This weekend, Ty Gibbs will carry the M&Ms colors in honor of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track he dominated at.
Busch, who died suddenly at just 41 years old in May, earned most of his success at Joe Gibbs Racing with M&Ms as his primary sponsor, including two championships in 2015 and 2019.
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Kyle’s wife Samantha has been very open about the struggles she and her family have endured while trying to cope with the tragic loss of Kyle due to a severe case of pneumonia that progressed in sepsis just before this year’s Coca-Cola 600.
In a new post on her Instagram page, Samantha offered details on just how much the Gibbs family has been there for the Busch family in these trying months.
She recalled a moment when she was struggling with panic attacks, and asked for Heather Gibbs to come over. Heather had to deal with her own unimaginable loss when husband Coy Gibbs died abruptly in the hours following Ty’s 2022 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship. He was 49 years old at the time of his passing.
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Richard Childress, Samantha Busch, Brexton Busch, Lennix Busch, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell
Richard Childress, Samantha Busch, Brexton Busch, Lennix Busch, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell
“I just wanted to really take a moment to explain to you guys like just how much NASCAR is a family,” said Samantha. “So when everything happened, I don’t know what day it was — I was having a lot of panic attacks and just freaking out and somebody was like, what do you need? And I was like, ‘someone call Heather. I need Heather right now.’ And I remember she came to the house right away and I just thought, okay, she’s somebody who’s going to understand. She went from the high of highs — Ty won his championship to the next day, Coy was gone, and I felt like it was so similar. We had the kid’s birthday parties and all these great things, and then Kyle’s gone. I just remember her sitting downstairs in the basement with me and I was just crying and panicking, and and she was there for me.”
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Samantha went on to reveal that it didn’t stop with emotional support from Heather alone, as her and Coy’s son Ty has been spending time with Brexton and acting almost as a ‘big brother’ to Kyle’s 11-year-old, who continues his own journey up the racing ladder even after Kyle’s passing. Ty was just 20 when his father Coy died, only a few hours after he won the 2022 NASCAR O’Reilly Series championship at Phoenix.
“I can’t even put no words how wonderful he’s been to Brexton,” said Samantha in regards to Ty. “He’s been like a big brother. He’s been a source of comfort for him. I mean, Ty’s still young himself and he has come over. He’s taken Brexton to lunch, he’s rode karts around our neighborhood with him, he came and picked him up and took him to breakfast and took him to the track to race karts. NASCAR is family. Ty knows what it’s like.”
She also remembered how similar Coy and Kyle were in the years working together at JGR, as both were “blunt, shoot you straight” types.
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“Gosh, I think for Brexton to have Ty to understand exactly what he’s going through — he came home one day from hanging out with Ty and he was like, ‘we talked about our dads.’ He just comes home so much happier.”
She went on to thank M&Ms, their parent company Mars, and JGR for this incredible tribute that Ty will carry on the No. 54 Toyota this weekend.
“..I am so grateful that this has been the hardest time of our lives but from not only people within the sport, but the fans, everybody. I’ll never be able to put into words how awful and horrific the situation is but equally so, how amazing and just the amount of love. It’s hard for my brain to process, so it’s even harder for me to explain but it’s amazing. All that said just really grateful to Mars and to JGR for putting this together. Kyle was the ‘Candy Man,’ there was a lot of amazing memories. So much of the stuff I think about is with him in that yellow M&Ms fire suit.
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I think it’s gonna be really hard to see it on the track, but really iconic and special at the same time. So, see you all Saturday night.”
Read Also:
M&Ms returns to NASCAR for special Kyle Busch tribute scheme at Bristol
Kurt Busch talks grief with CNN’s Anderson Cooper and the loss of brother Kyle
Jesse Love reveals Kyle Busch moment that “hit me like a ton of bricks”
Samantha Busch full speech from emotional Kyle Busch Invitational
Kyle Larson to honor Kyle Busch with throwback paint scheme at Las Vegas
Watch: Kyle Busch breaks out the broom after 2017 Bristol sweep
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