Samantha Busch Remembers Her Late Husband On ‘Kyle Busch Day’

The NASCAR community is honoring the late Kyle Busch on this Tuesday, August 18.

Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, died unexpectedly on May 21 due to severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. He passed away just days after winning the Ecosave 200 at Dover Motor Speedway. As you’d imagine, his death left countless fans, media members and NASCAR drivers heartbroken.

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In an attempt to honor the legendary driver’s car numbers, NASCAR will recognize 8/18 as “Kyle Busch Day.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Samantha Busch released a heartfelt letter in honor of “Kyle Busch Day.”

“Today, on 8/18, we celebrate Kyle Busch Day. The world knew Rowdy, the champion, the competitor, the bow and that unmistakable personality. But I was lucky enough to know every side of Kyle, especially the ones the world didn’t always get to see. How do you take almost 20 years of loving someone and somehow capture what made them them in eight slides? You can’t. There are a million little things that made Kyle who he was and those little things are what I find myself missing the most,” she wrote on Instagram.

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“So today, I hope we celebrate all of Kyle. The things that made the world love him and the things that made the kids and I so incredibly lucky to call him ours. There will never be another Rowdy but more than anything there will never be another Kyle. My best friend, my other half, the daddy to our babies and the person I thought I would grow old beside. I love you and miss every single piece of you.”

Tributes pouring in for Kyle Busch.

Though it shouldn’t come as a surprise, Cup Series drivers are on board with recognizing 8/18 as Busch’s day.

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“I think it’s an awesome remembrance and way to show he’s still on the top of all of our minds,” said NASCAR driver Christopher Bell. “I think the industry has done really, really, good of not letting it just go. He had such a big impact on the whole industry. So, I’m glad they’re implementing it and I know it will go on for years to come and will be something we always cherish.”

Busch’s teammate, Auston Dillon, had this to say: “I think that’s really cool the 8/18. I got to hang out with Brexton, and Sam and Lennix this week at RCR family day so anything we can do as a sport to honor Kyle, we should.”

We’re hoping NASCAR continues to honor Busch’s legacy for years to come.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.