Kyle Busch

Kyle Thomas Busch (May 2, 1985 – May 21, 2026), known as "Rowdy," was an American stock car driver and team owner whose career ran from 2001 until his death. He drove under various car numbers but was best known for piloting the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2008 to 2022. His success across all three of NASCAR’s top divisions has led many to consider him one of the most skilled and accomplished drivers in motorsports history.

Busch grew up in a racing family in Las Vegas, Nevada. He helped prepare cars as a child and moved into go-karts and short-track racing as a teenager, winning multiple championships and catching the eye of stock car teams. He made his national NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001 with Roush Racing. Two years later, he joined Hendrick Motorsports’ driver development program and moved up to the major series, staying with Hendrick through 2007. He signed with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, where he enjoyed his most successful period over fifteen years. In 2023, he joined Richard Childress Racing and competed there until his death in 2026.

At the time of his death, Busch ranked ninth on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list and first in combined wins across the top three NASCAR divisions. He won three major national series championships: the 2009 Nationwide Series and the 2015 and 2019 Cup Series titles. He also won four crown jewel events and collected numerous awards. His aggressive driving style earned him several nicknames.

Busch also owned Kyle Busch Motorsports, a team that ran in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series from 2011 to 2013 and the Truck Series from 2010 to 2023. He was the younger brother of 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

Busch was born on May 2, 1985, in Las Vegas, the second child of Tom and Gaye Busch, who had moved from Schaumburg, Illinois. Tom worked as a mechanic at a Ford dealership and got into racing through a colleague, eventually becoming a stock car driver and winning local championships. Kyle was introduced to racing at age six, driving a makeshift go-kart in his neighborhood; his father worked the gas pedal while Kyle steered. He helped his father and older brother Kurt in the family garage, and by age ten he was crew chief for Kurt’s dwarf car team. He began his own career at thirteen in 1998, and from 1999 to 2001 won over 65 legends car races and two track championships at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring. In 2001, he moved to late models and won ten races at the Bullring.

At sixteen, Busch joined the Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 99 Ford for Roush Racing after Nathan Haseleu was released. He debuted at Indianapolis Raceway Park, finishing ninth. In his second race at Chicago Motor Speedway, he led until running out of fuel with twelve laps left. He was fastest in practice for the 2001 Auto Club 200 at California Speedway but was ruled ineligible because he was not yet eighteen under the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement; Tim Woods III replaced him and finished 25th. Six weeks later, NASCAR set a minimum age of eighteen starting in 2002. Busch then raced in the American Speed Association National Tour, finishing eighth in points. He ran six Truck races in 2001, with two ninth-place finishes.

In 2002, he graduated early with honors from Durango High School in Spring Valley to focus on racing. That year, he debuted in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, finishing twelfth in the No. 22 Chevrolet for WP Motorsports.

Busch set numerous records across NASCAR’s top divisions. In 2010, he set the modern-era record for most combined wins in a single season across the three premier series with 24. He holds the all-time record for career wins in the national series with 234. He set the Xfinity Series single-season win record with thirteen in 2010 and holds the overall Xfinity record with 102 wins.

He also has the most Truck Series wins with 69. He is the only driver with at least 60 wins in each of the top three series. In 2019, he tied the record for consecutive top-ten finishes to start a season at 11. His 2023 win at Auto Club Speedway gave him a record nineteen consecutive seasons with a win, a streak that ended with a winless 2024.

At just under age twenty, he became NASCAR’s youngest Cup Series pole winner at California Speedway in 2005 and the youngest driver to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.