Mario Andretti, the iconic racing figure, is still reeling from the unexpected passing of Kyle Busch on Thursday, just two days after they were both at the same event.
“What happened here is the shock of my life,” Andretti shared in a conversation with The Athletic, referencing the recent Indianapolis 500.
“I can’t quite explain it, but everyone seems to feel the same shock. I can hardly believe it,” he added.
Just a couple of days earlier, Andretti had shown a video on his phone of Busch taken at the grand opening of his Indoor Karting & Games venue in Durham, North Carolina.
“Marco [Andretti] invited me,” he mentioned, referring to his grandson, who had recently announced his retirement from racing. Busch was 38 years old.
“He’s right here on my phone,” Andretti said, showing the video of Busch smiling and interacting with attendees.
“I still can’t get over it,” he noted in an email to Marco.
Andretti extended his condolences to Busch’s wife, Samantha, and their two sons, Brexton, 11, and Lennix, 4, acknowledging the immense loss in a Friday post.
“It’s incredibly hard to find the right words to express the shock and sorrow from Kyle Busch’s sudden passing,” he wrote, including a picture of Busch taken during the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 in February.
“He truly embodied the spirit of racing. Our hearts are with Samantha, Brexton, Lennix, and the entire Busch family.”
Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, passed away at 41, shortly after being hospitalized due to a “serious illness,” as confirmed by a statement from his family along with Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR.
The specific cause of death hadn’t been disclosed by Friday afternoon.
Reports stated that Busch, while testing at a Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina, became unresponsive and was transported to a Charlotte hospital.
A 911 call revealed alarming details, with a man describing Busch coughing up blood and having difficulty breathing.
“There’s someone who seems to be struggling to breathe, very feverish, nearly passing out, and bleeding a little,” the caller relayed.
Busch was in his 22nd full-time season in NASCAR’s premier division, gearing up for the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 race.
Regarded as a future Hall of Famer, Busch’s remarkable career included a record 234 wins across NASCAR’s three national series.
