'He was a giant': Kyle Busch remembered at celebration of life ceremony

Longtime NASCAR commentator Mike Joy said it best Friday night at Kyle Busch's celebration of life at Charlotte Motor Speedway: "To all of you who booed, all of you who cheered, you are all Rowdy Nation."

Busch, who died suddenly on May 21 at age 41 from sepsis that turned into pneumonia, was one of the most polarizing drivers in racing history. Fans either loved or hated the two-time Cup Series champion. There was no in-between. But everyone, no matter how they felt about Busch during his life, mourned the future Hall of Famer after his death.

There was no doubting Busch's greatness. He won 63 times in NASCAR's top division and 234 times across NASCAR's top-three series, the most victories of any driver ever. He's the all-time wins leader in the NASCAR O'Reilly Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. 

"In a world where special people are racing race cars, Kyle Busch was a giant," said Joe Gibbs, who was Busch's team owner at Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008-22. "He was great. And I know he captured all of you guys. It's a thrill for me [to be here] tonight, and everybody here just to honor him and what he did for our sport."

Busch was just as influential as a team owner in the Truck Series as he was as a driver. Nine of the 36 full-time drivers currently in the Cup Series drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports on their way up the NASCAR ladder. 

"There's not been a person in the industry that has had a bigger impact on me than Kyle," said Christopher Bell, who won seven races and the 2017 Truck Series championship while driving for KBM and was later Busch's Cup teammate at JGR from 2021-22. "I never in a million years dreamed that I'd be in a NASCAR Cup Series car. And Kyle Busch Motorsports is what gave me my opportunity on the asphalt stuff. 

"It's been so fun to grow through Kyle Busch Motorsports, with him being a mentor, a boss, growing up to being his teammate at JGR, and then I became really, really invested in his son Brexton's dirt track racing."

Busch's wife, Samantha, children Brexton and Lennix, brother Kurt and parents Tom and Gaye were all in attendance on Friday. 

Kyle Busch's impact on others

"Moving out here, I didn't know which direction was which," said Noah Gragson, who won two Truck Series races while driving for Busch. "Kyle held such an incredible standard for not only himself, but his employees, his drivers and everybody around him."

One particular KBM competition meeting in 2018 exemplified that high standard. 

"It was myself in the 18 truck, Todd Gilliland in the 4, Riley Herbst in the 51," Gragson said. "Christian Eckes was making his first start in the 46 truck. So, typical Kyle Busch fashion, that silver Mercedes comes rolling into the parking lot at KBM about 15 minutes late to the meeting. He walks in, got his coffee in his hand. We're already halfway through this competition meeting.

"He picks up a remote, starts scrolling, he's watching this one clip of the 46 truck back and forth. He goes, '46!' Doesn't call him Christian. 'Who's your spotter?' [Eckes] is like, 'Brett... Anderson?'"

Busch wasn't very happy with Anderson's performance, apparently. 

"He sucks. Fire him. Get a new spotter'," Gragson recounted. "46! How would you rate this side draft, 1-10?' Christian's like, 'Ah, seven, maybe 7 out of 10.' 'Wrong! 2!' He just had such an incredible standard. He meant business every time he walked into a room. We just learned so much from him."

The rest of the NASCAR world learned plenty from Busch, too — how to love a driver, and how to hate a driver. How to portray one as a villain in his prime and as the lovable underdog in the twilight of his career. How to remember his younger, wilder character and the family man and mentor he later became. 

Above all else, Kyle Busch embodied the racing spirit. He was a racer's racer, never having any qualms about doing whatever it took to win — and that's the greatest honor that can be bestowed upon a driver and their legacy.