PEORIA — The NASCAR world was rocked Thursday by the sudden death of Kyle Busch.
One of racing’s biggest stars reportedly was hospitalized and died from a severe illness, according to his family, which disclosed no other details.
Busch, 41, was a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races (234) across the sport’s three national divisions than any other driver in history.
His family, joined by Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR, issued a joint statement noting the racing icon had been hospitalized earlier in the day with an illness.
His death came three days before he was to race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“On behalf of the Busch family, everyone at Richard Childress Racing and all of NASCAR, we are devastated to announce the sudden and tragic passing of Kyle Busch,” NASCAR said. “Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch. A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.”
Fellow drivers, race teams and fans across the sport mourned Busch and shared stories about him Thursday evening.
Busch made memories in central Illinois, too. Race fans might recall the time he showed up in West Peoria with his family and spent an hour at Kartville in 2021.
Busch’s young son, Brexton, was competing in an Outlaw Karts Racing series, and a Kartville employee said that’s what brought Busch into Illinois. Brexton Busch raced at a track in Avon.
The Busch family drove to Peoria and stopped at Kartville to enjoy the evening while waiting to catch a flight out of General Wayne A. Dowling Peoria International Airport.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: NASCAR icon Kyle Busch once visited Kartville in West Peoria
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
