Danica Patrick mourns 'devastating loss' of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch

Danica Patrick is among those in the motorsports world to publicly mourn Kyle Busch, who died suddenly Thursday, May 21 at 41 years old.

Patrick, a former NASCAR and IndyCar driver, made an appearance on a live airing of "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" on Friday to speak on the "devastating loss" of Busch and looked back on his legacy.

"I think that we’re all just shocked. We’re sad," Patrick said. "... I feel like it hasn't even hit. It's just something that no one expected. When I first heard something was wrong, I thought he was driving something, but it was something completely different."

The Busch family announced on Saturday, May 23 that the two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner died of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.

"Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch was a figure," Patrick continued. "He was a polarizing figure, and he was an incredible driver that will go down as being one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever. That’s a loss in another way, too."

Patrick added that while they competed together in NASCAR's top tier from 2012-2018, "he was a lot faster than me most of the time."

"When a driver is out there on track, this is almost like an altered state of focus," Patrick said. "The drivers that could access that next level of like, 'go mode' were able to be the best drivers. In my mind I was thinking about him, but he was able to get to that next level so often. He was just incredibly fast and incredibly passionate and always wanted to be the best."