A fellow NASCAR driver is remembering the late Kyle Busch. After winning the Coca-Cola 600, Daniel Suarez took a moment to mourn the icon.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The passing of Busch due to sepsis weighed heavily on the entire race. His death took Suarez by surprise. It hardly seems real.
"Just a week ago I was hanging out with Kyle and he seemed perfectly fine, and right now he's not here with us anymore. It's very surreal how things were happening," he told People. "Obviously, he was very loved and very respected by the entire NASCAR community. And a lot of people didn't know this about Kyle, but he was just such a good person and somebody that really loved to help."
Busch was a mentor to Suarez when he was first starting off in NASCAR. Suarez called the late driver "the Michael Jordan of NASCAR."
Kyle Busch Remembered
"He didn't really have to help me, and he gave me a hand when I needed it the most," says Suarez. "To have a legend like Kyle give me advice pretty much on a weekly basis for an entire year was extremely helpful, and I realized what kind of person he was."
Suarez believes Busch has safely secured a lasting legacy in the sport. But it was off the track that mattered.
"His legacy is going to live forever," he continued. "He's broken so many records in the sport, extremely talented driver, very outspoken on the things he believes in and he was always himself. That's the beautiful about human beings, right, that we all are different, and he never changed. He was always himself."
Following his passing, the Busch family and Richard Childress Racing released a statement. It read, "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. 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."
