Kurt Busch has opened up about the sudden death of his younger brother, NASCAR legend Kyle Busch, revealing that he had no idea Kyle was sick before his condition rapidly deteriorated.
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Kyle died earlier this year at age 41.
During an emotional appearance on Anderson Cooper's All There Is podcast, Kurt described learning what happened and rushing to the hospital.
"I didn't know that Kyle was sick," Kurt said.
Kurt said he had heard that his brother received a shot roughly two weeks earlier and that people around Kyle had noticed an occasional cough. Otherwise, there appeared to be little indication anything was seriously wrong.
Kyle had won a NASCAR Truck race just days earlier and made a public appearance with his son, Brexton, the day before he became ill. Then everything changed.
According to Kurt, Kyle completed a normal simulator session before going to a bathroom and beginning to cough. His crew chief found him sitting against a wall and asked whether he needed an ambulance. Kyle said yes.
"That's something that athletes don't do," Kurt said. "Nobody shows weakness, that type of person. For him to say that, something's wrong."
Kyle was taken to a hospital, where his condition was initially stabilized. Kurt said he didn't learn what was happening until his father called Kurt's girlfriend around 4 a.m. He immediately rushed to the hospital.
"Just how fast things changed, man. It's not fair," Kurt said. "What I saw happened in a 12-hour period. It was unfathomable."
Kurt became emotional several times during the interview while remembering their complicated but close relationship, which evolved from sibling rivalry to friendship over their decades in NASCAR.
He said therapy, returning to the racetrack in limited doses and sharing memories with others have helped him process the loss.
"It's not going to get any easier," Kurt said, "but time will help you."
