In the wake of Kyle Busch’s tragic death, Steve O’Donnell keeps looking at one text.
Busch messaged the NASCAR CEO on May 19, just two days before he passed away, with an idea for a rule change.
“He said, ‘Hey, man. What do you think about an over-40 rule to be able to compete in all the Truck Series races next year?’” O’Donnell said, relaying the interaction during a press conference on May 22.
He continued: “I said, ‘We put that rule in place because you were winning so much.’”
Busch is the winningest NASCAR driver ever across the top three national circuits. He ranks ninth all-time with 63 Cup Series victories, and no one owns more than his 102 O’Reilly Series or 69 Truck Series wins.
In 2009, Busch captured a Nationwide Series title while also racing full-time at the Cup level. He later claimed two Cup championships in 2015 and 2019.
His dominance on the second- and third-tier circuits partly caused a restriction nicknamed the “Kyle Busch Rule.”
In the 2010s, NASCAR began limiting the number of O’Reilly and Truck starts that experienced full-time Cup drivers could make. Currently, Cup Series racers with more than three years of experience are capped at 10 O’Reilly races and eight Truck events per season. They’re not eligible for the playoffs.
Busch’s text to O’Donnell suggested ditching that directive for drivers over the age of 40. Busch turned 41 on May 2.
The topic was brought up in an internal NASCAR meeting on May 20, O’Donnell said.
“We said, ‘Damn, that’s actually good. We need Kyle in the Truck Series,’” O’Donnell said. “It was two-fold. He knew he could help the series but I think one day had a dream to race against his son (11-year-old Brexton) in a national series event.
“That was Kyle — always thinking about the sport and going forward.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Kyle Busch texted NASCAR CEO about rule change 2 days before death
Reporting by Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
