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It’s been more than two months since Kyle Busch’s sudden death, and understandably things aren’t getting any easier for his widow.
In a series of Instagram stories, Samantha Busch said some nights without her late husband are “almost unbearable.”
“You are still the last thing I see when I close my eyes and the first thing when I wake up,” Busch wrote Sunday, along with photos of the pair by her bedside.
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Kyle Busch, driver of the M&M’s No. 18 Toyota, and his wife Samantha Busch stand on the grid during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 2, 2014. (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
“At night, when the kids go to bed, the silence and loneliness is almost unbearable. I sleep tucked on my side of the bed with a body pillow and his shirt pretending he’s still next to me. I hate it so much that his shirt doesn’t smell like him anymore.”
Busch died on May 21 after severe pneumonia turned into sepsis, sandwiched between the Coca-Cola 600 and his eventual victory.
The two-time NASCAR champion collapsed during a simulator session prior to the Coca-Cola 600 and was rushed to the hospital. He died the next day.
Busch was a two-time Cup champion and undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer. He had been in the Cup Series since 2004, making 762 career starts with 63 wins.
Kyle Busch celebrates his victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., on September 5, 2014. (Steve Helber/AP)
KYLE BUSCH’S SON SUFFERED EMOTIONALLY HEARTBREAK IN RETURN TO RACE AFTER FATHER’S PREVENTIVE DEATH
The 41-year-old won the championship in 2015 and 2019 and had 234 wins across all three NASCAR national series.
Busch holds the all-time record for wins in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69).
Busch’s 234th and final NASCAR victory came at Dover a week before his death, when he led 147 laps in a dominating Truck Series win.
“You never know when the last one is,” Busch said after the win.
Kyle Busch celebrates with daughter Lennix Busch, son Brexton Busch and wife Samantha Busch in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 at Echo Park Speedway in Hampton, Ga., on Feb. 21, 2026. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
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Busch’s last Cup Series win came in June 2023. While he struggled for most of this season, he started on the pole in February’s Daytona 500 and was coming off a season-best eighth-place finish four weeks ago at Watkins Glen.
