Charlotte, North Carolina —
The shock and devastation of Kyle Busch’s sudden death at just 41 years old has shattered the racing world as it heads into one of its premier weekends of the year.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s family announced on Thursday that he would not be taking part in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to a severe illness. Just hours later, Busch was dead.
It’s a stunning turn of events that has left the world of NASCAR stunned.
“To me, Kyle Busch just defines what it means to be a racer in NASCAR, everything about it – the fire, the greatness, the heart that sometimes you rarely saw. The sport was truly lucky to have him, and I believe I can speak for everybody in the sport, and I’ll just say this for me personally, the family reunions week to week are just not going to be the same without him, but we’re going to do our damn best to continue his legacy and support his family,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said in a press conference Friday afternoon.
