the NASCAR All-Star Race once (2017) and the season-finale events at Homestead-Miami Speedway twice. He also secured two Cup Series championships (2015, 2019). Busch’s accomplishments included his first and only O’Reilly championship in 2009 and seven Truck owner’s championships (2010, 2013-15, 2017, 2019 & 2021). He both competed and owned his own team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, from 2010 to 2023. Busch claimed the O’Reilly Rookie-of-the-Year title in 2004 before he notched the Cup rookie title the following season.

Busch’s records include winning at least a single Cup event for the most consecutive seasons, with 19. In 2018, he won across NASCAR’s top three national touring series divisions in a single weekend twice and won on every track scheduled in a Cup season through 2018. He was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023 along with his older brother Kurt, the latter of whom is the 2004 Cup Series champion.

Busch spent the early portions of his Cup career driving for Hendrick Motorsports (2004-07) before he then spent the bulk of it competing for Joe Gibbs Racing (2008-22). He first joined Richard Childress Racing in 2023 and was competing with them at the time of his death.