On Monday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch’s son Brexton placed sixth in the first race he competed in since his father’s shocking death, running in the the Young Lions division of the CookOut Summer Shootout.
Then, on Tuesday night, it was Tom Busch’s turn to get behind the wheel.
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In one of the more emotional moments in grassroots racing, Kyle Busch’s father drove the No. 51 Legends Car that Kyle was supposed to drive in the Masters Division of the Summer Shootout.
Tom piloted the No. 51 in the front row in a “missing man” formation during the pace laps and then the rest of the field parked on pit road, allowing the 72-year-old Busch to take an honorary lap alone for his son. During all of it, Brexton Busch was in the flagstand, waving the green flag at first, then a double-checkered as his grandfather went around the track, revving down the front stretch.
Legends cars are one of the many series that wind up producing drivers who go on to NASCAR. Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all started out at that level. And so did Kyle Busch, out in Las Vegas. With his son competing in those machines, Busch still dabbled in Legends cars and planned to race in the Summer Shootout this year.
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Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, died at the age of 41 on May 21 after complications from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. His sudden death sent shockwaves through NASCAR and drivers have continued to honor him. Denny Hamlin rode around with a special stylized No. 18 flag at Michigan on Sunday during his victory lap after tying Busch, his former teammate at JGR, for ninth all-time in Cup Series wins.
Tom Busch was a mechanic in Las Vegas who introduced his sons to racing and taught them everything he knew about the sport. Tom was a short-track driver himself, competing locally in Las Vegas, then turning his attention to tutoring Kyle and Kurt.
“I like it now a lot better than in the old days when I owned both cars,” Tom Busch told USA TODAY Sports back in 2015. “They raced each other so hard. Basically, Kyle had my old car, and Kurt had Kurt’s car. There were no spare parts. We didn’t have enough parts to race two cars.
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“They were both out there on my dime racing each other. They raced each other hard but clean, but if there was one slip — well, let’s just say we used to have a lot of fun racing.”
Kyle and Kurt Busch are the winningest brothers in NASCAR history, combining for 97 Cup Series wins and three championships. Bobby and Donnie Allison are second with 95 victories and one championship. Kurt was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame this year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: With Brexton Busch waving green flag, Kyle Busch’s dad takes honorary lap for him
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