{"id":211363,"date":"2026-05-22T07:28:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/2-time-nascar-champion-kyle-busch-hospitalized-with-severe-illness-family-says-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T07:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:28:19","slug":"2-time-nascar-champion-kyle-busch-hospitalized-with-severe-illness-family-says-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/2-time-nascar-champion-kyle-busch-hospitalized-with-severe-illness-family-says-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"2-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch hospitalized with severe illness, family says – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, has died at age 41, NASCAR announced Thursday.
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\u201cWe are saddened and heartbroken to share the news of the passing of Kyle Busch,\u201d NASCAR said on X<\/a>, remembering him as \u201cone of our sport\u2019s greatest and fiercest drivers.\u201d
\u201cWe extend our deepest condolences to the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and the entire motorsports community,\u201d NASCAR said.
Busch had been hospitalized with a severe illness, his family said earlier Thursday, and was undergoing treatment.
They did not disclose what the illness was.
\u201cOur entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch,\u201d the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR said in a joint statement<\/a>. \u201cA future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.\u201d
\u201cHis sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal \u2018Rowdy Nation,\u2019\u201d the statement continued. \u201cNASCAR lost a giant of the sport today, far too soon.\u201d
The news comes 11 days after Busch radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, New York, asking a doctor to give him a \u201cshot\u201d after he finished the race. According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was worsened by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the road course.
Busch finished eighth.
Busch ranked 24th in the Cup Series standings, with two top-10 finishes in 12 races this season. A Las Vegas native, Busch won championships in 2015 and 2019.
His family said earlier Thursday that the illness would cause him to miss competing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina this weekend. It would have been the first time in over a decade that he would have missed a Cup Series race.
In 2015, he missed the first 11 races of the season while he was recovering from a compound leg fracture and a broken foot following a crash during the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
Speedway Motorsports, which owns and operates Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Busch was set to compete Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600, paid tribute, hailing him as a \u201conce-in-a-generation competitor.\u201d
\u201cAt Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kyle etched his name in history, earning more victories across NASCAR\u2019s top three series than any other driver in our sport, highlighted by his victory in the 2018 Coca-Cola 600,\u201d CEO Marcus Smith said<\/a>.
Smith remembered Kyle as a \u201cdevoted father and a loyal friend\u201d who \u201cproudly shared the track with his son, Brexton.\u201d
Known as \u201cRowdy\u201d and \u201cWild Thing\u201d for his postrace fights, regular feuds with other drivers and sometimes outlandish behavior, the multitalented and polarizing Busch stormed on the Cup Series scene in 2005 by winning Rookie of the Year.
Busch won 234 races across the sport\u2019s three national series, more than any other driver in history. He had 63 Cup victories, along with 102 O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts wins and 69 Trucks victories \u2014 both records.
He was in his fourth season at Richard Childress Racing after having won titles with Joe Gibbs Racing. His last win came in 2023, in his first with RCR.
Busch had struggled to find consistency since he left for RCR. The lack of success led to a recent spat with former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who appeared to criticize Busch\u2019s odds of going \u201cback to Victory Lane on a regular basis.\u201d
The two appeared to have made amends, with Hamlin later saying Busch is on the \u201cMount Rushmore\u201d of racing.
Hamlin offered his condolences Thursday.
\u201cAbsolutely cannot comprehend this news. We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB,\u201d Hamlin wrote on X<\/a>.
NASCAR driver and team owner Brad Keselowski wrote on X<\/a>: \u201cAbsolute shock. Very hard to process. Hug your loved ones.\u201d
\u201cRest easy, Rowdy. The sport won\u2019t be the same without you,\u201d driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrote<\/a>.
Fellow race car driver William Byron<\/a> remembered Busch as \u201cthe best mentor you could ever have.\u201d
\u201cHe was incredibly unselfish, cared about his people and his family deeply. And helped shaped my career to what it is. I\u2019m heartbroken. Thinking and praying for the Busch family during this time,\u201d he wrote.
After having earned his 69th career Trucks Series race win at Dover, Delaware, last weekend, Busch was asked how many races he wanted to win before he stopped racing.
\u201cYou take whatever you can get, man,\u201d Busch said. \u201cYou never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all \u2014 trust me.\u201d
Busch is survived by his parents; his wife, Samantha; his son, Brexton, 11; and his daughter Lennix, 4.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeKyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, has died at age 41, NASCAR announced Thursday.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.\u201cWe are saddened and heartbroken to share the news of the passing of Kyle Busch,\u201d NASCAR said on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":211364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-211363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}