Kyle Busch’s heartbreaking message after NASCAR win is a sad ending for grieving fans

Twenty-five years ago, former NASCAR president Mike Helton stood before the world in the press center of Daytona International Speedway and announced the unthinkable.

“We lost Dale Earnhardt.”

Those words – that press conference – are burned into the brains of all NASCAR fans. We can still hear the cameras clicking. We can still see Helton’s face. We can still feel pain, loss, and anger.

It was a seismic moment, for all the wrong reasons. It changed sports forever. Everything changed.

On Thursday, with the pain and suffering and anger seemingly gone – finally – after nearly three decades, the NASCAR world shook again.

There were no major crashes on the last lap. No press conference. There is no B-roll of an ambulance rushing towards Halifax Health. In fact, there was no warning.

But the words hurt just the same. They hurt a new generation of NASCAR fans, and the old one is still trying to recover.

“We lost Kyle Busch.”

Kyle Busch’s last win at Dover said it all

Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, has died suddenly at the age of 41. His family announced this morning that he will miss Sunday’s race at Charlotte after being hospitalized with a “serious illness.” That’s all we knew.

Five hours later, the most decorated driver in the series was gone. Just like that. Busch became the first Cup driver since Earnhardt’s death while racing. He became the second driver since December to die in such a gut-wrenching way.

KYLE BUSCH ON ‘HANG OUT WITH SEAN HANNITY’

How much can the NASCAR world take? First, Greg Biffle in a plane crash just before last Christmas. Now? Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion whose name is in the record books.

• Sixty-three wins in the Cup Series, good for ninth all-time.
• Two competitions.
• All-time record holder for wins in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69).
• Most consecutive winning seasons (19).

KYLE BUSCH DROPES BOMB ON NASCAR MID ’23 SEASON: ‘CHEATING WITHOUT CHEATING’

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, waves to fans during driver introductions before the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 25, 2024. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Busch’s last career win came last week at the Truck Series race at Dover. In “Rowdy” fashion, he won the race, leading 147 laps and giving the crowd his signature bow after taking the checkered flag.

No, it wasn’t a Cup win. Busch hasn’t done that since 2023. But it was still a win, and the crowd was still going wild, and Busch was back in Victory Lane, again.

Then an older, more mature, more reflective Kyle Busch spoke to FS1 after the race.

“Because you never know when the last one will be.”

That was seven days ago. After what happened on Thursday, it feels like last year. Even in the end, Kyle Busch liked to win. He liked to dominate. He loved to put on a fan show.

Fans, by the way, didn’t used to like Kyle. In fact, for years, Busch was public enemy No. 1 for NASCAR fans. He said as much on Sean Hannity’s podcast one month ago.

For years – maybe a decade – Kyle Busch was NASCAR’s villain. He destroyed Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Richmond in 2008, and had to be taken off the track. That is a true story.

He was hated everywhere he went after that. Even during the glory years with Joe Gibbs, where Busch won most of his races and his two championships, he was hated. Despicable. He was raving everywhere he went.

He roared cruelly.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, spins out of control after colliding with Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway on May08, 2. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

But in recent years, something has changed. He went from being a villain to a fan favorite. From zero to hero. Lots of ‘teasers’ in the drivers’ introductions turned into deafening excitement.

Kyle Busch was loved by NASCAR fans. It was one of the biggest, most unprecedented changes I’ve ever seen.

He was asked when he won at Dover last Friday. He was asked when the news began to spread on Thursday.

“They pulled me over,” Busch told Hannity. “Guys, guys, we hated this guy – we didn’t want to see him win another race – and now they’re like, we’re going to eat those words. We want to see this guy win another race, you know? So I think the public opinion has changed.”

Kyle Busch was one of the last links to the old NASCAR

He was right. It was necessary. And I think it’s obvious why.

Kyle Busch was one of the last links we had to an old school NASCAR driver. The old school way of doing things. He was the one.

In recent years, we have watched Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart retire. We watched Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson calling it quits. We watched Kevin Harvick — Earnhardt’s replacement back in 2001 — hang up.

NASCAR CHAMPION KYLE BUSCH AND WIFE CLAIM TO LOSE $8.5 BILLION IN INSURANCE BACKUP: ‘FINANCIAL TREASURE’

But we still had Kyle Busch. NASCAR fans still have “Rowdy.” A driver who wanted to win at all costs, and didn’t care about hurting anyone’s feelings on the road.

Someone who doesn’t shut his mouth, he says what he says. Someone who plays the cage (or two, or three), and is still respected by everyone in the garage.

He was obviously much more. Father of two beautiful children. Husband to wife Samantha Busch, one of the most talked about couples in the garage. Brother of Kurt Busch, another NASCAR champion.

Busch, as he told Hannity, was “third in the old government” in the garage. He was a sounding board for young drivers. The leader of the elders. A rock for the fans at a time when NASCAR was going through a lot of change.

In a way, his career came full circle. Busch’s first Cup win came at Fontana in 2005 as a young driver with Rick Hendrick.

His last NASCAR win came last Friday at Dover driving, again, for Rick Hendrick.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM

It was the last one.

And, like Earnhardt, I’m not sure the NASCAR world will ever be the same.