THE LEGACY OF HARD-DRIVING KYLE BUSCH
FOREVER ROWDY INTRODUCTION • 1
The Lineup BOOK EDITOR Gene Myers
USA TODAY SPORTS NASCAR BEAT REPORTER Mitchell Northam MOTORSPORTS EDITOR Ellen J. Horrow
About the book “Forever Rowdy” condenses three decades of coverage of legendary NASCAR driver Kyle Busch from USA TODAY Sports and the nationwide USA TODAY Network, which includes news outlets with races in their backyards, such as The Daytona Beach News-Journal, The Tennessean, The Indianapolis Star, The Arizona Republic, Montgomery Advertiser, The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. For continuing coverage of NASCAR, go to usatoday.com/sports/nascar. Order print or digital subscriptions or access the eNewspaper for USA TODAY by calling 800-872-0001 or going to subscribe.usatoday.com/offers.
On the cover Kyle Busch parked his car (or truck) in Victory
REPORTERS Kristie Ackert, Scooby Axson, Elizabeth Flores, Danielle Lerner, Jordan Mendoza, Marcus D. Smith, James H. Williams
Lane in a NASCAR race a record 234 times. In June 2021 at Nashville Superspeedway, Busch sported his traditional M&M fire suit and held aloft a can of his Rowdy Energy drink. ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN
DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE OPERATIONS Kate Ellsworth
PREVIOUS PAGE: As the sun set on the 2019
BOOKS EDITOR Andy Harper E-COMMERCE SPECIALIST Clarissa Shine PARTNERSHIPS & MARKETING Rivka Holler PROJECT COORDINATOR Gene Myers
season, Busch won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship with a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota. He edged Martin Truex Jr.
PETER CASEY / IMAGN IMAGES
OPPOSITE PAGE: In November 2015, Busch
celebrated his first NASCAR Cup Series championship with a wicked burnout at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He finished one point ahead of Kevin Harvick. M ARK J. REBILAS / USA TODAY SPORTS
SUPPORT TEAM DESIGNERS Joey Schaffer, Lee Benson PROOFREADERS Sherrill Amo, Heather Hewitt SPECIAL THANKS Alicia Del Gallo, Chris Thomas, Chris Fenison, Chris Vinel, Ken Willis, Douglas McMurray
DEDICATION To Rowdy Nation: Your leader may be gone, but his spirit and your spirit live on.
2 • FOREVER ROWDY
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher. Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. • www.pediment.com • Printed in Canada. This book is an unofficial account of Kyle Busch's life from news coverage by USA TODAY Sports and is not endorsed by NASCAR or the Busch family. Copyright © 2026 by USA Today Sports All Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-63846-216-3
THE LEGACY OF HARD-DRIVING KYLE BUSCH
FOREVER ROWDY 22
52
72
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CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
HIS DEATH
HIS LEGACY
HIS RACES
HIS FAMILY
INTRODUCTION • 3
Kyle Busch won in all three national touring series at Daytona International Speedway but never the Daytona
500 in 21 starts. In February 2021, he took the most punishment in a fiery last-lap demolition derby involving double-digit cars. He was ninth when leader Joey Logano (22) tried to block Penske teammate Brad Keselowski (2) and they spun out. Busch T-boned Keselowski along the wall, was banged around to end up traveling backward, took a shot from Keselowski and skidded to the apron. Among those also involved were Austin Cindric (33), Bubba Wallace (23) and Cole Custer (41). Everyone walked away — with Busch the last to emerge from his wreck. M ARK J. REBILAS / IMAGN IMAGES
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INTRODUCTION • 5
FOREWORD
Prepare to read about a Kyle Busch who wasn’t the villain he tried to be MITCHELL NORTHAM
I THOUGHT I KNEW ALL THERE WAS to know about Kyle Busch. Boy, was I wrong. As a kid, I loved NASCAR. Both of my grandfathers were huge Dale Earnhardt fans and I became one, too. On my eighth birthday, my mom made a cake with a little track on it and stuck a No. 3 diecast on top of it. I have plenty of memories of sitting on the floor in my grandparents’ living room in Federalsburg, Maryland, in the late ’90s watching the Intimidator make his way around speedways across the country. When Earnhardt died in 2001 during a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500, it devastated me. In the years that followed, I fell out of love with the sport as I made my way through middle and high school, occupying my time with football, girls and video games instead.
As an adult, right around 2015 — the season that Busch won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship — I rediscovered my fandom for the sport. As I became a professional journalist in the years that followed, I got the chance to cover a few races at Dover, North Wilkesboro, Bowman Gray and Rockingham, penning stories about various drivers and the sport rediscovering its roots for the Delmarva Daily Times, North Carolina Public Radio and SB Nation. But still, through watching the sport and covering it, I only knew Kyle Busch through his larger-than-life alter-ego: Rowdy. In the 2000s and 2010s, as drivers became more corporate, sanitized and conscious of their image with sponsors, Busch was brash, raw and authentic. Casual fans knew who Jimmie Johnson was because he won all the time. They knew who Busch was because he effortlessly created highlights and sound bites.
MITCHELL NORTHAM JOINED USA TODAY Sports as a senior repor ter i n 2 0 2 6 a nd covers women’s c ol le ge b a sketb a l l , NA SCA R a nd ot her spor ts. A graduate of Salisbury University, he grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and now is based i n Nor t h Ca rol i na’s Resea rch T r ia ng le. He has covered si x Final Fours, written two books and won an award for a story on NASCA R’s return to Nor th Wi l kesboro i n 2023 from t he Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. His past work has been featured at Nor t h Ca rol i na P ubl ic Rad io, SB Nation, t he Ba ltimore Ba n ner, t he At la nta Jou rna lConstitution and the Delmarva Daily Times.
OPPOSITE: Kyle and Samantha Busch sealed with a kiss one of the biggest years of their lives in November 2015 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. By winning the Ford EcoBoost 400, Kyle captured his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. It came six months after the birth of son Brexton, in a year they started the Bundle of Joy Fund to aid couples battling infertility. J ASEN VINLOVE / IMAGN IMAGES
6 • FOREVER ROWDY
INTRODUCTION • 7
He had a take-no-prisoners style on the track that was a bit akin to Earnhardt’s where, if you got between Busch and the checkered flag, he might take you out. Off the track, he could be blunt and unflinching, but also sarcastic and playful. If you asked him a question in a news conference that he thought was dumb, he would let you know in a way that only Busch could. To many fans like me, Busch was the guy who wrecked Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond, who irritated Kevin Harvick to no end, who spun out Martin Truex Jr. at Bristol and Kyle Larson at Chicagoland, who traded fisticuffs with Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who leaned into his villain persona. Busch was the guy who welcomed choruses of boos during driver introductions, who would taunt his haters with a wink and a nod and was someone who wasn’t afraid of ruffling feathers or picking a fight with anyone in the sport — including NASCAR officials. NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said it best, Busch was “an American badass.” Love him or hate him, it was clear that Busch had a unique connection with fans. There was Rowdy Nation, who adored him and related to his unapologetic style, and then there was everyone else — fans of Dale Jr., Harvick, Logano, Brad Keselowski, etc. — who despised seeing his No. 18 Toyota enter Victory Lane during the 2010s when he was piling up victories and a pair of championships for Joe Gibbs Racing. That relationship Busch had with his fans became clear to me just hours after he suddenly died on May 21 at the age of 41 due to complications from sepsis caused by bacterial pneumonia. The next morning, I drove to Welcome, North Carolina — home to the headquarters of Richard Childress
Racing — and saw fans lining up to pay their respects to Busch. The entrance to RCR’s museum was filled with flowers, beer cans, cards, balloons, bags of M&M’s, diecasts, hats and other memorabilia left by sad fans as they paid homage to their favorite driver. In the days that followed, I learned that Kyle Busch was a whole lot more than Rowdy, the character he often played. He was a friend to many in the garage, a mentor to countless drivers, a loving husband, a doting father and someone who cared an awful lot about the future of NASCAR. Sure, in the days after his shocking death, people told stories about Rowdy being Rowdy — wrecking some driver to get a victory, saying something memorable to reporters or clashing with a competitor in the garage — but most people told stories about Kyle Busch the man. Gibbs shared memories about his perseverance, grit and determination through a broken leg in 2015 and how he won at Sonoma to kickstart his pursuit of his first championship. Daniel Suarez went into great detail about how when he first moved to the United States from Mexico, Busch called him every week to give him advice on how to adjust to NASCAR and living in a new country. Bubba Wallace was nearly in tears recounting how Busch, through his Truck Series team, gave the driver his first real chance in NASCAR. Others told stories about how Busch had grown up, matured and evolved, and how becoming a father changed him for the better. His relationship with Logano had begun to thaw as their kids played together during race weekends. He buried the hatchet with Dale Jr. and had planned to drive his No. 8
The Tennessean | SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2026 | 1B
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NASCAR KYLE BUSCH (1985-2026)
Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch is introduced before the start of the Wurth 400 on May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway. JEROME MIRON/IMAGN IMAGES
‘Rowdy’ embraced his role Hill heads to Cup Series in wake of Busch’s death
Kyle Busch won 234 races among the sport’s three levels Mitchell Northam
Andrés Soto
USA TODAY
USA TODAY
Thumb through the dictionary and it’s easy to find a slew of adjectives to describe Kyle Busch. Polarizing? Absolutely. Fearless? Check. Exceptional? Yes. Unapologetic? Also yes. Some called him a jerk, aggressive and controversial. Indeed, Busch could be all those things on and off the racetrack. But the word that described him the best was the nickname bestowed upon him when he broke into NASCAR and started dominating tracks with an unabashed style: Rowdy. It came from the character Rowdy Burns, the villain in Tony Scott’s 1990 racing film “Days of Thunder” portrayed by Michael Rooker. It was a persona that Busch fully embraced as his career started taking off, and after rivalries with Dale Earnhardt See BUSCH, Page 3B
George Tabar, from DeLand, Florida, puts down flowers in front of a makeshift memorial at the Daytona International Speedway tours building for NASCAR driver Kyle Busch on May 22. NADIA ZOMORODIAN/USA TODAY NETWORK
Kyle Busch has died at age 41, his family announced in a joint statement with NASCAR and Joe Gibbs Racing on May 21. “Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch,” the statement read. A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was Hill passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.” A two-time Cup Series champion in 2015 and 2019, Busch is one of the most decorated drivers in NASCAR history. See HILL, Page 3B
THE TENNESSEAN
8 • FOREVER ROWDY
QB Ward talks shoulder injury as Titans begin OTAs Able to throw deep balls in practice with no issues Nick Suss
stronger, trying to lessen the injury back and not have it happen again.” Ward threw 17 passes during team and 7-on-7 drills, his third practice of the offseason but the first permitted to be viewed
late-model at North Wilkesboro. He and his wife, Samantha, started a foundation and became outspoken advocates for couples struggling with infertility. And he cared deeply about his son Brexton’s budding racing career, watching and coaching him every step of the way. It’s a shame that more people didn’t hear stories about those versions of Kyle Busch while he was still alive and piling up victories. Fans started to get glimpses of it in the way that he would celebrate with his kids in Victory Lane, like he did in Dover with Brexton just six days before his death. What we aimed to do at USA TODAY Sports with our coverage of Busch’s death in the days, weeks and months that followed was to capture all angles of who he was: the bold and brazen driver known as Rowdy, and the man who was always willing to lend a hand to younger drivers in the garage, who was a caring family man, and who changed the sport of NASCAR for the better. Preserving stories about
LEFT: Kyle Busch received a bath from son Brexton in June 2021 after winning the Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. It was Busch’s 100th victory in NASCAR’s second-tier touring circuit, 51 more than runner-up Mark Martin. With 100 in the bag, Busch said that he likely would stop running the Xfinity Series, weary of criticism for “beating up on the little kids.” He won two more races in July, ending the schedule planned before the season with Joe Gibbs Racing. He only returned to the series, these days sponsored by O’Reilly Auto Parts, for four races with Kaulig Racing in 2023. Fourth at Las Vegas was his top finish. ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN
INTRODUCTION • 9
how he helped drivers such as Wallace and Suarez, and how he mentored Brexton, were just as important as illustrating his dominance across 234 combined victories in NASCAR’s top three national touring circuits — a record that might never be broken. By traveling to the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, and then to other races in Atlanta, North Wilkesboro, Richmond and elsewhere in 2026, I learned so much about who Kyle Busch was on and off the track and the impact he had on everyone in the NASCAR garage. Through this book, I hope you do, too.
RIGHT: Two days after Kyle Busch’s death on
May 21, 2026, a makeshift memorial outside the Daytona International Speedway Tours building continued to increase in size. Fans left flowers, M&M’s, Skittles, hats, shirts, Bibles, handwritten notes and other tributes for the guaranteed first-ballot inductee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. N ADIA ZOMORODIAN / NEWS-JOURNAL OPPOSITE: Busch played to his fans and
detractors after winning the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2017. He became the second NASCAR driver to sweep a truck race, a second-tier series race and Cup race on the same weekend. The first? Kyle Thomas Busch, who pulled it off at Bristol in 2010. That weekend also lived in NASCAR lore because in retaliation for Busch spinning him out in the Nationwide race, Brad Keselowski used the next day’s driver introductions to tell the estimated 155,000 fans: “Kyle Busch is an ass.” B RIAN LAWDERMILK / GETTY IMAGES
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INTRODUCTION • 11
12 • FOREVER ROWDY
INTRODUCTION
With open arms and a lead foot, Kyle Busch embraced ‘Rowdy’ — and NASCAR needed it MITCHELL NORTHAM
THUMB THROUGH THE DICTIOnary and it’s easy to find a slew of adjectives to describe Kyle Busch. P o l a r i z i n g ? A b s o l u t e l y. Fearless? Check. Exceptional? Yes. Unapologetic? Also, yes. Some called him a jerk, aggressive and controversial. Indeed, Busch could be all those things on and off the racetrack. But the word that described him the best was the nickname bestowed upon him when he broke into NASCAR and started dominating tracks with an unabashed style: Rowdy. It came from the character Rowdy Burns, the villain in Tony Scott’s 1990 Tom Cruise racing film “Days of Thunder” portrayed by Michael Rooker. It was a persona that Busch fully embraced as his career started taking off and after rivalries with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski went from simmering to boiling. Busch
even drove the No. 51 in the Truck Series, the same number Rowdy had plastered on his door in the Hollywood movie. “You come to the point where you’re like, ‘OK, I’m going to wear this black hat. They want me to be the villain? Let’s do it.’ I went full in just being Rowdy,” Busch said. “I’m not going to say it wasn’t fun being the villain, because I was also winning. I don’t care. I’m going home with the trophy, and I’m going home with the check.” Ultimately, professional sports were drama and entertainment. They needed heroes and they needed villains. They needed good guys and they needed bad guys. And during an era when NASCAR’s popularity was waning in the late 2000s and 2010s, it needed unique personalities. It needed rowdiness. It needed Kyle Busch. At just 41 years old, Busch died May 21, 2026, a day after he had been hospitalized with an unspecified severe
illness. It turned out to be pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, according to his death certificate. He left behind a wife, two young children and a singular impactful legacy in NASCAR that was full of winning. If someone were carving a Mount Rushmore of the greatest stock car drivers of all time, a compelling case could be made that Busch should be on it. He was ninth in career victories in NASCAR’s top-tier Cup Series and captured two driver’s championships while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. The first of those titles, in 2015, came after Busch missed the first 11 races of the season due to a broken leg. He returned and won five races and placed inside the top 10 in 11 others, showing off the determination that made him one of the greatest ever to get behind the wheel. Busch was also NASCAR’s all-time leader in the Truck Series with 69 victories and the second-tier O’Reilly
Auto Parts Series with 102 victories. Combined across all three of NASCAR’s national touring competitions, no driver ever had as many victories as Busch’s 234. The only other driver with 200 is The King, Richard Petty. That’s pretty good company. No. 3 on the list was Kevin Harvick with 121 victories. Busch also was the only driver to win at least one Cup Series race in 19 consecutive seasons, doing so from 2005 through 2023. In another example of the pure, raw racing talent that Busch possessed, he was the only driver to win each of the three races — the Truck Series, the O’Reilly Series and the Cup Series — in the same weekend. Busch did it twice, in 2010 and 2017, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. While Busch was piling up all those milestones, he made a lot of enemies. He turned Dale Jr. at Richmond. He clashed with Harvick at Darlington. He spun Martin Truex Jr. at Bristol. He got bloody in an attempt to fight Joey
OPPOSITE: In June 2009, Kyle Busch tried to do his best Pete Townshend imitation by smashing a guitar after winning at Nashville Superspeedway. However, the $30,000
customized Gibson guitar, a prize for the victor, refused to totally shatter, and his act infuriated plenty in NASCAR Nation. SHELLEY MAYS / THE TENNESSEAN
INTRODUCTION • 13
RIGHT: Kyle Busch, in his third season of NASCAR Cup Series racing, lashed out at Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a spinout early in a Chase for the Cup race at Kansas Speedway in September 2007. “It was a pretty stupid move on his part,” Busch said after his Chevrolet nosed into the wall. “I don’t know what he was thinking, really.” Fourth in the standings before the race, Busch finished 41st in the race and dropped to ninth in the chase. Earnhardt, not in the playoffs, recently signed with Hendrick Motorsports, leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., which essentially squeezed Busch out of the elite Hendrick lineup. Busch landed with Joe Gibbs Racing. “He just moved up, and I got into him,” Earnhardt said. “It was my fault.” The seeds of a decade-long feud had been sown. MARK J. REBILAS / IMAGN IMAGES OPPOSITE: For Busch, the Coca-Cola
600 finally was the real thing in 2018. He reached Victory Lane after leading 377 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He never had to pass anyone for the lead. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a car that good at Charlotte,” he told the Charlotte Observer. “I could pretty much go anywhere I wanted.” J IM DEDMON / IMAGN IMAGES
Logano in Las Vegas. He tangled with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at North Wilkesboro. He battled Keselowski on tracks and in the press. He gave NASCAR officials double birds from pit road at Texas. These were the moments that made 14 • FOREVER ROWDY
some NASCAR fans love to hate Busch — the same way some of them loved to hate Dale Earnhardt Sr. in previous decades. Busch was aware of that sentiment and never shied away from it. He embraced the jeers as he took his
celebratory bows after each victory. If NASCAR was a theatre, Busch was often its headlining act, sporting a sarcastic grin through it all. Busch was a throwback to the drivers of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s — drivers like
INTRODUCTION • 15
KYLE BUSCH
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A LEGENDARY RACER Born: Kyle Thomas Busch on May 2, 1985, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Died: May 21, 2026, at age 41, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Family: Wife, Samantha (nee Sarcinella) (born 1986), married Dec. 31, 2010; son, Brexton (born 2015); daughter, Lennix (born 2022); parents, Tom and Gaye Busch, originally from Schaumburg, Illinois, moved to Las Vegas, then to Mooresville, North Carolina; brother, Kurt (born 1978). Nickname: Rowdy, after Michael Rooker’s character Rowdy Burns in “Days of Thunder,” a 1990 movie starring Tom Cruise. Racing roots: Father worked as a mechanic and raced on short tracks. Followed his older brother up the racing ladder. Began racing go-karts at age 6. Established himself as a potential star by his early teens. NASCAR debut: Aug. 3, 2001, in a truck race at Indianapolis Raceway Park, three months past his 16th birthday. Finished ninth driving a Ford for Roush Racing, his brother’s team. Raced five more times before NASCAR ruled the 1998
Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement would not allow a minor to compete in events sponsored by tobacco companies and then formally raised its age minimum to 18. Championships as a driver: NASCAR Cup Series, 2015 and 2019; Cup Series regular season, 2018-19; second-tier Nationwide Series, 2009. Championships as an owner: NASCAR Truck Series (outright), 2015, 2017; Truck Series (owner points), 2010, 201314, 2016, 2019. Awards: NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, 2023; Busch Series rookie of the year, 2004; Cup Series rookie of the year, 2005. Milestones: All-time victories leader in NASCAR’s three national series, 234; all-time victories leader in NASCAR’s second-tier series, 102; all-time victories leader in the Truck Series, 69; ninth in Cup Series victories at time of his death, 63. Cup Series teams: Hendrick Motorsports, 2003-07; Joe Gibbs
Racing, 2008-22; Richard Childress Racing, 2023-26. Truck Series teams: Roush Racing, 2001; Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, 2004; Billy Ballew Motorsports, 200509; Kyle Busch Motorsports, 2010-23; Spire Motorsports, 2024-26. Businesses: Kyle Busch Motorsports, 2010-23; Rowdy Energy (energy-drink brand), 2019-24; auto dealerships in New Jersey and North Carolina. Charities: Established the Kyle Busch Foundation (2007) to help children in institutional care and later other causes and the Samantha and Kyle Busch Bundle of Joy Fund (2015) to assist couples dealing with infertility. Legal issues: In May 2011, Busch was ticketed, with his wife as a passenger, for driving 128 mph in a 45 zone a few miles from Kyle Busch Motorsports. He was test driving a $400,000 Lexus LFA, later saying, “I got carried away.” Punishment: $1,000 fine, 45-day license suspension, 30 hours of community service. … In January 2023, Busch was arrested for bringing a handgun into
Mexico while the couple vacationed. “I have a valid concealed carry permit … but I made a mistake by forgetting it was in my bag,” he said. Although sentenced to 3½ years in prison, he was allowed to leave Mexico after posting bond and never served jail time. On the screen: Style network produced “Fast & Fabulous: A NASCAR Wedding” in 2011, essentially a documentary leading up to and showing the Busches’ wedding. … Kyle appeared as a celebrity contestant in 2017 on “The $100,000 Pyramid.” … He appeared as a state trooper in the 2017 comedy “Logan Lucky.” … He participated in “Rowdy,” a 2022 documentary about his career. In the ring: Busch appeared on WWE programs several times and briefly held its 24/7 championship on Dec. 2, 2019. The belt could change hands at any time and anywhere if its owner got pinned. With Michael Waltrip as a referee, Busch snuck up behind R-Truth and pinned him. R-Truth later got the drop on Busch while he was backstage shooting selfies with the championship belt and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup trophy.
OPPOSITE: At Texas Motor Speedway in May 2022, Kyle Busch celebrated an All-Star Race pole and a pit crew challenge victory. J OHN DAVID MERCER / IMAGN IMAGES 16 • FOREVER ROWDY
INTRODUCTION • 17
Dale Sr. — who only cared about winning and didn’t care whose feelings they hurt or whose cars they wrecked along the way. But Busch was also perfect for this new era where Internet memes and social media sound bites ruled the day. During driver introductions one year at Bristol, Busch told the crowd, “If you love you some Rowdy, let me hear you go BOOOOOO!” Also at Bristol, less than 24 hours after Busch wrecked Keselowski, his rival declared during driver introductions for the Cup Series race: “Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch is an ass.” After sending Kyle Larson into a slide to pave the way for his victory in the 2018 race at Chicagoland, Busch hopped out of his car, grabbed the checkered flag, balled his hand up and rubbed his eye to look like a baby crying as he looked into the camera, taunting his haters. “I don’t know what y’all are whining about,” Busch told the crowd. “If you don’t like that kind of racing, don’t even watch.” While some of the drivers Busch competed with across a NASCAR career that spanned more than two decades detested him, they also not only respected him — but chased him. When it came to driving a race car,
Busch was the standard for a long period of time. Just ask those drivers. “What people may not realize is how much that rivalry drove us both,” Harvick said. “Kyle made me better because you had to be at your absolute best to beat him.” “I’d like to think that somewhere deep down there was an appreciation that we pushed each other to perform at the highest level, even if neither of us would’ve admitted it,” Keselowski said. “Tonight, I feel a little like the coyote with no more roadrunner to chase.” “Kyle was one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history,” Dale Jr. said. “No one can deny that.” Indeed. When NASCAR needed highlights, Busch was there waving the checkered f lag. When it needed storylines and ratings, Busch was there, holding a microphone. And when NASCAR needed a villain, Busch was there, pushing his car into someone else’s, then laughing all the way to Victory Lane after racing away from his competition. Whether Busch was more loved or hated was debatable. Inarguable was that he was one of the best drivers to ever do it and a one-of-a-kind talent and personality that racing might never see again.
RIGHT: Kyle and Samantha Busch arrived on the red carpet for the 59th Country Music Association Awards at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in November 2025. Lainey Wilson won entertainer of the year, female vocalist of the year and album of the year for “Whirlwind.” ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN OPPOSITE: Busch put on a show with a score of drivers during NASCAR Burnouts on Broadway,
an event in December 2021 for fans leading into the season-ending awards gala at the Music City Center. Kevin Harvick so destroyed his rear tires, his Ford was disabled in the street. A NDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN
18 • FOREVER ROWDY
INTRODUCTION • 19
BUSCH’S PROPHETIC WORDS
‘YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE LAST ONE IS’ Six days before his death, when Kyle Busch recorded the last of his recordsetting 234 NASCAR victories, he said 11 ominous words that forever would be a part of his racing legend. Thirteen days after his 41st birthday, mired in a three-year slump and feeling under the weather for an unknown period, Busch piloted the No. 7 Chevrolet sponsored by HendrickCars.com to Victory Lane in the Ecosave 200 at Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware. For Busch, it was his second victory in 2026’s NASCAR Truck Series (in four races), his 69th truck victory in his career (18 more than anyone else) and his 234th victory in NASCAR’s three national touring series (34 more than anyone else). To celebrate, as usual, Busch
entertained the fans with a lengthy burnout, skidding to a stop right on the start-finish line, and then climbed out of his truck, stood on the door to pump his arms, grabbed the checkered flag and bowed twice to the grandstand. As he removed his gloves and helmet, plus a nose strip and a mouthguard, Amanda Busick of Fox Sports reached him to conduct a TV interview that also could be heard by the fans in the stands. “Michael Waltrip said earlier in the race that a confident Kyle Busch is a dangerous Kyle Busch,” Busick said. “Your 69th victory in this series, your fifth right here. Why do these moments never get old, Kyle?” Busch didn’t hesitate as he smiled:
RIGHT: Twelve days before his death, Kyle Busch kept his eyes on NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying for the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. He qualified only 21st out of 38 drivers, but, even with an ailment that required a shot after the checkers, he finished eighth in the race, his best finish of 2026. MATTHEW O’HAREN / IMAGN IMAGES OPPOSITE: Six days before his death, Busch broke out the Busch Bow after winning the Ecosave
200 at Dover Motor Speedway, a truck race kicking off All-Star Weekend. The victory was Busch’s 69th in a truck, 18 more than anyone else, and his second of the season for Spire Motorsports, which purchased his race operations in 2023. S EAN GARDNER / GETTY IMAGES 20 • FOREVER ROWDY
“Because you never know when the last one is, you know?” No matter how heartbreaking those 11 words sounded in retrospect, especially since he almost certainly raced that early Friday evening with pneumonia, Busch was not foretelling his impending death. He was acknowledging the pain of three years since his last Cup Series victory and the whispers now said out loud that Rowdy’s reign of terror at the top had ended. “I know all too well, unfortunately, with the Cup stuff,” Busch continued, “but here with the truck stuff, right now, it’s awesome just to be a part of Spire Motorsports.” For 14 years, while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch owned Kyle
Busch Motorsports, a leader in truck racing. In September 2023, Busch sold to Spire his racing team, including his chassis building operation and his 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. In 2026, Busch relished his agreement to race Spire trucks eight times. “Love coming to Dover, always one of my favorite places to race,” Busch added in his upbeat interview. “Thanks to all the fans. Appreciate everybody for being here at Dover and the Monster Mile for All-Star Weekend. We thank you.” When Busick’s interview ended, the fans cheered again for Busch, who turned away and coughed violently into the crook of his right elbow. —Gene Myers and Jordan Mendoza
INTRODUCTION • 21