Kyle Busch died after pneumonia progressed to sepsis, family says

NASCAR star Kyle Busch died of severe pneumonia that progressed to sepsis, according to a statement released Saturday by his family.

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

Busch, who won more races in NASCAR’s top three series than anyone in history, died suddenly Thursday after collapsing a day earlier in a driving simulator at the General Motors facility in Concord, North Carolina.

Sepsis is a life-threatening illness that occurs when the body reacts in an extreme way to an infection, causing damage to tissues and organs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s the first statement from the Busch family since Thursday, when they wrote on social media that he “suffered a serious illness resulting in hospitalization” and would miss this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600, one of the biggest races of the season.

The 41-year-old suffered from shortness of breath, felt hot and was coughing up blood the day before he died. according to a 911 call obtained Friday by CBS News.

During the emergency call, an unidentified caller calmly told dispatch, “I have an individual who is out of breath, very hot, he thinks he’s going to pass out, and he’s producing a little blood, he’s spitting up blood.”

Busch was lying on the bathroom floor inside the complex and the caller told the dispatcher, “he’s awake,” according to audio provided by the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office.

Two weeks ago, while competing in a Cup race at Watkins Glen, Busch was heard on the radio telling his team to have a doctor waiting for him at the end of the race. The TV show said Busch was suffering from a sinus cold.

Despite the problems, Busch won the Craftsman Truck Series race on May 15 at Dover Motor Speedway, less than a week before his death.

Busch won Cup Series titles in 2015 and 2019 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch is the all-time leader in wins in the O’Reilly Auto Parts (102) and Craftsman Truck Series (69), considered the second and third tier of the sport, respectively. Combined with 63 Cup Series victories, he holds the most wins ever by a driver in NASCAR’s top three divisions (234).