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Kyle Busch’s son made a touching gesture to remember his late father following the racing legend’s sudden death this week.
Busch a two-time Cup Series champion and father of two, was hospitalized on Thursday with an unspecified severe illness. Hours later, NASCAR announced that he had died at the age of 41.
Following the tragic news, the NASCAR great’s son Brexton, who celebrated his 11th birthday just three days before his father’s passing, made a subtle tribute on social media.
Brexton updated his profile pictures on Instagram and Facebook to an image of him embracing his dad on Friday.
The photo was taken on February 21 when Busch and his family celebrated his victory at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway in Georgia.
In the moments after the victorious Busch crossed the finish line, Brexton had rushed to greet him in emotional scenes.
Busch had originally uploaded the image to his own Instagram in a post that was captioned: ‘No. 68 Pumped that @brextonbusch finally got to be here, I know this one means a LOT to him!’
The driver is survived by his wife, Samantha, and their two children, Brexton and Lennix, four.
Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, as per the Associated Press. And while a cause of death has not yet emerged, Busch was struggling with something in his final weeks.
He radioed for medical assistance from his car in the middle of one of his final NASCAR races on May 10 in upstate New York, just days before his death.
And now, another eerie clip has emerged from May 16 of Busch being asked if he had recovered from what he thought was simply a nasty cough.
‘I had a pretty – you can kind of still hear it, I’m still not great,’ Busch said, waving his hand to his face as he spoke to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. ‘But er, the cough was pretty substantial.’
In the wake of Busch’s passing, his team, Richard Childress Racing, made a symbolic gesture of their own.
The team announced on Friday that it had decided to retire Busch’s No 8 and will opt to use No 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend and for the foreseeable future.
The number will be suspended until Brexton is ready to join NASCAR should he decide to follow in his dad’s footsteps.
‘Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8 and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry,’ RCR said in a statement. ‘No one can carry it forward to the level that he did.’
Brexton has already shown glimpses of his dad’s impressive talent. He began racing at the age of five and has already won more than 100 races.
In a clip from Busch’s May 10 race, he was asking for a doctor to urgently meet him to give him ‘a shot’.
With 38 laps to go in the NASCAR Cup Series game, Busch told his team over the radio: ‘Can somebody try to find Bill Heisel? He’s the kindred doctor guy. Tell him I need him after the race, please.’
He was then asked whether he needed the doctor at his car or his bus, to which he replied: ‘Uh, bus. I’m going to need a shot.’
According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.
Busch went on to claim his record fifth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy that day, despite clearly still struggling with illness.
Following his death, which came just six days after the victory, a heartbreaking clip of Busch’s post-race interview resurfaced.
After earning his 69th career Trucks Series race win with the triumph at Dover, Busch was asked how many races he wanted to win in his career before he stops racing.
‘You take whatever you can get, man,’ Busch said. ‘You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all – trust me.’
It remains unclear whether his sinus issues and cough were related to the cause of his death.
In the wake of his shock passing, tributes have flooded in from NASCAR and across the racing world.
‘Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch,’ NASCAR shared in a statement on behalf of Busch’s family and his team, Richard Childress Racing.
‘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.’
