NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch has opened up about the death of his younger brother, Kyle Busch, describing the painful final hours he spent at the hospital hoping the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion would recover.
Kyle Busch died in May after a severe case of pneumonia progressed into sepsis, according to a medical evaluation released by the Busch family.
“The medical evaluation provided to the Busch Family concluded that severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications,” the family said in a statement, according to CBS News.
The death stunned the racing world. For Kurt Busch, however, the public loss of a famous NASCAR champion was also something much more personal: the sudden death of his younger brother.
Speaking with Today this week, Kurt became visibly emotional as he discussed what happened at the hospital and the final words he said to Kyle.
Asked how he learned that his brother had died, Kurt revealed that he had already been there for hours.
“I was there at the hospital,” he said. “I was there all day, hoping, praying, hoping for a turnaround.”
It never came.
Kurt also revealed that their father was unable to bring himself to see Kyle as his condition deteriorated. Kurt did go into the room.
When the interviewer asked what he told his brother, the memories immediately brought the NASCAR veteran close to tears.
“I said, ‘I got you man, come on. I got you,’” Kurt recalled. “‘I got you. Come on. Be strong.’”
Kurt wiped away a tear before adding four words that captured the helplessness of the moment.
“It just wasn’t fair.”
The interview offered a rare glimpse into how Kurt has been dealing with the loss since May. Both brothers spent decades immersed in racing, ultimately reaching the highest levels of NASCAR while building careers that made the Busch name familiar to motorsports fans across the country.
Kurt, the older brother, won the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series championship and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Kyle followed with an enormously successful career of his own, winning Cup Series championships in 2015 and 2019.
Their careers made them competitors as well as brothers, with both experiencing victories, controversies and intense pressure in one of America’s most demanding forms of motorsports.
None of that prepared Kurt for what happened inside the hospital.
Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection leads to a dangerous systemic reaction that can cause organ damage and rapidly become life-threatening. According to the family’s statement, Kyle’s pneumonia progressed into sepsis and produced overwhelming complications.
Kurt’s description of spending the day waiting for some sign of improvement makes clear how quickly hope turned into grief.
For racing fans, Kyle Busch’s death meant the loss of one of NASCAR’s most recognizable champions. For his family, the trophies and statistics were secondary.
Kyle is survived by his wife and two children, along with Kurt and their parents.
