Fan video found shows who Kyle Busch really was, NASCAR's darkest hour and Bubba Wallace's 'Rowdy' story

I rarely get emotional when I write something. Really, it's only happened twice in my life.

Last Christmas when Greg Biffle got off that plane. And last Thursday, when I was leaving to hit golf balls on the range, I was praising Kyle Busch.

“This can't be real,” I kept thinking as I tried to write something remotely relevant.

I kept waiting for a text from my NASCAR guy telling me it was wrong. He it was wrong. To top it all off, Kyle was still alive.

TWO-TIME NASCAR CUP SERIES TRAINER KYLE BUSCH PASSES AWAY AT 41 YEARS OF HOSPITAL.

I kept scrolling through Twitter, expecting to see a post from Bob Pockrass saying Kyle was fine. I kept checking Instagram, expecting to see Samantha Busch post one of those silly videos of her and Kyle that we've seen before, but, really, we took it for granted.

But it was quiet. Everything was quiet. The NASCAR world was stunned. For the people who weren't there when we lost Dale Earnhardt…

You are lost yours Dale Earnhardt.

I don't think that's an easy thing to say, by the way. That's how great Kyle Busch was in this game.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childress, Samantha Busch, Brexton Busch and NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell stand on the grid during a memorial service for Kyle Busch before the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, on May 24, 2026. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Look, I know there was a race on Sunday night. Daniel Suarez won because NASCAR called the race due to rain with 27 laps to go. I like Daniel Suarez a lot. He finally got her the Crown Jewel. He won the Cup race in a Spire car. I wish today could be about him.

It won't be about him. I don't think anyone expected that, did they?

We will do our best to navigate through the answers and stories and memories. We will talk about Kyle Busch, his wife, and the two children he left behind.

You saw that of the incident at the track last night? Good grace. Only NASCAR.

We will be sad, and angry. We will laugh. We will say goodbye to Kyle Busch, as incredible as that sounds.

We're going to try to do what Rowdy does best – put on a show, and maybe give a bow at the end. We will see. We will try.

Four tires, enough gas to just get us through, and maybe a bag of M&M's … or Skittles … or a Rowdy energy drink, or I think it was discontinued years ago.

I don't care! Bring them back. We need them today.

Monday Morning Pit-Stop — the 'How Much Money Can NASCAR Fans Take?' program — LIVE:

Ryan Blaney gave us the best Kyle Busch story we didn't know we needed

Where should I start today? Seriously. How do we want to play this? I've already written a long column about Kyle's passing, and I'll promote that later. I need to pay the bills, you know.

But my point is … I just spent the last four days doing all the serious stuff. And sad things. And painful things.

I don't want to be sad today. At least for now. I think we should laugh. I always think we should laugh. Has anyone in NASCAR had a good laugh in the last four to five days? I do not think so.

So, that's how we're going to start this class. We will first remember Kyle for who he was turned off track — an adult-sized child in the best possible way:

WWE FANS HONOR KYLE BUSCH, 24/7 CHAMPION

Kyle Busch was much more than an elite NASCAR driver

Unbelievable. It's just amazing. For years, NASCAR Twitter has been running that meme of Kyle Busch lying under the curtain, and I never knew the story behind it.

And it's perfect.

He just went out with a bunch of young guys and tried to keep up, got beat up, and spent the next day lying on the floor while everyone was doing the interview. So simple. A guy I would like to live with.

Someone who never takes himself too seriously. Someone who just wants to hang out with the boys and have fun. A person who says he enjoys it life.

Kyle Busch celebrates the final win of his NASCAR career at Dover Motor Speedway. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire)

We all knew Kyle Busch, the NASCAR driver. Two-time champion. The winningest driver of all time. A guy who was very competitive on the track, and he did anything – and I mean it anything else – had to win.

But he was also just an all-around good guy, as Ryan said. He went with Samantha Busch and danced on the tables. You will find his videos on TikTok. He would tie himself up with the boys and sleep in the newsrooms the next day.

He was the best driver of my generation, by far. But he also loved his fans, and he LOVED to have fun:

Kyle is a father, and Kyle is a mentor

Lord. I can't believe we lost that guy last week. It still doesn't seem real. It still doesn't seem right. Hey, it will never seem fair.

It's not fair. It's wrong. It doesn't make sense.

Kyle is survived by his wife, Samantha, and his two children – Braxton and Lennix. As is always the case with these things, that's the worst part. Children.

Hell, I can't even imagine what the past few days have been like for them. All three were in the field last night before the longest race of the year, and it was one of the most powerful moments I can remember.

NASCAR TRICK RANGE AND O'REILLY AUTOPARTS RANGE HONOR KYLE BUSCH AT CHARLOTTE SILENT TIMES

Not only in NASCAR history … but in all sports:

You know, I give NASCAR a lot of grief. I complain a lot. I call them a lot. Everything is forgivable, but still, maybe I push them a little bit sometimes.

So, I want to recommend them here. I thought NASCAR treated you well last night. They nailed it. Steve O'Donnell, I thought, was very good all weekend. He was promoted to the position of CEO of NASCAR one month ago. This was his first real test.

And he was very handsome.

If all this has shown one thing, it is the closeness of family everything of NASCAR i. I'm talking about everyone, from the fans, to the drivers, to the owners.

Fans get access to these incredible drivers anywhere another game. We grow together. We are getting closer. We meet their children and their wives and their parents. We consider ourselves a part theirs the family.

You don't get that in the NFL or Major League Baseball. That's what makes NASCAR special. Intimacy in this game has always that was what made it special.

Scenes from Charlotte and Kyle's breakup message

Do you see? The family. Who would have thought, in a million years, that Bubba Wallace and Rowdy Nation would get along? But it doesn't matter here. You put aside all nonsense at times like this. You meet. You help each other. You go through it together.

That's what family does. That's what NASCAR does best.

From John H:

“Three races. All ended under caution. I hate Cup cars every time I watch them. But Kyle Busch was my favorite driver, and I loved the honor and memories of him. So, all in all, it was a great weekend at the track. It's very sad. But this was the NASCAR family at its best.”

Amen, John. Definitely. Today is not the day to complain about this race. We can do that the rest 51 Mondays a year (and we do!).

But this weekend was not about running. For me, it was about NASCAR coming together in its darkest hour, and showing why we fell in love with the sport in the first place.

OK, a few more notes on the weekend on the way out:

A few things…

1. Watching them take out Kyle's rebadged No. 33 Chevy was brutal. Good grace.
2. For those who missed it, Richard Childress said RCR is parking Kyle's number until Braxton wants to call it. I'll circle 2033 on your calendars from home.
3. That aspect of Dale Jr. we were perfect. No one captures time like Junior.
4. Last night was the first Cup race since 1979 without Busch or Earnhardt? Probably the most amazing statistics I have ever heard. Wild.

OK, that's it for today. It wasn't the most fun we've had in these Monday classes, but I think we did OK. I hope everyone had a good laugh. Lord knows we need it right now.

On the way out, here's Kyle Busch after his 234th NASCAR win 10 days ago at Dover. I wrote about it on Friday (there's a shameless plug I promised), but it's worth listening to one more time.

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There is a lesson for all of us here.

See you next week.