NASCAR driver Kyle Busch experienced shortness of breath, felt he was overheating and was coughing up blood the day before his death, in keeping with a 911 call obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
Busch died Thursday at age 41. No reason behind death has been given, though his family said earlier he had been hospitalized with a “severe illness” three days before he was to compete within the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch was testing within the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people conversant in the situation told the AP.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because details haven’t been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.
Throughout the emergency call placed late that afternoon from the General Motors training facility, an unidentified caller calmly told the dispatch: “I’ve got an person that’s (got) shortness of breath, highly regarded, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a bit of little bit of blood, coughing up some blood.”
Busch was lying on the toilet floor contained in the complex and the caller told dispatch “He’s awake,” in keeping with audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office.
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The person then gave directions on where emergency responders should go and asked that they turn off any sirens upon arrival.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell is scheduled to talk at a news conference later Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The news of Busch’s death sent shockwaves across the NASCAR community and even Vice President JD Vance took to social media, saying “I had the chance to satisfy Kyle, one among NASCAR’s best racers, on the campaign trail in 2024. Usha and I are praying for him and his family. Everlasting rest grant unto him, O Lord.”
Meanwhile, gloomy, gray skies hung over the track on an unseasonably cool day in Concord, which seemed a fitting background for the in memoriam photo of Busch on the videoboard.
Christopher Bell is among the many drivers planning to run within the NASCAR Trucks Series race on Friday night, one which Busch had been scheduled to compete in.
Busch won last week’s Trucks race at Dover — the ultimate win of his profession — giving him 134 victories across NASCAR’s three national series, essentially the most of any driver.
He finished seventeenth within the All-Star race on Sunday.
“It’s going to be very strange to be on the market without Kyle in the sector,” Bell said. “It’s going to take an extended time before things feel back to normal.”
Bell called Busch’s death a “gutwrenching feeling.”
He said he spoke to Busch prior to the last Trucks Series race and said he seemed “normal, like completely normal.”
“I suppose it’s a really stark reminder of how fragile life might be,” Bell said.
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