Kurt Busch has opened up on the final moments he shared with his brother Kyle. The two-time Cup Series champion died in May, and Kurt has now given his first network television interview since.
He sat down with Craig Melvin on the TODAY show and fought back tears almost from the start.
Kyle Busch was one of the defining figures of his generation, and the loss has shaken the whole of NASCAR. For Kurt it is far more personal, and he has not held back on what happened.
Photo by David Jensen/Getty ImagesKurt Busch on his brother’s final hours‘I was there at the hospital,’ Kurt recalled, fighting back tears. ‘I was there all day, hoping, praying, hoping for a turnaround. My dad wanted to remember him in the way that he wanted to remember him.’
His father chose not to see Kyle in that condition. Kurt stayed in the room instead, holding on to his brother until the end.
Wiping away tears, he shared the words he said to him.
‘I said, “I got you, man. Come on. I got you. I got you. Come on. Be strong.” Just wasn’t fair.’
He also opened up on the pressure drivers face to race through illness. Asked whether they push through, he said:
‘To be bluntly honest, yeah. I mean, we’re independent contractors. We don’t have a union. So there’s a concern that if you don’t get in there, someone else fills in for you.’
The interview moved on to 11-year-old Brexton, Kyle’s son, who has been racing and carrying the family name forward. Kurt has taken on a mentor role.
‘He’s a prodigy and he was on the gas even before all of this,’ Kurt said. ‘He can be a big star in the world of motorsports. He’s 11, but he’s already racing like an 18-year-old. So it’s time to be around a bit more.’
Photo by David Jensen/Getty ImagesWhat he misses most is the quiet bond they shared on track.
‘Him and I were carbon copies of each other. I just miss the on-track camaraderie. We could speak on track without saying a word. Like, “you pass me here, I’ll draft with you here.”‘
Grief like this does not simply go away. But through Brexton, and through two decades of memories on tarmac across the country, Kyle’s presence is not going anywhere.
Read more:
Leave a Comment