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Kurt Busch places third at Le Mans in first race since Kyle Busch’s death

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For the first time since his brother’s shocking death, NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Kurt Busch got behind the wheel and returned to the racetrack this past weekend.

At the iconic Le Mans course in France, Busch competed in the Historic Sportscar Racing series in the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Goodyear. It was the first time in the history of HSR — nearly 50 years — that the competition went overseas.

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The event featured three races. In the second, Busch notched a podium finish, placing third in his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro. According to his onboard camera, the 47-year-old former NASCAR Cup Series champion touched 197 mph.

For Busch, it was the first time he was driving competitively since his younger brother Kyle — a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer — died suddenly at the age of 41 on May 21.

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See the most heartfelt moments with Kyle Busch and his family.

Kyle Busch’s career left a lasting mark on NASCAR, with achievements and moments that defined his time in the sport.

Above, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with daughter, Lennix Busch son, Brexton Busch and wife, Samantha Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway on Feb. 21, 2026, in Hampton, Georgia.

(Sean Gardner, Getty Images)

According to his death certificate, Kyle Busch died due to hemorrhagic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation — which causes widespread clotting in small blood vessels. He had been suffering from sepsis for at least a day, according to the death certificate, and had been dealing with complications of presumed bacterial pneumonia for “days to weeks.” Kyle Busch had won the NASCAR Truck Series race in Dover, the 234th win of his career across all three national touring circuits, just six days before his death. No NASCAR driver has as many combined victories as the younger Busch.

Just before the race weekend at Le Mans, Kurt Busch made some of his first public comments since his younger brother’s unexpected passing.

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“I said a couple of weeks ago that Kyle’s spirit will always ride with me, and the first time will be on one of the greatest tracks in the world this weekend,” Busch said. “It is still incomprehensible to think he is gone, not suiting up for the next race as he did for nearly his entire life, but Kyle would have loved to have been right there racing alongside me and our friends at Le Mans. It would be great to make it a fitting tribute with a win for him in full Kyle style.”

To notch the podium finish in the second race of the weekend at Le Mans, Busch cut around JC France as he exited the final chicane, taking third place by just 0.011 seconds.

Busch retired from NASCAR after the 2022 season, notching his 34th and final Cup Series victory that year at Kansas while driving for 23XI Racing. He is the only driver in the history of the Cup Series to notch wins with four different manufacturers, taking checkered flags in Fords, Chevrolets, Toyotas and Dodges. He also won races with five different teams in his Cup Series career: Roush, Penske, Stewart-Haas, Chip Ganassi and 23XI.

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He was the Truck Series Rookie of the Year in 2000, the Cup Series champion in 2004, the winner of the Coca-Cola 600 in 2010, the winner of the Daytona 500 in 2017, and was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. In the only open-wheel race of his career, he placed sixth in the 2014 Indy 500. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame earlier this year and his brother Kyle introduced him on-stage at the ceremony.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my brother Kurt as we’re just two kids from Las Vegas, Nevada, raised in a bluecollar, hardworking family where hard work wasn’t optional. We were taught to grind it out and to make it happen. None of this came easy, and in this sport, it shouldn’t,” Kyle said. “Watching Kurt believe in himself long before the results ever showed up has been an incredible experience for me to learn from. This Hall of Fame induction isn’t just about wins or stats. It’s about the years of effort and resilience and the heart that it took to get here. He earned every bit of this and I’m so proud to call him my brother.”

In the first NASCAR race held after Kyle’s death, this year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kurt laid eight white roses down on the No. 8 etched in the infield in honor of his brother.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kurt Busch places third at Le Mans in first race since Kyle Busch’s death

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