“I still catch myself looking for his name on the leaderboard,” Samantha wrote in a post on Instagram
Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Samantha Busch reflected on the “surreal” experience of being a part of the NASCAR community, months after her husband Kyle Busch’s unexpected death
- “I still catch myself looking for his name on the leaderboard,” Samantha wrote in a post on Instagram
- The legendary racer died on May 21 at age 41 after a sudden “severe illness,” later revealed to be sepsis
Kyle Busch‘s wife, Samantha, is reflecting on her husband’s profound impact on NASCAR — and the community’s overwhelming impact on her family — nearly two months after his death.
In a candid post on Instagram on Sunday, July 12, Samantha detailed the difficult experience of watching race days come and go without her husband. Kyle, who NASCAR called a “future Hall of Famer,” died unexpectedly on May 21 following a sudden hospitalization.
“As another race day approaches I’m reminded again how much it hurts that we’re not there cheering on Kyle. It still feels surreal watching from the couch,” she wrote in the caption of her post. “I still catch myself looking for his name on the leaderboard.”
Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty
The legendary NASCAR driver died suddenly on Thursday, May 21 just hours after his family shared that he had been hospitalized for a “severe illness,” later revealed to be sepsis. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was 41.
Samantha, who shares son Brexton and daughter Lennix with Kyle, went on to thank fans and the NASCAR community for their overwhelming support for her family since Kyle’s unexpected death.
“Over the past weeks you’ve surrounded Brexton, Lennix and me in ways I will never be able to fully put into words,” she wrote in her post on Sunday. “You have honored Kyle’s life and legacy, shared your memories, prayed for us, cried with us and reminded us just how deeply he was loved.”
One of the most impactful, enduring memories since her husband’s death was at the Coke 600 on May 24, Samantha revealed in her post. When each driver took the stage wearing her late husband’s gear and adopting his famous bow, Samantha said “tears were streaming down my face” as she felt the full force of Kyle’s lasting impact.
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Samantha also thanked the partners of other NASCAR drivers, “for showing up with meals when I couldn’t think about cooking, for the texts that reminded me I wasn’t alone, for continuing to love on us in the midst of your busy lives.” And her family and close circle of friends who “carried” her and her children through those first stages of grief, she said.
To her husband’s fans, Samantha shared her deep gratitude — not only for their support and love in the months since Kyle’s death, but for cheering him on and standing by him through the highs and lows of his career.
“For nearly twenty years NASCAR has been our home,” Samantha concluded, “and these past several weeks have reminded me that NASCAR isn’t just a sport, it truly is a family.”
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