NASCAR driver Kyle Larson has revealed his touching tribute to Kyle Busch gave his grieving son Brexton and widow Samantha ‘a good laugh’.
Larson changed the wording on his car’s name rail to ‘Tiny Kyle’, a nickname Busch and Brexton gave him, before the recent Coca-Cola 600 race in Charlotte that took place just days after Busch’s sudden death.
‘I thought with Kyle calling me something different, I thought it would be a cool tribute to put “Tiny Kyle” on there,’ Larson revealed.
Larson is believed to stand at around 5ft 6ins, meaning Busch used to tower over him at 6ft 1ins.
Larson added that his wife, Katelyn, has been in contact with Samantha in the aftermath of her husband’s passing and she said they ‘really appreciated it and Brexton got a good laugh out of it’.
The 41-year-old Busch passed away last month after being rushed to the hospital when he became unresponsive in a race simulator near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kyle Larson revealed his tribute to Kyle Busch gave his son and widow ‘a good laugh’
Larson changed his car’s name rail to ‘Tiny Kyle’, a nickname Busch and Brexton gave him
It was later revealed that the married father of two had pneumonia, which led to sepsis, causing his blood to clot and impeding his organs before he went into hemorrhagic shock.
It comes after Samantha turned 40 on Monday and she received touching messages from fans.
One read: ‘Happy birthday to one of the strongest mamas & ladies out there @SamanthaBusch.
‘I ask the man above for Peace & Serenity daily in these days of tribulations. Love & Care Sam’.
According to his death certificate, Busch had sepsis for only a day before a rapid formation of blood clots led to fatal hemorrhaging and blood loss.
Sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection, caused Busch’s blood to clot, which then impeded his organs, according to Us Weekly, which obtained his death certificate. As a result, Busch went into hemorrhagic shock.
The race car driver has been cremated in Mooresville, North Carolina, his death certificate showed.
The medical examiner’s findings support the claims made during a 911 call on May 20, when Busch was reportedly throwing up blood.
Initially, as the caller told the operator, Busch had ‘shortness of breath’ and felt ‘very hot.’
‘[He] thinks he’s going to pass out, and he’s producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood,’ they added.
The caller then confirmed Busch was still conscious, repeatedly telling dispatch: ‘He is awake. He’s awake. He’s awake.’
Samantha and the couple’s children attended a remembrance ceremony for Kyle last month
Busch had sepsis for a day before a rapid formation of blood clots led to fatal hemorrhaging
According to the 911 audio, the NASCAR great was lying on a bathroom floor at the facility while employees prepared for the paramedics’ arrival.
Busch was then rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead the following day.
Busch and wife Samantha were major proponents of in vitro fertilization, which helped the couple conceive children Brexton and Lennix.
In fact, his widow revealed in a November episode of her podcast that she saved embryos in case she ever wanted to have another child in the event of his death.
‘Here’s something I’ve never told anybody,’ Samantha told guest Ashley George. ‘I’m a certified over-sharer. So a lot of people ask me what we have done with our embryos because we still have some. I can’t part with them…I don’t know what else to do at this point because I love them so much and can’t make a decision.
‘Kyle was like, “We’re done having kids,” and I said, “But what if?” I told him the most morbid story the other day. I was like, “What if you passed? I would have to have another kid to be connected to you and name that child after you.”‘
Last week, Busch’s lawyer had to vehemently deny a ‘false narrative’ about the late NASCAR icon’s life insurance policy.
Busch’s death came two months after he and Samantha settled a lawsuit against Pacific Life Insurance Company out of court, after claiming they were misled into purchasing life insurance policies.
Busch’s lawyer has denied a ‘false narrative’ about the late NASCAR icon’s life insurance
Conspiracy theories about Kyle and wife Samantha’s life insurance policy had surfaced online
The couple alleged they paid over $10.4million in premiums based on misleading illustrations and false promises of guaranteed returns.
In the wake of his passing, some users on social media peddled wild conspiracy theories about Kyle and Samantha being advised to drop their life-insurance policies just months before he died, a notion that was rejected by their lawyer Robert Rikard.
‘Some on this platform, in the media, and elsewhere are pushing a false narrative about the Busch IUL matter. It needs to be stopped, and those publishing false statements are on notice to correct them,’ Rikard wrote in a post on LinkedIn. ‘Two policies had no value prior to litigation and were terminated.
‘The remaining policies were handled responsibly. The Busch family retained an independent insurance specialist — a senior executive at a major national financial institution — who evaluated the entire portfolio and recommended a structured transition to replacement coverage that provides a substantial lifetime death benefit. The Busch family did not walk away from their coverage. They replaced it with better coverage.’
Rikard added: ‘The suggestion that they were advised by anyone to abandon tens of millions in death benefit protection is a fabrication, and those repeating it know it is. To continue to do so is at your own peril.
‘These are not differences of opinion about IUL policy design or litigation strategy. These are false statements of fact about what happened.’
