NASCAR giant Kyle Busch passed away in May, reportedly from pneumonia that evolved into sepsis. The racing great was 41 years old. He left a wife, Samantha Busch, and two young kids, Brexton, 11, and Lennix, 4. Busch also has a brother, Kurt, 48, who is a NASCAR standout himself. At the three-month mark following Kyle's shocking death. Kurt Busch sat down with Craig Melvin of TODAY for an interview. He talked frankly about the shattering loss of his sibling. Clearly, his grief is still raw and crushing.
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Kurt Busch Was at His Brother's Bedside in the Hospital
Busch was loyally at his brother Kyle's bedside as he fought for his life in the hospital. He shared with Craig Melvin, "I was there at the hospital; I was there all day, hoping, praying, hoping for a turnaround," he remembered. Their dad Tom chose not to be there, preferring to preserve his memories of Kyle in better times. However, Kurt stuck right by Kyle, exhorting him not to give up.
Weeping, he described those harrowing moments. "I said, 'I got you man, Come on... I got you, come on. Be strong.' It just wasn't fair."
Kyle Busch may have been ill for a while before his sickness finally became a debilitating crisis. Nevertheless, he apparently continued to compete. Kurt Busch indicated that race drivers are intensely competitive in spirit. They typically race, no matter what obstacles they are facing. "We're independent contractors. We don't have a union," he told Melvin.
He Is Still Awash in Sadness
As Busch is discovering, there is no template to follow when bereavement hits. You learn about the grueling process as you go. That path has twists and turns; it is seldom linear. "There is no book; there is no outline on what we're supposed to do right now," Busch admitted.
Memories of happy times together sustain him these days. For example, Kyle was present in January when Kurt was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Their shared passion for racing always united them. "On track, him and I were carbon copies of each other. We could speak on track without saying a word." Kurt Busch added forlornly, "I miss the words that we never spoke to each other and the vibe that we had on track."
