I mean, it’s a great nickname…
Ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend, Kyle Busch‘s family was at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which was their first public appearance since the NASCAR legend suddenly passed away on Thursday, May 21st at the age of 41.
Along with Busch’s parents Tom and Gaye, and his brother Kurt, his wife Samantha was on hand with their two children, 11-year-old Brexton and 4-year-old Lennix for an emotional pre-race ceremony to honor the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. And as Samantha and her kids made their way to pit road, Brexton was greeted by one of his own friends in a heartwarming moment. In a touching scene, cameras caught Owen Larson, the son of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and his wife Katelyn, quietly stepping out of the crowd and walking up to his friend Brexton to give him a hug.
They’re both 11-years-old, and it was such a beautiful moment to see the pure love and support Owen showed towards Brexton in what is an unbelievably sad and tragic time in his life. Owen seemed to walk up to Brexton, unprompted by his parents, and didn’t hesitate to give him a hug and just be there for his friend. It was precious:
Clearly, they’ve both been raised very well, and both boys are accomplished racers themselves even at their young age. Kyle Busch often spoke about his desire to someday race against his son in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and there’s no doubt that Owen and Brexton could someday find themselves on the track together as competitors – but in that moment on pit road, it was just one friend trying to comfort another.
The very sweet moment made tons of headlines, and during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kyle Larson spoke about that aforementioned sweet moment between Owen and Brexton before the Coca-Cola 600, saying he was of course “very proud” of his son, and while he was unsure of how much Owen would understand the gravity and emotion of the situation, he clearly did and knew how to show up in a beautiful way.
Larson added that he was also “very proud” of Brexton for the strength he showed being there for his mom and being very strong throughout the entire time they were at the track:
“You know, when Owen walked over there to put his arm around Brexton, that made me obviously very, very proud of him and to see the emotion on Owen’s face when he came back over was also a proud moment.
Because you don’t know how an 11-year-old is going to kind of grasp the situation and understand what has happened and the pain that they’re going through. I was also very proud of Brexton how he was staying strong right then, you could tell. It gave my heart a lot of comfort.”
I think everyone watching was touched by it, too, and no one more so than Brexton who surely needed a hug from a friend, as any of us would in that situation.
Larson was also asked about Busch’s dreams to one day race with his son in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, as you have to be at least 16 to race on road courses and oval tracks (1.25 miles or shorter), and you have to be 18 years old to compete on larger oval tracks (over 1.25 miles), so that dream for the Busch’s was still quite a few years off, but it was something Kyle spoke about often and he was no doubt looking very forward to racing with his son one day.
Larson says that Brexton is “the best 11-year-old that there is” doing the racing he’s doing now, where he competes in the Junior Late Models and various Outlaw/Micro Sprint divisions, and he has no doubt he will make it to the Cup Series one day and be just as successful, if not more successful, then his dad was:
“Yeah, I think that was his ultimate goal, it what it seemed like. He’s raised Brexton to be an amazing race car driver, so there’s no doubt in my mind that Brexton will make it to the Cup Series some day and hopefully accomplish all of the things his dad has been able to, if not more.
Brexton is probably the best 11-year-old that there is doing the racing that he’s doing right now, and I know he’ll make Kyle very proud along the way.”
I couldn’t have said it any better than that, and I’m sure that was Kyle’s dream too, for his son to be better than he was… and he was one of the best to ever do it.
Brexton was beyond impressive standing next to his mom and comforting her the entire time they were at the 600 on Sunday, of course they’ve all experienced an immense tragedy and it’s very fresh, obviously, but he was so brave and sweet during a time of unimaginable pain for him and his family.
He’s going to do great things, and I know his dad is watching down on him and very proud of the young man he is becoming.
@entertainmenttonightKyle Larson was proud of his 11-year-old son, Owen, for comforting Brexton during NASCAR’s emotional tribute to his father, Kyle Busch, at the Coca-Cola 600. Busch died last week at age 41 following complications from pneumonia that turned into sepsis.♬ original sound – Entertainment Tonight
And during some media interviews recently, Larson said that it was his idea for his own unique tribute to Kyle during the 600 last week, saying that both Kyle and Brexton would call him “Tiny Kyle,” and he felt like that would be a very personal way to pay tribute to him by putting that on his name rail, instead of Kyle’s name, or his nickname “Rowdy,” like many other drivers did. He also kept it for the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville this past weekend.
Larson says that his wife, Katelyn, had been keeping up with Samantha, and she told her that their family really appreciated it, and Brexton “got a good laugh out of it,” which I’m sure means more to the Busch family than anything during such a horrific time:
“That was Saturday, I texted the guys. Kyle and Brexton, they always called me ‘Tiny Kyle.’ Everybody was putting ‘Rowdy’ or Kyle’s name in place of their names, and I thought with Kyle calling me something different, I thought it would be a cool tribute to put ‘Tiny Kyle.’
Sam and Katelyn have been keeping up with each other, and Sam said they really appreciated it, and Brexton got a good laugh out of it, so that made me feel good.”
If I know anything about Kyle Busch, I have to imagine he would’ve gotten a good laugh out of it too:
Kyle Larson shared that the Busch family expressed their appreciation for the “Tiny Kyle” name rail in last week’s Coke 600, and also that it got a good laugh out of Brexton. His wife Katelyn has been keeping in contact with Samantha Busch who shared that with them.
Kyle said… https://t.co/MpMyh6dgb2 pic.twitter.com/BkwDFE93BL
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) May 31, 2026
