NASCAR champion Kyle Busch’s cause of death revealed by family

Twice NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch died Thursday after suffering from “severe pneumonia.” [that] progressed to sepsis,” his family revealed in a statement on Saturday.

Dakota Hunter, vice president of Kyle Busch Companies, shared his family’s statement in a press release just days after Busch, 41, died tragically after being hospitalized.

Kyle Busch celebrates his victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia on September 5, 2014. (Steve Helber/AP)

“The medical evaluation provided to the Busch family concluded that severe pneumonia progressed to sepsis, leading to rapid and overwhelming associated complications,” the statement said.

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Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports first reported the family’s statement Saturday.

Busch was hospitalized this week after collapsing in a Chevrolet simulator. A 911 call from the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by Fox News and OutKick, revealed he was spit blood and experience shortness of breath.

According to an unidentified man on the phone, Busch was alert at the time.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Watermelon x Circle K Zone Chevrolet, is shown before the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on May 3, 2026. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

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Busch, a two-time Cup champion and future Hall of Famer, was preparing to race in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

He had competed in the Cup Series since 2004, making 762 career starts with 63 victories. Busch won the championship in 2015 and 2019 and has 234 victories in the three NASCAR national series.

He is the all-time record holder for wins in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69).

Kyle Busch celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, April 23, 2023, in Talladega, Alabama. (AP Photo/Dill Butch)

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Following the news of Busch’s death, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell held a press conference in which he called the great driver “America’s tough guy.”

“Kyle Busch, to me, is an all-American badass,” O’Donnell said. “Behind the wheel, he’s who you want to be. And I think when you look at all these things, that’s part of being a racing driver. It’s part of representing the sport. We won’t always agree – if we did, I think people would get really bored. And we’ve certainly had our battles. But I would give a lot of money to have a few more battles in the future.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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