Making Kyle Busch proud.
On May 21st, 2026, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch sadly passed away 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.
The family experienced their first Father’s Day without Kyle yesterday, and Samantha shared a heartbreaking post about how sad it was to celebrate without him:
But there was one positive to come out of such a heavy day, as Austin Hill, who drove the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (and has taken over driving in Kyle’s spot in the Cup Series, though with a different number and car, of course) won the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Naval Base Coronado on Saturday.
It was of course an emotional moment, as it was the first RCR victory since Kyle’s passing, and he dedicated the victory to the Busch family and did a special burnout around a painted tribute to Busch on the track.
He says it was “extremely special,” and he feels like Kyle had some sort of hand in the big win:
“It’s extremely special, just to finally check that box of getting that road-course win, we’ve been so close so many times. I’m not gonna lie, I started talking to this guy a little bit down the straightaways.
I was like, ‘Man, Kyle, if you’re here, give me something, let me find another gear.’ And for whatever reason, the car started coming to life and the two leaders got together and when there was blood in the water behind the 54 [runner-up Taylor Gray] I knew it was going to be tough to get around him, that it was going to be a battle.
And when I got clear of him, I was very surprised to see how much of a gap I got on him. I can’t thank these guys enough, everyone on this 21-team, at RCR. We’ve been through a lot these last several weeks. … Man, this is awesome, so cool.”
Team owner Richard Childress says he felt that everyone had Kyle in their hearts:
“It’s great to win here and we all have Kyle in our hearts. You may not show it on the outside, but you do here.”
He added that it was obviously an “emotional win,” but still an amazing day for their team, for NASCAR and for Kyle Busch and his family:
“I mean, it’s amazing for the whole race team, our organization, for NASCAR, for Kyle Busch and his family, you know. It’s an emotional win.”
Childress feels that Kyle, Dale Earnhardt (who tragically passed while racing for RCR), and all of the other racing greats are smiling down on them, calling it a “healing moment”:
“I know he was looking down, Earnhardt’s looking down, all the greats up there. It’s just been a great day and a great day for sure, it’s a healing moment for our company, but you won’t just forgot what happened.”
It’s a very small win in comparison to the tragedy of Kyle’s death, but he loved to win more than anybody, so you have to think he’s proud of the RCR guys and any kind of win they get:
“I know he was looking down…”
No hiding the emotion for Richard Childress after his first win since the passing of Kyle Busch. pic.twitter.com/QYJ0I9jD4E
— Brandon Stone (@BStoneKUSI) June 21, 2026
