Brexton Busch does burnout in late father Kyle's car, emulates iconic bow

"But at home, I was watching something different. Kyle was beginning to appreciate everything racing had already given to him. He was grateful for his career and the chance to continue racing. And the sport he'd given his entire life to was even sweeter, because now he got to share it with his kids."

Samantha and Kyle were happiest, she said, when they were at small dirt tracks with their children, 11-year-old Brexton and 4-year-old Lennix, caught up in the chaos that comes when you're both trying to be parents and a mentor to very young drivers. 

"He loved coaching Brexton, dissecting every lap, teaching him to work on his car, and most of all, watching him race," Samantha said. "I've seen Kyle win races most drivers can only dream of. But I know I have never seen him more proud than when Brexton won the [2025] Tulsa Shootout. 

"That's the picture I keep coming back to: our son on the racetrack, Lennix in Daddy's arms, me right by him, and all of us just in the middle of chaos. And we're happy. After years of chasing what's next, we finally reached a place where we could simply love the life that we'd built."

Contentment, Samantha said, did not often find her uber-competitive husband, especially on the racetrack. That changed in the later years of his career. 

"He'd finally learned how to slow down and enjoy the life right in front of him," she said. "If there's one thing I want you to take home today, it's this: don't mistake the last chapter of Kyle's racing career for an unhappy chapter of his life. It wasn't. In so many ways, it was his happiest. And I thank God I got to share that life with him."

Brexton Busch honors late father

There wasn't a dry eye in the house after Samantha's speech. What ensued ensured there wouldn't be any as fans made their way to the exits, either. 

There was 11-year-old Brexton, for whom the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 his father drove in his final years is reserved, doing a burnout his father had done so many times on the frontstretch of Charlotte Motor Speedway to the roar of a crowd that, many a time, had both cheered for and booed Busch for doing the same. 

But there was no booing, nor cursing, nor offensive hand gestures towards this member of the Busch family to be found, as there had been for his father in the latter's prime. The only reaction was full-throated cheering and support, as there should be for a kid who is the heir apparent to the Busch family's racing legacy and will be cared for by the NASCAR community even if he doesn't pursue racing. 

As if his burnout could be topped, Brexton climbed atop his father's car, grabbed a checkered flag from his little sister, Lennix, and took a bow, emulating his father's iconic victory celebration as his mother looked on. 

No matter what Brexton goes on to accomplish in racing, it'll be difficult for him to top what he did on Friday.