Danica Patrick said Kyle Busch’s sudden death is a “devastating loss,” after Busch’s family disclosed that severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis. Busch died Thursday, May 21 at 41.
Kyle Busch’s death moved quickly from shock to grief across motorsports—after his family revealed the illness that led to his passing.
Danica Patrick, a former NASCAR and IndyCar driver, addressed Busch’s sudden death publicly after learning of his condition. Busch died Thursday, May 21, at 41 years old. On Friday. Patrick appeared on a live airing of “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich. ” describing the moment she heard something was wrong as something she initially misunderstood.
“I think that we’re all just shocked. We’re sad,” Patrick said. “… I feel like it hasn’t even hit. It’s just something that no one expected. When I first heard something was wrong, I thought he was driving something, but it was something completely different.”
Busch’s family later put a clearer timeline on the tragedy. On Saturday, May 23, the family announced that the two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner died of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.
Patrick said the news carried a double blow: not only the loss of a friend to many. but the end of a competitive force that NASCAR fans knew well. “Love him or hate him, Kyle Busch was a figure,” Patrick said. “He was a polarizing figure. and he was an incredible driver that will go down as being one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever. That’s a loss in another way, too.”.
She also looked back at the time they shared in NASCAR’s top tier. Patrick said that while they competed together from 2012-2018, Busch was typically the faster driver.
“He was a lot faster than me most of the time.” Patrick described what it looked like when Busch reached his best—an intensity drivers rarely show for long, and one fans could feel even when the cars weren’t in their field of view.
“When a driver is out there on track, this is almost like an altered state of focus,” Patrick said. “The drivers that could access that next level of like, ‘go mode’ were able to be the best drivers. In my mind I was thinking about him, but he was able to get to that next level so often. He was just incredibly fast and incredibly passionate and always wanted to be the best.”.
The illness details released by Busch’s family—severe pneumonia progressing into sepsis—added a harsh new reality to a death that initially landed as sudden news for the sport. Patrick’s comments captured that collision: the disbelief of unexpected loss. followed by the weight of a legacy that will linger far beyond the track.
Kyle Busch Danica Patrick NASCAR IndyCar severe pneumonia sepsis Dan Dakich Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich NASCAR Cup Series