Brexton Busch returns to racetrack 12 days after father Kyle Busch's death

Brexton Busch, the 11-year-old son of the late NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, has returned to the racetrack. He did so just 12 days after his father’s death.

Charlotte Motor Speedway posted a handful of pictures from the track on Tuesday evening, including one of Busch driving a No. 18 US Legend Car. On Wednesday morning, The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck confirmed that Brexton Busch had indeed “returned to the racetrack” on Tuesday night.

Brexton returned to the racetrack last night. https://t.co/y6QALWGoIL

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 3, 2026

Busch will undoubtedly have the support of the racing world behind him following his father’s sudden and untimely death. Kyle Busch, 41, died from complications of pneumonia that resulted in sepsis, triggering severe issues.

His health deteriorated rapidly over the course of his last 24 hours or so after Busch was found unresponsive in a racing simulator on May 20. He was dead a day later on May 21.

In the wake of his passing, the NASCAR world has mourned. Tributes have flown across the globe to the racing legend, who collected a record 234 wins across NASCAR’s top three divisions.

One of those tributes included a nod to Brexton Busch, Busch’s son who has just been getting into racing himself over the last several years. Richard Childress Racing has set aside Kyle Busch’s No. 8 car, reserving its future use for Brexton.

RCR reserving No. 8 car for Brexton Busch

In the wake of Kyle Busch‘s tragic death, Richard Childress Racing announced it has suspended use of the No. 8 car. It will choose to run the No. 33 car in its place moving forward. In a statement released by RCR the day after Busch’s death, the organization announced that the No. 8 will be reserved for Busch’s 11-year-old son, Brexton.

“Richard Childress Racing has elected to suspend use of the No. 8 and will run the No. 33 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and beyond,” the statement read. “Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR’s stylized No. 8 and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry. No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”

Richard Childress Racing is no stranger to shelving numbers following the deaths of their racers. Following Dale Earnhardt‘s death in 2001, his iconic No. 3 was shelved until 2013 (Cup Series), when it was pulled out of retirement for Austin Dillon.

On3’s Daniel Hager also contributed to this report.