Kyle Busch’s No. 8 car will not run at this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte after the racing star’s death. And according to Richard Childress Racing, it will not appear again until Busch’s son wants to drive it.
Busch died Thursday, May 21 after being hospitalized for a “sudden illness.” The Associated Press reported the 41-year-old was found unresponsive in a driving simulator Wednesday, May 20, and 911 calls obtained by USA TODAY indicate Busch was coughing up blood on a bathroom floor before emergency responders came.
Many race fans were calling for Austin Hill, who will replace Busch’s spot in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24, to not use Busch’s No. 8 car in honor of the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s memory. The car’s owner, Richard Childress Racing, made that official in a statement posted Friday afternoon, going a step further by bequeathing it to Busch’s son, Brexton Busch.
“Richard Childress Racing has elected to suspend use of the No. 8 and will run the No. 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and beyond,” RCR’s statement read. “Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8 and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”
RCR changed the No. 3 car driven by Dale Earnhardt to No. 29 after his tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500. Kevin Harvick was called up to replace “The Intimidator.” One of the previous drivers of the No. 8 car was Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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The eldest of Kyle’s two children, 11-year-old Brexton already has gotten into racing like his dad, winning his first box stock race in 2020 at just 5 years old, according to his website. Brexton claims more than 100 wins with his first coming a month after he started racing.
In his final post to social media, Kyle Busch celebrated his son Brexton’s 11th birthday. He and wife Samantha also have a 4-year-old daughter, Lennix.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: No. 8 car won’t run after Kyle Busch’s death. It will wait for his son
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
