Twenty-five years ago, then-NASCAR president Mike Helton stood in front of the entire world in the Daytona International Speedway media center and announced the unthinkable.
“We’ve lost Dale Earnhardt.”
Those words — that press conference — are burned into every NASCAR fan’s brain. We can still hear the cameras clicking. We can still see Helton’s face. We can still feel the pain, and the loss, and the anger.
It was a seismic moment, for all the wrong reasons. It changed the sport forever. It changed everything.
Thursday, with the pain and the suffering and the anger seemingly gone — finally — after nearly three decades, the NASCAR world was rocked again.
There was no big crash on the final lap. No press conference. No B-roll of an ambulance racing toward Halifax Health. Frankly, there was no warning.
But the words hurt just the same. They hurt a new generation of NASCAR fans, and an old one still trying to recover.
“We’ve lost Kyle Busch.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch stands with his wife Samantha Busch and son Brexton Busch before the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., on Aug. 1, 2016. (Matthew O’Haren/Imagn Images)
Kyle Busch’s final win at Dover said it all
Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, died unexpectedly at 41. His family announced earlier in the day that he would miss Sunday’s race in Charlotte after being hospitalized with a “severe illness.” That’s all we knew.
Five hours later, the most decorated driver in the series was gone. Just like that. Busch became the first Cup driver since Earnhardt to die while still racing. He became the second driver since December to die in gut-wrenching fashion.
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How much more can the NASCAR world take? First, Greg Biffle in a plane crash just before last Christmas. Now? Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion whose name is all over the record book.
- Sixty-three wins in the Cup Series, good for ninth all-time.
- Two championships.
- The all-time record-holder for wins in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69).
- Most consecutive seasons with a win (19).
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Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, waves to fans during driver introductions before the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 25, 2024. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Busch’s final career win came one week ago in the Truck Series race at Dover. In typical “Rowdy” fashion, he dominated the race, leading 147 laps and giving the crowd his signature bow after taking the checkered flag.
No, it wasn’t a Cup win. Busch hadn’t done that since 2023. But it was still a win, and the crowd still went wild, and Busch was back in Victory Lane, again.
And then an older, more mature, more reflective Kyle Busch spoke to FS1 after the race.
“Because you never know when the last one is.”
That was seven days ago. After what transpired Thursday, it feels like a year ago. Even at the very end, Kyle Busch loved winning. He loved dominating. He loved putting on a show for the fans.
Fans, by the way, who didn’t used to love Kyle. In fact, for years, Busch was public enemy No. 1 for NASCAR fans. He said as much on Sean Hannity’s podcast one short month ago.
For years — perhaps a decade — Kyle Busch was NASCAR’s villain. He famously wrecked Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond in 2008, and had to be escorted out of the track. That’s a true story.
He was hated everywhere he went after that. Even during the glory years with Joe Gibbs, in which Busch won a majority of his races and his two championships, he was hated. Despised. Booed everywhere he went.
Viciously booed.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, spins out of control after colliding with Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., on May 3, 2008. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
But in recent years, something changed. He went from villain to fan-favorite. From zero to hero. The barrage of ‘boos’ at driver intros turned into deafening cheers.
Kyle Busch was beloved by NASCAR fans. It was one of the greatest, most unprecedented turnarounds I’d ever seen.
You could hear it when he won at Dover last Friday. You could feel it when word started to spread on Thursday.
“They’re pulling for me,” Busch told Hannity. “They’re like, man, we hated this guy — we never wanted to see him win another race — and now they’re like, we’ll eat those words. We want to see this guy win another race, you know? So I feel like public perception has changed.”
Kyle Busch was one of the last links to the old NASCAR
He was right. It had. And I think it’s fairly obvious why.
Kyle Busch was one of the last links we had to the old-school NASCAR driver. The old-school way of doing things. He was it.
In recent years, we’ve watched Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart retire. We’ve watched Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson call it quits. We watched Kevin Harvick — Earnhardt’s replacement back in 2001 — hang it up.
But we still had Kyle Busch. NASCAR fans still had “Rowdy.” A driver who wanted to win at all costs, and didn’t care whose feelings he hurt along the way.
Someone who didn’t mince words, and meant what he said. Someone who’d rattle a cage (or two, or three), and still be respected by everyone in the garage.
He was obviously so much more. A father to two wonderful kids. A husband to wife Samantha Busch, who is among the most outspoken spouses in the garage. A brother to Kurt Busch, another NASCAR champ.
Busch was, as he told Hannity, the third “eldest statesman” in the garage. He was a sounding board for younger drivers. A leader for older ones. A rock for the fans during a time period when NASCAR has experienced immense change.
In a way, his career came full circle. Busch’s first Cup win came at Fontana in 2005 as a young driver with Rick Hendrick.
His final NASCAR win came last Friday at Dover driving, again, for Rick Hendrick.
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It turned out to be the last one.
And, like Earnhardt, I’m not sure the NASCAR world will ever be the same.
