Brexton Busch has made his return to the track following his father’s death.
11-year-old Brexton is following in his dad Kyle Busch’s footsteps. The legendary NASCAR driver passed away on May 21st at the age of 41. The family announced his hospitalization the day prior, citing a “severe illness.” His death sent shockwaves through the racing community, and he will be remembered as one of the sport’s very best.
Ultimately, Kyle Busch’s cause of death was determined to be “severe pneumonia [that] progressed into sepsis.” He was mourned in a private memorial service on June 2nd.
Kyle is survived by his wife, Samantha, and their two children, Brexton and Lennix. Brexton shares his late father’s passion for racing and has been competing since the age of six. It appears that the talent runs in the family as the young racer won a total of 48 competitions last year.
Brexton has tried his hand at multiple disciplines of racing, including legends cars, bandeleros, micros, bandits, late models, and sprint cars.
Brexton Busch Returns To Racing
On Monday, June 8th, Brexton made a courageous return to the track for the CookOut Summer Shootout at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The night before the race, Brexton shared his first post since Kyle’s passing. The series of photos showed him practicing with his neon green #18 Legends car. The small vehicles are designed to replicate old-style 1930s cars at a five-eighths scale, powered by Yamaha motorcycle engines. Their top speed is between 115 and 140 miles per hour.
Brexton’s uncle and Kyle’s brother, Kurt Busch, was in attendance to cheer his nephew on.
“Go get em Brex”
Kurt Busch posted this on his Instagram story supporting nephew Brexton Busch at the Summer Shootout in Charlotte tonight #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/IKsL4u34ID
— Braking Bob (@BrakingBob) June 9, 2026
Many successful NASCAR drivers began in Legends cars, including Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch himself.
Brexton took the track with a decal on his vehicle reading “Rowdy 1985-2026.” After beginning in 13th place, he avoided a collision and pushed forward during the 25-lap race. The young Busch finished sixth in the Young Lions division.
Brexton Busch finishes sixth in his first race of the Summer Shootout at Charlotte
Case James was the winner in the Young Lions feature with a late race pass on Landon Thrasher pic.twitter.com/DCRhJyk9bz
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) June 9, 2026
