The 11-year-old son of NASCAR icon Kyle Busch, Brexton Busch made a comeback Tuesday to the racetrack, doing so for the first time since the passing of his father almost two weeks ago.
At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch was running practice laps prior to the CookOut Summer Shootout, which is a race in the Legend Car Series. The 41-year-old Busch unexpectedly died in late May following a fight against pneumonia turning into a battle against sepsis.
Tuesday afternoon, a private memorial for Busch took place. An announcement was made by the family that, later this year, a public memorial will be held. (RELATED: NASCAR Hits 23XI Racing Staffer With Ban After Allegedly Assaulting 77-Year-Old Man With Golf Cart)
“On behalf of the Busch family, everyone at Richard Childress Racing and all of NASCAR, we are devastated to announce the sudden and tragic passing of Kyle Busch,” said the family in an official statement after Busch’s passing May 21, per NASCAR Media.
“Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch. A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.”
A little Shootout shakedown. 😤@USLegendCars | @CookOut pic.twitter.com/ME7mNHDrLU
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) June 3, 2026
A day following Busch’s death, team owner Richard Childress spoke with reporters and said that the use of Busch’s No. 8 would be suspended by RCR. The suspension will be lifted when Brexton is eligible to compete.
“Richard Childress Racing has elected to suspend use of the No. 8 and will run the No. 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and beyond,” read the statement from the team, per Fox News. “Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8, and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did.
“The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”
For awhile now, the 11-year-old has been racing and considered up-and-coming. Over the last few years, a lot of Kyle‘s time during a racing campaign has been spent tailing Brexton throughout a race week.
At the Tulsa Shootout earlier in 2026, Brexton and Kyle raced against one another for the first time ever.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, the racing age limit is 18 years old. However, in the Truck Series, Brexton will be eligible to race at 16.