By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer

NASCAR racing has been adjusting to a changed landscape in 2026 after one of the sport’s icons Kyle Busch died on May 21. The two-time Cup Series champion passed away due to pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, suddenly leaving the sport behind with an insurmountable level of legacy.

Since that day, the sport has done what it always has done after tragedy: Race on.

And that includes its drivers, who three days following Busch’s death had to race and compete in the Coca-Cola 600, one of the sport’s crown jewel races. Austin Hill drove his car that day and has continued to do so in the renumbered No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing.

Eleven races have now passed, each one without Kyle Busch. And though racing three-wide at 200 mph every week with sponsors to please and championship points to earn, the competitors are grieving.

AJ Allmendinger raced against Busch from 2007 all the way to this year in the Cup Series. The veteran is struggling to describe how the year has felt without Busch.

“I think every person is different, how they grieve, right?” Allmendinger told Kickin’ The Tires. “You just try to put your head down and focus on the task at hand. It’s not like you ever forget about it. But, you know, I think we all come to the racetrack and we have our own agendas of trying to be our best and that’s in a way, I wouldn’t say that’s how you heal, but that’s how you block it.”

It would be hard to find someone who was ready to race that Sunday morning at Charlotte in May. And in the months since, the fast-paced nature of the sport has, at times, felt too fast. May turned into June, then July and August. The tracks have all rolled out their tributes, race winners do their bows, fans sport their No. 8 flags and hats and their eight-finger salute on the eighth lap of every race. But what is always missing on the track and off is Kyle Busch the racer and the person.

Allmendinger enjoyed the person of Kyle Busch most of all.

“I definitely miss talking to him,” he said. “It’s not like we were best friends or hanging out or anything like that. But to be able to ask him questions at the racetrack, or more importantly, if I had questions and you just text him and he answers right back.

“You could be mad at him on the racetrack but he was the guy that I know I could call or text just with any question and it was 100% straight the answer. And he it wasn’t a quick answer. He would take the time if you needed it.

“And… you lose one of the best guys that you ever raced against. It’s hard, but like I said, I think every person’s different, but you just put your head a little bit in the sand and you go to work.

“He was real and it was fun. So, yeah, you miss that.”

Michael McDowell shared Allmendinger’s sentiments. The Spire Motorsports driver made his Cup debut in 2008, Busch’s breakout year in the sport. Three years later, he actually drove Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after one of Busch’s most controversial moments took him out of the seat for a race.

And as the sport continues to race on, McDowell is reminded of Busch’s footprint in the sport weekly and urges others to never lose perspective.

“Every week is a reminder,” McDowell said. “Because when you go back and you watch the races and you study the notes and you play back qualifying and practice and all that, you see the No. 8 car and it’s a reminder every week.

“I actually thought about that this week of, like, man… it’s sad. It really is. It’s still sad. And I know everybody processes it different, but it’s also a reminder for me every week to just think about Samantha and the kids.

“It’s so easy to get busy and lose perspective.”

Brad Keselowski has been finding those moments when he least expects them this summer.

The 2012 champion was one of Busch’s fiercest competitors, trading bumpers and tempers together for more than 15 years on the Cup level. He, like McDowell, comes across Busch’s No. 8 while reviewing tape for each race week.

“Where I notice it the most is when I watch races from the previous season,” Keselowski said, “and you see him in the field and you’re like, ‘Oh damn.’ You forget all about [him] and then you get those moments that remind you.

“There are those little moments for sure that… it hits you.”

One moment forthcoming will be next month at the Night Race at Bristol when Ty Gibbs will run Busch’s iconic M&M’s paint scheme under the lights. Gibbs has raced Busch’s renumbered Toyota since 2023 for JGR, the team he won seven times with at Bristol.

“It will obviously be one of those moments,” Keselowski said. “It’s fun to see people trying to do things to recognize him, whether that’s at this level — I don’t think the other levels are getting enough credit for the things they are doing.

“It’s rewarding to see those things. I think it means a lot to everybody in racing to see that he hasn’t been forgotten.

“It’s hard to find the right thing to do, but there are a lot of people trying.”

Ryan Blaney believes it will be cathartic to race against the M&M’s scheme again, as he did for the first eight years of his Cup career.

Just last week at Iowa Speedway, Blaney ran a tribute helmet that highlighted some of Busch’s top wins throughout his career.

“I did see Ty [Gibbs] was running and M&M scheme at Bristol and I think that’s great,” Blaney said. “It looked like it’s the base scheme, but then there’s a collage on it and I bet it’s gonna have a bunch of unique moments. We’ve done that at Penske before, kind of the history of Penske Racing and it’s gonna be the history of Kyle.

“It’s gonna be pretty eye-opening to see and M&M’s car back on the track and even in the 54 number. He ran the M&M’s No. 54 for a little bit on the [O’Reilly] side.”

Pushing through one of the sport’s biggest losses, the drivers are hand-in-hand with the fans, tracks and teams to keep the sport moving forward in Busch’s honor.

“I think it’s good that the tracks and the sport and the teams and the drivers are continuing to do things to remember Kyle and honor the Busch family and be as respectful as we can,” he said. “In the unfortunate, obviously, circumstances we don’t want to have pay tribute to Kyle Busch, but I think this is a really good way for the sport to show their respect to him and his whole family.”