In a powerful moment during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Summer Shootout, Tom Busch, the father of the late Kyle Busch, drove his No. 51 Legend car for an honorary lap. The cheery on top? Brexton Busch in the flag stand for it all.
In the No. 51 Lucas Oil/Starkist Tuna Legend car, Tom Busch made one of the most emotional laps you will see in grassroots racing. In recent years, Kyle Busch had made a habit of racing in the Master’s division with his Legend car, enjoying the time spent competing with his son, Brexton.
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Brexton waved the green flag as the rest of the field drove to pit road, Tom put down a heater of a lap, and as he came across the finish line, Brexton delivered the double checkered flags for his grandfather.
Kyle Busch learned how to race from his father Tom growing up in Las Vegas. It was under Tom’s guidance that both Kyle and Kurt developed into Hall of Fame caliber NASCAR drivers. The Busch brothers are the winningest brothers ever in NASCAR history, surpassing the Allison brothers in 2023 when Kyle won at Fontana.
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What a wonderful gesture for the Summer Shootout to allow to happen. Tom in the car, Brexton in the flag stand, and probably not a dry eye in the stands watching.
It is a reminder that Kyle Busch just loved to race. He would race anything, anywhere, and he did his best to be as good at it as possible. Cup, O’Reilly, Trucks, Legend cars, late models, dirt late models, sprint cars – it didn’t matter. He did it all, and was doing more and more racing with his son Brexton in recent years.
This weekend, Pocono Raceway has put up multiple displays honoring Kyle. “Rowdy 8” lines one side of the start-finish line. Busch has also been inducted into the walk of fame at Pocono with his own rock outside of the track.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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