He’s a very impressive kid.
In May, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch sadly passed away at the age of 41, on May 21st, 2026, due to pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. It was very sudden, and 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.
And this past Friday, more than NASCAR 10,000 fans gathered at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a Celebration of Life honoring the late two-time Cup Series champion.
Kyle’s widow, Samantha, delivered a touching 10-minute speech, fighting back tears while expressing gratitude to NASCAR fans and promising that Kyle’s story wasn’t over. His older brother, Kurt Busch, also spoke, along with his long-time team owner Joe Gibbs.
Easily the night’s most unforgettable moment, though, was when Brexton fired up the engine of his dad’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and drove out to the front-stretch to do a massive burnout on honor of his father.
He then climbed onto the roof of the car, took a checkered flag handed to him by his 4-year-old sister Lennix, and did Kyle’s legendary bow:
It was such a beautiful moment, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who famously lost his legendary father, spoke about the tribute during the Ask Jr. segment of his podcast this week.
He was one of Kyle’s longtime rivals, who eventually became his friend, and NASCAR fans know the rivalry that Kyle and Jr. had back in the day. When they were both still full-time Cup Series drivers, their animosity really stemmed from the infamous 2008 race at Richmond, as they were battling for the lead during the last laps, and Busch spun Dale Jr. out during his first year at Hendrick Motorsports.
He was literally on track to end a two-year winless streak, so obviously, he was really upset about it, and later that year during the fall race at Richmond, Jr. returned the favor and spun Busch out.
Busch has made comments about him over the years, and in terms of fan perception back then, they definitely contrasted each other and remained rivals for many years. Eventually, after Jr. retired, they seemed to reconcile and even become friendly, and Jr. had Busch on his podcast a while back and they hashed it out. Jr. shared a beautiful tribute to Kyle the day he passed.
They managed to eventually move past it after Jr. retired, and Jr. echoed the sentiments of many fans in terms of how impressed he’s been with Brexton stepping up to honor his dad during such a tragic situation:
“It was awesome, man. That kid… Brexton’s done an amazing job just handling the challenges of what he’s going through, and he must have a very incredible support system around him. Obviously, his mother is doing a tremendous job keeping things going and keeping those kids’ spirits up.
I don’t have real intimate details of all that, but it’s just from the perspective that we all have. They’re doing a hell of a job, and he’s doing a great job. And I think it’s cool that he wants to do these things. He could obviously be scared to do it, or worried about doing it, or not wanting to be in front of everybody, just everybody acts different or handles these things differently.
But I think it’s really cool that he’s out and wants to be involved in these deals, and it helps everyone else who is dealing with this loss to see Brexton thriving and doing so well.”
Dale lost his father when he was a young adult, not a child like Brexton is, but I think he probably relates to a lot of what Brexton is going through, and I wholeheartedly agree with his comments in how impressive Brexton has been. He’s certainly made his father proud, and I think he was a very long racing career ahead of him.
Brexton is only 11, absolutely no one would expect him to be putting himself out there or doing anything public at vll during such a tragic time, but he’s doing it out of love for his dad and it’s just heartwarming.
You can watch the full video below.
