NASCAR CEO: 'Kyle Busch Would Be Pretty P-ssed If We Didn't Race'

CONCORD, N.C. -- NASCAR's national series will race on at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Kyle Busch's memory, CEO Steve O'Donnell said Friday.

"Kyle Busch would be pretty p-ssed if we didn't race so we're going to honor his memory and ensure people know what he was about."

A day after the death of NASCAR's winningest driver, O'Donnell spoke with honesty and poignancy about Busch.

"He was always that same guy who didn't change and cared for the sport. I learned the people with passion who love the sport are the ones you listen to," O'Donnell said. "[For him] It always came from a place of somehow trying to improve the sport, the race car, the interactions at the track.

"[That final chapter] of seeing your kids race... I'm very sad that we're not going to see the end of that final chapter [for Busch]."

Out of respect for Busch's family, O'Donnell didn't provide any updates on led to Busch's death. However, he said he first received a call about Busch's condition at around 9 a.m. ET, hearing "things weren't great" for him.

"I spent the rest of the day with the people I thought I should be spending time with in the industry," O'Donnell said. 

At around 5:41 p.m., NASCAR, Richard Childress Racing and the Busch family released a joint statement confirming his death.

The news reverberated across the world, sparking tributes from not only the industry but also the FIA, Major League Baseball and racing greats like Mario Andretti, and prompting NASCAR to come up with tributes of their own to honor Busch.

"First and foremost, our responsibility is to make sure Kyle's family is okay with what we may or may not want to do and then the folks at RCR. We have had some of these conversations as early as this morning. We got ideas from drivers, owners, racetracks, broadcast partners. And we have a number of items in the works that our fans will be able to look at to celebrate Kyle and it won't be just this weekend," O'Donnell said.

Busch left behind his wife, Samantha, and two children, Brexton and Lennix, as well as his brother, Kurt, and other family, including their father, Tom, who got them into racing.

"Samantha, Brexton and Lennix are not just family of a NASCAR legend. They are part of the NASCAR family and always will be because that's what family does... Kyle Busch just defines what it means to be a racer in NASCAR," O'Donnell said.

Just two days before Busch passed away and four days after he won a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover, O'Donnell received a text from him, asking about "an over-40 rule" to allow drivers over 40 years old to run every NCTS race.

At first, O'Donnell joked with Busch, saying he was the reason why they made rules to limit Cup drivers' participation in the NCTS and the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. However, after an internal meeting at NASCAR, O'Donnell acknowledged that it might not be such a bad idea after all, pointing to the importance of Busch's presence.

Busch's presence came with nuance and complexity for NASCAR. The sanctioning body seemingly had to fine, suspend or significantly penalize him about as much as they acknowledged him for his excellence in the sport. 

"Kyle Busch lived just about every chapter of what you can do in NASCAR," Busch said. "What you saw, Rowdy, he's fierce, competitive. My favorite interview he ever gave was when he said 'Everything's great.' One of my favorite moments in Texas was when he challenged NASCAR on some rules, laid flat out on the pit cart, he was making fun of us. I was mad but looking back on it but that was d-mn funny...

"No doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer."

Could Busch be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as an honorary member of the Class of 2027? O'Donnell said that is on "a list of ideas" they're considering. 

When Kobe Bryant passed away suddenly on Jan. 26, 2020, also at the age of 41, the Basketball Hall of Fame fast-tracked his induction into the 2020 class just 20 days after his death. Voting took place that April, in contrast to the current situation with the NASCAR Hall of Fame where the Class of 2027 was voted on just two days before Busch's death. 

O'Donnell said more discussion will be needed before finalizing a decision on fast-tracking Busch's induction.

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