On May 21, the racing world lost an icon when Kyle Busch died suddenly following a severe illness at the age of 41. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was in the midst of his 22nd full-time season in the series, having recorded 234 wins and 809 top-10 finishes in 1,313 career starts across NASCAR’s three national divisions – Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Trucks.
Busch’s storied career included visits to Canada and battles with Canadian racers, while he also had an impact on the next generation of Canadians in the sport. We remember KB’s connections to our country.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Delaware Speedway
While Busch’s racing appearances in Canada were limited, fans still had a chance to see him in person at both a road course and short track.
Busch made two starts at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the then-NASCAR Nationwide (currently O’Reilly Auto Parts) Series, finishing 10th in both 2009 and 2012.
He started 12th in the 2009 event, driving the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), where Quebec fans got to see him in a race that featured eight Canadians, including Andrew Ranger, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Tagliani and D.J. Kennington. Future JGR Cup teammate Carl Edwards won the race. Busch went on to win his lone series championship that season.
The 2012 edition saw Busch pilot the No. 54 for his own Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team, starting in fifth place. Nine Canadians joined the field, including Villeneuve, Ranger and Ron Fellows. Justin Allgaier claimed the victory.
Busch also made two appearances at Delaware Speedway for the mid-week Summer Showdown late model event, in 2010 and 2011. He claimed the victory in the 2010 race at the half-mile oval, located near London, ON.
NASCAR Canada Series spotter Joe Chisholm Jr. was a crew member on one of the teams that day; he reflected on the event in a social media post following Busch’s passing.
“We had been making the 3.25-hour trip to Delaware Speedway every Friday for two years prior to Kyle coming for a special midweek race… and at this point in the season Andrew Gresel was on top of the charts and leading the points so he and the team wanted to win that race bad!” said Chisholm. “We had the car perfect and we got to the track an hour earlier than normal… Kyle got a chance to turn a few laps before the gate opened so we walked up and sat in the stands and watched him change the track’s most bad ass car (Steve Robblee’s No. 51) into a flat out spaceship in just three on track stints.
“At that time, if you turned an 18.6 you were lights out… and in the heat of the sun that guy turned an 18.187. There were a few cars that turned up the wick for that first race including DJK & Kennedy but that 51 car was untouchable,” he continued. “The guy was the definition of a racer and he will be greatly missed!”
Canadian Competitors
With Canadian racers making appearances in NASCAR’s national divisions over the years, there have been many opportunities for them to share a race track with the Nevadan.
One memorable event was the NASCAR Truck Series opener at Daytona International Speedway in 2009. Both Busch and future APC Series late model champion J.R. Fitzpatrick contended for the win after a late restart, with Todd Bodine ultimately crossing the line in first.
Busch finished runner-up, after leading 18 laps, while Fitzpatrick finished fourth, after leading 17 laps. Both drivers took part in TV interviews on SPEED Channel after their top-five finishes.
Fitzpatrick talked about battling Busch in a post-race news release from TRG Motorsports.
“The truck was really hooked up on the bottom,” said Fitzpatrick. “We had really good strategy going at the end, we just ran out of time. I had a heck of time leading. That was a lot of fun. It was my first time here and first time racing with all of these guys. It is pretty sweet; I was getting pushed around by Kyle Busch, which is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.”
Inside Track’s Greg MacPherson was among the contingent of media in attendance.
“I was in the infield covering the Truck race, in J.R. Fitzpatrick’s pit,” said MacPherson. “So many things stand out from that night. Watching this kid – who I first saw race a Junior Late Model at Delaware Speedway – leading lap after lap at Daytona was unreal. Finishing fourth was an incredible accomplishment. And I’ll never forget Kyle Busch coming into the Daytona media room after the race, singing J.R.’s praises about the way he drove that night. Talk about high praise.”
Team Ownership
As an owner, Busch fielded vehicles in 67 Nationwide Series races between 2011 and 2013, and 822 Truck Series races between 2010 and 2023. He won Truck Series championships with Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017.
His impact as an owner extended to Canadian racers. Raphaël Lessard made three starts for KBM in 2019, finishing 14th in his Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway. He competed full-time for the organization in 2020, with seven top-10 finishes and a win at Talladega Superspeedway.
Busch talked about the Quebec racer in a team release in 2019.
“It’s rewarding as an owner to see the progression of young drivers like Raphael, and Erik Jones and Christopher Bell before him, that start out in our Super Late Models as part of the Toyota Racing Development program and are able to turn that into an opportunity to compete in the Truck Series,” said Busch. “Raphael was really fast in our Super Late Models last season and added a couple of marquee wins to KBM’s resume. We expect that he’ll be able to step right in and be competitive as he makes the jump to the next level.”
Lessard made 20 late model starts for KBM in 2018, with wins in the CARS Late Model Tour at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway.
Two other Canadians made Truck Series starts for KBM. Gary Klutt finished 11th at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) in 2016, while Tagliani finished runner-up at CTMP in 2019 and 22nd on the Daytona road course in 2020.
Canadian Motorsports Expo
Fans young and old had the opportunity to meet Busch at the 2013 Canadian Motorsports Expo in Toronto. The annual event was held in early February, just before the start of the NASCAR season in Daytona, and featured autograph, meet-and-greet and Q&A opportunities with the Cup Series star.
“For years, we tried to get Kyle Busch to come, but it’s a busy time for them and he was never available,” said MacPherson, who also works with the Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo. “But in 2013 – after we’d already contracted for Michael Waltrip to come – we found out that Kyle could come. We were already over budget, but the opportunity to have Kyle Busch come to the CME wasn’t something that we could pass up. And we’re so glad that he came.
“From the VIP Meet & Greet, to the on-stage Q&A, to the public autograph session, the guy was smiling and deeply engaged with everyone the whole time. He made everyone he met feel special. And he made sure everyone got a picture and/or an autograph. Everyone left the show that day smiling.”
Inspiring the Next Generation
Busch’s long and storied career left an impact on countless up-and-coming race car drivers, including Canadians Ollie Ferguson and Austin Seburn.
Ferguson races in the Pro Late Model division at Peterborough Speedway. He rooted for Busch, while battling health challenges, in his road to getting behind-the-wheel of a race car.
“Watching the races was always exciting and I loved to watch Kyle Busch, who’s my favourite driver,” Ferguson told Inside Track in 2023, about watching NASCAR growing up. “It provided me with a little excitement and sort of got me through everything so that I could hopefully, one day, race myself.”
Seburn races in the Ontario Sportsman Series and Great Lakes Legends Series. He has past experience racing winged karts and Legend cars in the U.S., where he’s had the opportunity to meet Busch while racing against his son, Brexton.
“I went to the Daytona 500 in 2019, I asked for (Busch’s) picture once,” Seburn told Inside Track in 2024, when he was 12-years-old. “I went down (to the U.S.) in 2023 and he asked for my picture, so it was definitely a cooler experience.”
From his visits to Canada to his impact on Canadian racers, both competitors and up-and-comers alike, Busch leaves behind endless memories for this country’s motorsports community.