Brexton Busch closed out the Kyle Busch Celebration of Life by performing a massive burnout in a Cup Series car. This emotional moment is one that sparked praise from the drivers who previously raced against the two-time Cup Series champion.
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"To cap it off with Brexton doing burnouts was something I don't think any of us will ever forget," Kyle Larson said fewer than 24 hours after appearing on stage and speaking about Busch, who passed away on May 21 at the age of 41.
"That was awesome... He just looked like such a mini-Kyle in the car. The onboard was just special. Like, 'Here is the next Kyle Busch.'"
For those wondering, Larson rated the burnout a 10 out of 10. This is high praise from a driver who has performed dozens of burnouts throughout his NASCAR career while driving for multiple teams.
Stunningly similar💙💙 pic.twitter.com/KJ29AJredd
— Lucas Oil Products (@Lucas_Oil) October 10, 2026
"He did a great job," Larson said. "It was just special to see that. It was just cool to be a part of the (Celebration of Life). I was a bit surprised and shocked that they wanted me to be a part of the program because I feel like there were a lot of other drivers that were closer to him than I was.
"But yeah, just being able to get up there and talk about him outside of a NASCAR setting was good. We all miss Kyle a lot. Samantha and Kyle both did an amazing job raising their kids, and we'll get to see the Busch's on the racetrack for a long, long time."
Bubba Wallace is one of the very few people who knew about this special celebration. He had spoken to Samantha Busch and Brexton while in Las Vegas, and he had heard the plans.
Still, the moment greatly affected Wallace. He said that he had tears flowing while watching the "incredible" moment, even if he chuckled a bit when talking about how Brexton stalled out the Cup Series car.
Several other drivers weighed in about the emotional moment. They praised his skills behind the wheel, as well as the fact that he pulled off this tribute to his father while really driving the Cup Series car for the first time in his life.
"I could not imagine being an 11-year-old kid and driving a NASCAR Cup Series car and doing a burnout in front of that crowd," Bell said. "It just... I hope he cherishes it, for sure."
Brexton may not have racing experience in a Cup car, but he has taken time to get acclimated to the car. Richard Childress told sponsor Lucas Oil that Austin Dillon had taught Brexton how to perform a burnout like that at the team shop.
Brexton actually confirmed this with a video on Busch's YouTube channel. He provided nearly 18 minutes of footage showing his first seat fitting in early September, followed by a burnout tutorial on Sept. 17.
The 11-year-old started with donuts in the parking lot, and then he progressed to more difficult maneuvers. More than one month later, he put on a performance for an estimated 20,000 fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
