CONCORD, N.C. — Any other week of the NASCAR season, a Saturday afternoon media bullpen would have focused on racing topics. Yet, the May 23 session at Charlotte Motor Speedway turned into an impromptu celebration of life.
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Any driver showing up to talk to media used the opportunity to share eulogies about Kyle Busch, who passed away suddenly at the age of 41 two days prior.
Nearly all wore merchandise for Busch or his son, Brexton. That alone showed the impact that Busch had on NASCAR and the racing world, but their comments showed the true depth.
"Kyle was like a godfather to the sport, and I think that everybody respects that and knows that, no matter what their opinion is on Kyle," Ty Gibbs said in response to a question from FanBuzz.
"And I think that that's important. I mean, I think Kyle was one of the baddest dudes to ever do it, and obviously will always be that. I don't think anybody will really probably ever even get remotely close to what he'd done."
Answering questions from myself and @CandiceSpencer, William Byron explained how conversations with Kyle Busch changed how he approached restarts and his overall race craft. pic.twitter.com/mYjQ6EzwxT
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) May 23, 2026
Busch's impact became a prominent topic of discussion on Saturday afternoon. Gibbs and Denny Hamlin both talked about how Busch had impacted Joe Gibbs Racing, as well as their respective careers.
Even the drivers who didn't race for JGR still walked into the media center and highlighted how the two-time Cup Series champion made them better.
"At Charlotte one time, we were in a rain delay, shockingly (laughs)," William Byron, a former Kyle Busch Motorsports driver, said on Saturday. "And we were by the hauler, and we were talking about restarts, and he's sharing little things to look for.
"It worked! The next day, I think I started from the pole the next day and pulled the second-place guy by like four car lengths. I was like, 'Okay, thanks for that.'"
No tip from Busch flew under the radar for the other drivers in the field, regardless if they viewed him as a friend or rival.
Sometimes, it took a conversation over the phone; other times it took Busch chewing them out. Occasionally, Busch used the race track as his classroom and his race car as his textbook.
"He was a ball-buster," Ryan Blaney said while laughing. "He was, but in such a funny way. His sense of humor was just different. Kind of a bust-you-up sense of humor.
"He always had a good heart about it even though if maybe you didn't know that he had a good heart about it or was joking."
Michael McDowell volunteered to be the first into the media center this morning -- even though he didn't want to show up at all with the rain and the emotions.
He spent several minutes talking about Kyle Busch. pic.twitter.com/iQmlN0CJ3I— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) May 23, 2026
Blaney isn't the only driver who sometimes had difficulty telling if Busch was messing with him or being serious. As Michael McDowell pointed out, Busch recently had some fun going through his list of drivers who had "wronged him."
"It wasn't that long ago, but Kyle was talking trash at everybody at the driver introductions, and telling us that we all had it coming," McDowell said. "And I was hearing him out, and then I thought about it for a minute. I'm like, 'No, I don't think so. I don't think I've hit him. I don't think I've spun him. I don't think I've had anything that would give him a free pass.'
"So I thought about it for a minute, and then I went up to him. I said, 'Hey, I think you're wrong. I don't think you owe me one for anything.'
"And he was like, 'Well, you remember at Darlington, they're all spinning out in front of us. I was checking up, and you didn't check up enough, and you hit me.' I was like, 'That don't count, man! That doesn't count. They wrecked in front of us.' He's like, 'Yeah, but you hit me, didn't you? So you're still on the list.'"
The drivers shared multiple stories showing the different sides of Busch's personalities. Some talked about his competitive fire and how he made them fight to be better. Others talked about a big heart and his willingness to spend time on the phone with them each week talking about the sport.
These attributes are not ones that Busch frequently put on display. Many people knew him more for his bristly exterior.
He often showcased this side during interactions with the media, whether celebrating a win or speaking about a loss.
He had many interviews that rubbed NASCAR fans the wrong way. This includes one where Busch repeatedly said, "Everything's great."
He also had another interview where he ripped into his pit crew and his truck despite finishing second at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
"Pure talent, that's about it," Busch said when asked about his performance in 2018. "My pit crew did absolutely nothing to help me out tonight, my truck drove like (expletive), and these splitters are absolutely horrendous.
"You can't pass in traffic, you can't race alongside anybody, you can't get within five truck lengths of no one. But somehow, someway, I was able to get back to the front. Had a blast."
His fellow drivers were certainly aware of Busch's grumpier side. But that's not what they highlighted on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
They just wanted to talk about the Busch they saw behind the scenes. They highlighted the jokester. They spoke about the man who enjoyed talking a little trash out on the basketball court.
This morning, Michael McDowell told us a story about Kyle Busch trash talking Joey Logano while playing basketball.
So @MattWeaverRA kicked off Joey’s availability by asking about it. pic.twitter.com/uhLqbs38W4— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) May 23, 2026
They focused on the man with a "huge heart" who wanted to help them. They remembered the father who celebrated his children's accomplishments.
"I remember after Brexton won the (Tulsa) Shootout, me and him texted back and forth for like 10 or 15 minutes," Chase Briscoe said. "Just about how amazing Brexton did and how proud he was.
"I remember texting him, like, 'It was so cool to see you... it's not Rowdy. It's just Kyle.' And just to see how proud he was, how good of a job Brexton did, I will definitely always just cherish those moments."
Now that Busch is gone, the other drivers in the field will never have these moments again. They will feel a hole every time they go to the track and see the No. 33 sitting in place of the No. 8.
The pain will eventually fade, and they will no longer shed tears with the same frequency when thinking about their former competitor. What they won't forget is the impact that he made on their lives and the sport.
"I think of everyone that came in here, that he gave opportunities to on his Truck team at KBM," Blaney added. "I look at William (Byron) and Erik (Jones) and (Noah) Gragson and Daniel (Suarez) and Bubba (Wallace).
"There's a lot of other people that got a start because of him, and he's made a lot of people's careers."
