The NASCAR world is still attempting to recover from the sudden death of legendary driver Kyle Busch on May 21 from hemorrhagic shock caused by a sepsis infection.
Last weekend, NASCAR held the first public memorial for Busch, the Celebration of Life at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Then on Friday, nearly five months after Busch’s death, his widow Samantha Busch made an emotional return to her popular “Certified Oversharer” podcast for the first time.
On the podcast, Samantha Busch unveiled ambitious plans to honor Kyle Busch’s legacy, from a national holiday to a traveling exhibit. But how many of her plans will become reality?
Samantha Busch Details Kyle Busch Legacy Plans
Busch wants Aug. 18 recognized as “National Kyle Busch Day.” The date, written 8/18, fuses the No. 18 he drove at Joe Gibbs Racing with the No. 8 he drove at Richard Childress Racing.
“I want to make 8/18 a national day,” Busch said on the podcast. She called for an annual race on that date, so her children can link it to celebration instead of sorrow. “I would love to, like, do a race on that day in his honor,” she said.
Her wish list kept growing. Busch hopes to stage a bigger Bowman Gray Stadium tribute with celebrity drivers, launch a “truck of chances” that hands financially strapped young drivers a few Truck Series starts, and tour a “Disneyesque” interactive exhibit at NASCAR events.
She has not yet pitched that last one. “I just really haven’t, like, given them a formal proposal for it,” she said of NASCAR.
She also promised news on the Bundle of Joy Fund, the infertility nonprofit she and Kyle founded.
“Those announcements will be coming soon,” Busch said, before adding that “none of this is set, but these are, like, my goals one day.”
Samantha Busch’s Public Appearances Since Kyle Busch’s Death
After Kyle Busch’s heartbreaking death, Samantha Busch broke her public silence June 5 with a social media message thanking supporters for carrying the family through “the most heartbreaking days of our lives,” according to NewsNation.
She faced a crowd again Aug. 21 at Bowman Gray Stadium, where the Kyle Busch Invitational raised money for the Bundle of Joy Fund. Busch gave a tearful speech to fans and closed it by telling the grandstands, “We race on.”
The biggest stage came Oct. 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. More than 10,000 fans filled the stands as Busch delivered a 10-minute speech, admitting, “I never fully understood what this sport meant until we lost him,” according to The Associated Press.
That same day, the NASCAR Hall of Fame opened a Kyle Busch exhibit featuring the No. 18 M&M’s car from his 2015 title run. The car display was selected by Samantha Busch herself.
Their 11-year-old son, Brexton, capped the night with a burnout in his father’s car while 4-year-old Lennix handed him the flag. On the podcast, Busch revealed how close the evening came to unraveling. “I almost didn’t make it up on stage,” she said, recalling how Kyle’s recorded voice over the speakers left her and both children sobbing before she prayed with members of her team.
Grief, she told listeners, hits hardest away from the milestones. “It’s the ordinary moments,” Busch said. She added that quiet nights at home hurt the most, which is why the projects matter to her. “I need these things to heal too.”
The podcast itself remains a work in progress. Busch described the episode as a first step back, not a full relaunch, and gave no timetable for when the next episode will be posted.
“I’m just kind of doing what I’m comfortable with day by day,” she said.
NASCAR Legend Kyle Busch’s Widow Samantha Makes Emotional Podcast Return