We continue our ‘Kyle Busch Remembered’ series with his most iconic moments from Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he won 18 races between Cup, O’Reilly and Trucks.
Busch went on to earn a record 234 career NASCAR national series wins — more than any other driver in history. His final victory came just days before his unexpected death at the age of 41 in May. He was preparing for the upcoming weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte at the GM Technical Center in Charlotte when he suffered a severe medical emergency as his pneumonia progressed into sepsis.
In honor of Busch, we’ve been highlighting his most impressive, memorable, or even infamous moments at whatever track is up next on the NASCAR Cup schedule.
Previously, we covered Atlanta, Sonoma, Nashville, Michigan, Pocono, Chicagoland, Indianapolis, Richmond, New Hampshire, Daytona, Darlington, Gateway, Bristol, Kansas, and his home track of Las Vegas — which you can find by clicking the names of each track as mentioned.
NASCAR returns to Charlotte this weekend, and Busch”s 11-year-old son Brexton drove his father’s Cup car in a special ceremony on Friday at the track.
And now, here’s a look back at Rowdy’s most memorable Charlotte moments from over the years:
Kyle Busch Charlotte NASCAR Stats
NASCAR CUP: 37 starts / 1 win / 3 poles / 16 top fives / 22 top tens / 1487 laps led
O’REILLY: 27 starts / 9 wins / 2 poles / 19 top fives / 23 top tens / 1509 laps led
TRUCKS: 16 starts / 8 wins / 3 poles / 13 top fives / 18 top tens / 789 laps led
NASCAR Cup 2018: History-making Coca-Cola 600 win
In 37 Cup starts at Charlotte, KB only has one points-paying win at the track. That victory came in dominant fashion in 2018, collecting a crown jewel as he won the Coca-Cola 600. He started from pole, leading a remarkable 377 of 400 laps (565.5 of 600 miles) en route to the victory. Busch also swept all the stages, and by winning the race, made history as the first driver to win at every active track on the schedule. That later changed when new circuits were added in the years that followed, but it was still wildly impressive. “Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of this” said KB after the win.
NASCAR Cup 2017: All-Star Race victory
Busch earned his lone victory in the All-Star Race in 2017, when the event was still held at Charlotte. He restarted third for the final stage, and immediately went three-wide for the lead on the restart. It was a super aggressive pass on Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, but it was the winning move as he held the lead for the remainder of the final ten-lap sprint.
Other All-Star Race moments (2007, 2009, 2010): Epic battle, teammate feud, clashing with brother
In the 2007 Charlotte All-Star Race, Kyle clashed with his older brother, Kurt. The infamous encounter took place with 19 laps left in the race. Kyle got alongside Kurt in the battle for second, and the two brothers slammed doors down into Turn 1. Kyle lost control and spun, taking Kurt with him. The brothers were so angry about it, they didn’t reconcile until a forced Thanksgiving sitdown months later.
But that was far from KB’s only wild moment in NASCAR’s All-Star Race at Charlotte. In 2009, he was in the middle of a three-wide battle for the win, which ended in contact as he, Jeff Gordon, and Ryan Newman collided at the exit of Turn 1. One year after that, Busch had a run-in with teammate Denny Hamlin in the All-Star Race. Battling for the lead, Hamlin squeezed Busch and he hit the wall. After exiting the race, he angrily climbed from the car and walked into his teammate’s hauler, saying on the radio: “Someone better keep me away from Denny Hamlin after this race…”
Sounding off (NASCAR Truck 2018 & NASCAR Cup 2017) ‘Pure talent’ and mad after mileage loss
Busch was always good for a soundbite, and a couple of his more infamous ones happened at Charlotte. During the 2018 Truck race, he had to claw back from multiple pit road issues, including two penalties. He went on to finish second, and as we all know, KB hates to lose. When asked post-race about how he managed such a comeback, he said: “Pure talent. That’s about it. My pit crew did absolutely nothing to help me out tonight. My truck drove like sh*t, and these splitters are absolutely horrendous. You can’t pass in traffic, you can’t race alongside anybody, you can’t get within five truck lengths of no one but somehow, someway, I was able to get back to the front. Had a blast.”
The previous year, he finished second in the Coca-Cola 600. He lost only because Austin Dillon stretched the fuel to pull off an unexpected win. When asked if he was surprised and his thoughts on Dillon’s first win, Busch curtly replied: “I’m not surprised about anything. Congratulations.” He then promptly dropped the mic to the ground in a presser that lasted less than 60 seconds.
Truck and O’Reilly domination at Charlotte (and becoming the youngest winner in Truck Series history)
Kyle Busch victory circle
Photo by: Kurt Dahlstrom
This isn’t about a particular moment, but we wanted to highlight just how impressive KB was in the lower divisions at Charlotte. Between 2004 and 2020, he won nine O’Reilly races at Charlotte — the site of both his second and 97th wins at that level, winning a total of 102 races in the series during his career. He won four out of five races there between 2008 and 2009, finishing third in the only race he lost during that time frame.
It’s a similar story in Trucks, winning eight races there between 2005 and 2019, including four out of five at one point in the early 2010s. His very first of 60 NASCAR Truck Series wins came at Charlotte, leading 77 of 135 laps there in 2005 while driving the No. 15 for Billy Ballew. By winning that race at just 20 years old, he broke Ricky Hendrick’s record as the youngest winner in Truck Series history. That record has since fallen as well, but at the time, it was unusual young driver school the veterans of the Truck Series.
Watch: Brexton Busch honors dad Kyle with burnout, signature bow
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