Kyle Busch remembered fondly by NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs

CONCORD, NC — When Joe Gibbs thinks about Kyle Busch, his memory goes back to 2015.

Busch was driving in a second-tier Xfinity Series race in the season-opener at Daytona and was involved in a multi-car crash, during which the driver suffered a compound fracture in his right leg and foot. Gibbs went to the hospital to check in on Busch, whose aggressive, brazen and unfiltered style often came out off the racetrack, too.

While Gibbs was visiting, he says Busch was “raving” at the doctor.

“He was going, ‘Get me in there, fix this, I want to get back to racing,’” Gibbs recalled with a laugh on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “And so, I don't know if he was drugged up some or not, but that was his approach.”

Busch missed the first 11 races of the Cup Series that season, then returned and won five races and placed inside the top 10 in 11 others to secure his first championship — the fourth for the team Gibbs owns, Joe Gibbs Racing. It showed off the boldness, focus and skill that made Busch one of the greatest ever to get behind the wheel.

Gibbs — who previously coached Washington’s NFL team to three Super Bowl titles — hadn’t seen anything like it, before or since.

“As far as courage and determination and a desire to win, I got to tell you, I'm not sure how many athletes could have gone through that and handled it that way,” Gibbs said. “So, the one thing I always felt about Kyle, that guy had great courage. He was not afraid of almost anything, and he had a burning desire to race — it was just inside of him.”

The NASCAR community is still stunned by Busch’s shocking death on Thursday, May 21. The 41-year-old driver, who won two Cup Series championships with Gibbs, died of complications from severe pneumonia which progressed into sepsis, according to a statement from his family.

Across NASCAR’s top three national touring competitions, Busch won 234 races, more than any other driver all-time. He captured those victories for several different teams, but spent the longest time — and had the most success — while racing for Gibbs from 2008 through 2022 in the No. 18 Toyota. Busch finished his career driving for Richard Childress Racing.

Of Busch’s 63 victories in the top-level Cup Series, 56 of them, and both of his championships, came under the JGR banner.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, May 23 amidst rain delays at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gibbs chose to remember the funny side of Busch and told a few stories about their shared history.

“Kyle was like a freight train,” Gibbs said. “If you get in the way, you're going to get run over. There'll be some good things in there, and then every now and then he's going to run over a few things and cross a line. That passion came out in so many different ways. Honestly, I may have 100 Kyle Busch stories.”

Gibbs recalled one time when Busch placed second in a race at New Hampshire. As he approached pit road to congratulate his driver on a strong finish, Gibbs thought that Busch would be in a good mood.

He was wrong.

According to Gibbs, Busch walked by his owner and said: “Your cars suck.”

Gibbs didn’t take it personally. He admired Busch’s fervor for excellence on the track.

“There was a side of Kyle that was funny,” Gibbs said. “You get him away from the racetrack, really quick-witted, would say funny things, he could laugh at himself… I can't tell you how many funny things he did. Some of the things shocked me and I’m going, ‘What the heck is he doing? For God's sake, quit pushing the button.’”

Busch was in his prime when he raced for Gibbs, both in showing his talent on the racetrack and embracing his villain persona off of it. While Gibbs admitted that Busch could be difficult to manage at times, in hindsight he believes Busch’s attitude and personally was good for NASCAR.

“I think we love that about our sport. You see it in other sports too. Their passion, they wear it on their sleeve. If Kyle was thinking something, he said it. He wasn’t planning things, he just did things,” Gibbs said. “You love the guy, and the way he approached things sometimes — obviously you would question — but he was definitely a unique person. We’ll really miss Kyle.”

Gibbs also got to see Busch grow up and evolve as a man. When he arrived at JGR in 2008, he was 23 years old and single. By the time he left in 2022, he was married with two children.

The longtime NASCAR team owner and Super Bowl-winning coach knows what it’s like to lose loved ones. Both of Gibbs’ sons died while Busch was with JGR. J.D. Gibbs died in 2019 of degenerative neurological disease, and Coy Gibbs passed away in his sleep in 2022 — both at 49 years old.

Gibbs said he plans to be there for Busch’s widow, Samantha, and their two kids, Brexton and Lennix, for whatever they need.

“Our family has kind of gone through this, and so it's just, honestly, the worst thing that could happen in life,” Gibbs said. “We just need to encourage and be there and love them, but I think then it's the journey down the road… I want to be there for that.”