Following in his dads footsteps and making him very proud.
Just two weeks ago, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch sadly passed away on May 21st, 2026 at the age of 41 due to pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. It was very sudden, and in the short time since his death, tons of tributes from fans and drivers have poured in.
He left behind his wife, Samantha, and two children, Brexton (11) and Lennix (4), as well as his parents and fellow race car driver in his brother, Kurt Busch. It’s just so incredibly sad, and my thoughts and prayers continue to go out to his family who have experienced such a devastating tragedy.
Brexton is already a very talented young driver, and he competes in dirt racing, Jr. Late Model and Legends Cars and he is very, very good, already seemingly on track to eventually end up in any of the NASCAR series if that’s what he chooses. His dad spent much of his own racing season following Brexton around during the week, and no doubt, Brexton looks up to his dad and wants to be just like him.
Kyle was a two-time Cup champion and he will be in the Hall of Famer, hopefully as soon as possible. He had competed in the Cup Series since 2004, and had 762 career starts with 63 wins in total. His Cup Series championships came in 2015 and 2019, and he had 234 victories across all three NASCAR national series. He’s the all-time record-holder for wins in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69).
So Brexton certainly seems to have come by his racing talent very honestly, and in a recent interview, Cup Series driver Kyle Larson said Brexton is “the best 11-year-old that there is,” and Larson’s own son, Owen, is the same age as Brexton and often competes against him. The friends shared a touching moment during the tribute to Kyle just days after his passing at the Coca Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend:
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
And on Tuesday, a private ceremony was held in the Charlotte area, and the family has already announced that a public memorial service will take place in Charlotte later this year. Just hours after that service, Brexton was running practice laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway ahead of the CookOut Summer Shootout, a Legend Car Series race.
The speedway shared a photo of Brexton behind the wheel, and of course, there were tons of supportive comments and tons of people who were impressed to see him already back racing, though I have to imagine that is therapeutic for him during the traumatic time, as it was a great love he shared with his father who was extremely supportive of his racing career:
A little Shootout shakedown. 😤@USLegendCars | @CookOut pic.twitter.com/ME7mNHDrLU
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) June 3, 2026
Kyle would often talk about wanting to keep racing until Brexton was 16, so they could compete against each other in the Truck Series since that it the age minimum, and then he would retire after that as Brexton worked his way to the Cup Series (you have to be 18). Richard Childress has already announced that no one will race at RCR with the #8 care until Brexton is old enough to use it, if he so chooses.
Earlier this year, Brexton did get the chance to race against his dad for the first time at the Tulsa Shootout, and I’m sure it’s a memory he will cherish forever. He seems like an incredibly strong and sweet boy, and while he should never have to do this all without his dad, he is surely already making him proud and will go on to be an incredible driver just like his dad, if not better, which I have to imagine Kyle was hoping for:
Even though he may not admit it, @brextonbusch was having just as much fun as I was. ‘Boring’… SMH🤣
Go watch our trio of Tulsa Shootout races against each other on YouTube!📺@Lucas_Oil l @StarKistCharlie l @SparcoOfficial pic.twitter.com/HbMb8UUJWc
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) February 3, 2026
