Days before Kyle Busch was hospitalized in Charlotte and pronounced dead at 41, the NASCAR star asked his pit crew to find “Bill Heisel,” calling him the “kindred doctor guy” and saying he needed a shot after a race in Watkins Glen. It turns out Heisel is a ce
Kyle Busch sounded oddly specific from his pit box in Watkins Glen—then kept the request alive right up until his health took a fatal turn.
On May 10, during a NASCAR Cup Series race in Watkins Glen, New York, Busch was apparently dealing with a sinus issue late in the running. From his radio, he asked for help from Bill Heisel, a certified physician’s assistant who has spent years working with NASCAR teams.
“Can somebody try to find Bill Heisel?” Busch told the Richard Childress Racing crew. “He’s the kindred doctor guy. Tell him I need him after the race, please… I’m gonna need a shot.”
The details hit hard because Busch didn’t just mention Heisel—he positioned him as the person he trusted in the moment. referring to him as a “doctor” on air even though Heisel’s role is that of a physician’s assistant. Heisel has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and he is not accused of misrepresenting himself or his work.
Busch later told The Athletic on May 16 that he was still battling a cold heading into last Sunday’s All-Star race in Dover. Delaware. Then, as the weekend approached, the situation escalated quickly. On Thursday. he was abruptly pulled out of this Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 after being hospitalized in Charlotte with a “severe illness.” He was pronounced dead later in the day.
OrthoCarolina—where Heisel previously worked—issued a statement offering condolences to the Busch family and spelling out his background. “We are aware of media reports referencing Bill Heisel, PA-C [Physician Assistant – Certified],” the statement read. “Bill served as OrthoCarolina’s Director of Motorsports Medicine for more than a decade before departing in November 2025 to pursue full-time motorsports medicine with a private organization.” The statement added that OrthoCarolina is “no longer” involved in motorsports medicine.
Attempts to contact Heisel for further comment were unsuccessful.
Heisel’s path into racing medicine began after he noticed that NASCAR crews didn’t have the same medical resources available in other professional sports. He previously worked with North Carolina pro teams including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. In NASCAR, he has also gone beyond treating drivers—speaking about injuries affecting pit crews as well. In remarks from 2023 on SpectrumLocalNews.com. he said: “We probably see more injuries associated with pit crews than we do drivers in the grand scheme of things.”.
Heisel also co-authored a 2016 study on NASCAR-related injuries. That research found that most injuries were linked to accidents or syndromes tied to heavy electrical equipment, and it concluded drivers were most at risk for “neuropathies, such as hand-arm vibration syndrome.”
What Busch faced in his final days appears connected to the same type of ailments he described earlier. The illness he claimed was ongoing showed up again after Watkins Glen. Busch said last week that he was still dealing with sinus problems that bothered him in New York—adding in his May 16 interview: “You can kind of still hear it. I’m still not great. but the cough was pretty substantial last week.”.
He would later win a NASCAR Truck Series race before his condition worsened.
As the Associated Press reported, Busch became unresponsive while using a racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina on Wednesday. He was transported to a Charlotte hospital and pronounced dead on Thursday.
The 911 call detailing what was happening before the hospitalization captured an alarming progression. The caller told 911 operators on Wednesday evening: “I’ve got an individual that’s shortness of breath. very hot. thinks he’s going to pass out. and he’s producing a little bit of blood. coughing up some blood.”.
Busch is survived by his wife, Samantha, son Brexton, and daughter Lennix.
It remains unclear what exactly killed the 41-year-old driver. But the record of his May 10 request—seeking Bill Heisel’s immediate attention. asking for a “shot. ” and later saying he was still not fully well—creates a stark thread between a radio call in the heat of competition and the abrupt severity that followed.
Heisel, for his part, has not been accused of wrongdoing, and the public dispute here is not about intent. It’s about what Busch was experiencing, who he believed could help him, and how quickly a manageable illness can turn into something far more dangerous.
Kyle Busch Bill Heisel physician assistant NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Watkins Glen Richard Childress Racing OrthoCarolina Dover All-Star race severe illness Charlotte hospital