Kyle Larson raised some great kids.
Along with his wife Katelyn, the driver of the #5 car for Hendrick Motorsports (and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion) is the father of 11-year-old Owen and 8-year-old Audrey. And last week, his son was in the spotlight for his heartwarming gesture during the pre-race tribute to the late Kyle Busch ahead of the Coca-Cola 600.
Cameras captured Owen Larson walking up to Busch’s son, Brexton Busch, and giving him a hug to comfort him on pit road, an emotional moment that quickly went viral and earned praise for both Owen and his parents:
Kyle Larson’s son Owen going up to give his friend Brexton Busch a hug. Hits you right in the feels. pic.twitter.com/Llc9sj3cBy
— Whiskey Riff (@WhiskeyRiff) May 24, 2026
Well this week, it was Larson’s daughter Audrey’s turn to pay tribute to Busch.
Both of the younger Larsons are racers themselves, with Audrey competing earlier this week at Kam Raceway in Nebraska. And unsurprisingly, she’s a pretty good driver even at her young age, taking home the win in the Junior Sprint race.
And after winning the race, Audrey hit the signature Kyle Busch bow in celebration:
View this post on Instagram
You love to see it.
Busch’s celebration became a tradition for the two-time Cup Series champion after winning a race, partly to troll the crowds that would boo him after a win. But recently Busch found himself receiving more cheers as he took his bow, like he did when he won his final Truck Series race just six days before his death.
Kyle Busch has passed away at 41.
Many prayers to the Busch Family, his wife, Samantha, & their children, Brexton & Lennix.
“You take whatever you can get, man. You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all —trust me.”
-Kyle Busch, Dover, May 15, 2026. pic.twitter.com/hgzUdb7uuL— Southern FFA Family (@FFAFamily) May 22, 2026
This past weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ross Chastain, Layne Riggs and Daniel Suarez all took the opportunity to pay tribute to Busch by doing his signature bow after their wins. And in another emotional moment, two former Kyle Busch Motorsports crew members were even spotted giving a bow to the truck that was supposed to be driven by Busch.
Two Rackley W.A.R crewmembers salute the No. 7 truck with a Kyle Busch bow as it leads the field off pit road to begin pace laps pic.twitter.com/EWJJcseTP9
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) May 22, 2026
It’s been a week full of tributes to the late NASCAR legend, who suddenly passed away last Thursday, May 21 from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
His family, including wife Samantha and children, Brexton and Lennix, were on hand for an emotional and unexpected ceremony ahead of the Coca-Cola 600:
And on lap 8, the broadcast went silent as the entire crowd stood and held up 8 fingers in honor of the driver of the #8 car, a scene reminiscent of the tributes to Dale Earnhardt after he passed away in 2001.
Richard Childress Racing announced last week that they would be suspending the use of the #8 that was driven by Kyle Busch and would instead renumber his car to the #33 – at least until Brexton is old enough to drive it:
“Richard Childress Racing has elected to suspend use of the No. 8 and will run the No. 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and beyond. 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. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”
Busch has piloted the #8 car since 2023, when he moved to RCR after 15 years in the #18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won three races during his first season with the team, en route to becoming the winningest driver in NASCAR history with 69 Truck Series wins, 102 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins, and 63 Cup Series victories.
That’s a lot of bows.
Source: https://www.whiskeyriff.com/
