Tragic late NASCAR hero Kyle Busch was rushed to hospital on Wednesday in Charlotte after he became unresponsive in a simulator, it has emerged.
Busch, 41, was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina when he was taken ill, according the Associated Press – which says several people familiar with the situation have confirmed the details to them.
Busch’s family said Thursday that he was hospitalized with a ‘severe illness’ before announcing his death later that day. No official cause has been given but Busch was struggling with sickness in the days before he was taken ill.
The simulator Busch was in would almost certainly have been preparing him for his next race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The simulators replicate the motion and G-forces drivers would experience at speed on a track in real life.
Chevrolet’s website describes them as being ‘as close as drivers can get to racing without actually strapping in – tracks are scanned to a very high resolution… along with each bump or unique part of the surface.’
Kyle Busch was rushed to hospital on Wednesday in Charlotte after becoming unresponsive
Busch, pictured with his wife Samantha, died on Thursday at the age of 41
Busch radioed for medical assistance from his car in the middle of one of his final NASCAR races on May 10 in upstate New York, just days before his death.
In the clip from that race, he was asking for a doctor to urgently meet him to give him ‘a shot’.
With 38 laps to go in the NASCAR Cup Series game, Busch told his team over the radio: ‘Can somebody try to find Bill Heisel? He’s the kindred doctor guy. Tell him I need him after the race, please.’
He was then asked whether he needed the doctor at his car or his bus, to which he replied: ‘Uh, bus. I’m going to need a shot.’
According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course. Buch finished that race in eighth place.
Busch competed at Dover last weekend and won the Trucks Series race for Spire Motorsports. He then finished 17th at the NASCAR All-Star race, his final race.
After earning his 69th career Trucks Series race win with the triumph at Dover, Busch was asked how many races he wanted to win in his career before he stops racing.
‘You take whatever you can get, man,’ Busch said. ‘You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all – trust me.’
On May 16, five days before his death was announced, Busch was asked if he had recovered from what he thought was simply a nasty cough.
The Busch family celebrated Brexton’s 11th birthday just three days before Kyle’s passing
Busch became an all-time NASCAR great after emerging on the scene back in 2005
‘I had a pretty – you can kind of still hear it, I’m still not great,’ Busch said, waving his hand to his face as he spoke to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. ‘But er, the cough was pretty substantial.’
It remains unclear whether his sinus issues and cough were related to the cause of his death.
Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. He’s survived by wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix. The family celebrated Brexton’s 11th birthday earlier in the week.
A polarizing figure known as ‘Rowdy’ and ‘Wild Thing’ for his post-race fights, regular feuds with other drivers and sometimes outlandish behavior, the multi-talented Busch stormed on the Cup Series scene in 2005 by winning Rookie of the Year.
He went on to win championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
His widow Samantha’s cousin released an emotional statement on social media late on Thursday night about Busch’s death.
‘Unexpectedly my cousin, Samantha’s husband, Kyle Busch, one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, who was known around the world and touched so many, has passed away today at 41 years old,’ Alexander Dmitar Momcilovic wrote on Facebook.
‘He was a beautiful man, driver, father, husband and soul. We hold in our prayers, their entire family, including Samantha, my uncle Steve and Aunt Donney, Kyle’s brother, his father and his mother.
‘I know they are feeling so much pain and unexpected shock at this time. We also hold in the most love Kyle and Samantha’s two young children Brexton and Lennix.’
