It’s still been less than a week since Kyle Busch’s sudden passing, and the haze of shock and confusion still obscures the ramifications.But with each passing day, a bit more processing takes place. And what’s become clear is that it can’t be overstated what a seismic impact this loss will have on NASCAR and its future.It goes without saying that the biggest loss is to Busch’s family — wife Samantha, children Brexton and Lennix, brother Kurt, parents Tom and Gaye.But in other, still important ways, everyone involved in NASCAR was unfairly robbed of seeing the end of Busch’s story. And it’s a story that would have woven a thread through the sport for decades to come.Here’s a look at just a few of the things all of us lost when NASCAR lost Busch.Busch’s redemption arcOn the popular Racing Reference site, which serves as the keeper of all NASCAR stats, there’s a sobering and unwelcome reminder on Busch’s statistics page.“Born: May 02, 1985 … Died: May 21, 2026”That still feels impossible to read. But it’s a signal that the record books have been closed on Busch’s career, save for his final points position at the end of this season.Except up until last week, all of those statistics very much had the potential to grow. Busch was 41 and in a career-worst slump in the Cup Series. He had just two top-10 finishes in 12 races this season, his average finish of 20.8 was the worst since his rookie season, and he had a career-long winless streak (last Cup Series win: June 4, 2023, at Gateway).Kyle Busch celebrates his final Cup Series win, in June 2023. (Joe Puetz / USA Today Sports)But as Busch showed in his final race weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, he still had it. In that Truck Series race, he was fastest in practice, won the pole, swept the stages, led the most laps and won the race before taking what was literally his final bow.And, as it turned out, he did so while battling pneumonia.Busch had a new Cup Series crew chief at Richard Childress Racing, Andy Street, and the pair seemed to be producing immediate results — his two top-10s came in his last three races, the second one with Street. Would RCR have turned it around and gotten Busch back to victory lane? Would the pending free agent have left RCR for a different opportunity in hopes of rejuvenating his career with one last push?He was certainly looking at all of his options, and he likely had several prime years remaining. For example: Denny Hamlin is as good as ever at age 45, and Busch was intent on racing long enough to compete against son Brexton in NASCAR’s Truck Series (more on that below).Because it had been so long since he was dominant (and perhaps because he was no longer driving a Toyota), NASCAR fans had embraced Busch like never before. His next Cup win would have been massively popular, and Busch would likely have heard thunderous cheers from the grandstands in place of the boos he once routinely received.