Between racing in NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series on the weekends, Kyle Larson still likes to compete at local dirt tracks during the week in sprint cars.
And often, as he did Monday night, he wins.
Larson took the checkered flag at the High Limit Racing competition at Davenport Speedway in Iowa on Monday night, leading the final 24 of the 30-lap sprint. He won by more than three seconds and lapped all but 10 cars in the field.
Advertisement
After the win, Larson honored the late Kyle Busch by performing his signature “Busch Bow” — the same way Larson’s daughter celebrated in victory lane in a dirt race in Nebraska last week.
In a post-race interview, Larson also said he will donate his winnings from the race to the Bundle of Joy fund, a charity that Busch and his wife Samantha started to help families struggling with infertility.
“This time I’m going to send it to Kyle and Samantha Busch’s foundation, the Bundle of Joy,” Larson said. “We all know how much the Busch family means to all of us and we greatly miss Kyle.”
Larson also indicated that there will be a celebration of life for Busch on Tuesday, though no details of that service have been made public. According to his death certificate, Busch was cremated in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Advertisement
Busch died at the age of 41 on May 21 after complications from severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis. His sudden death sent shockwaves through NASCAR and drivers have continued to honor him. Denny Hamlin performed his celebratory bow on Sunday night in Nashville, Tennessee after winning the Cracker Barrel 400. Daniel Suarez did the same after taking the checkered flag in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
During that race at Charlotte, Larson replaced his traditional name tag atop his door with “Little Kyle” — the nickname that Busch bestowed upon him.
Busch is NASCAR’s all-time leader in combined victories across its top three national touring series with 234. He won his final race just six days before his death, driving into victory lane in the Truck Series race at Dover.
Larson was the Cup Series champion last year in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson — who is sixth in the point standings this year — hasn’t won a Cup Series race this season, but does have two victories in the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kyle Busch’s Bundle of Joy charity to get donation from Kyle Larson
Read the full article here