Tennessee coach Rick Barnes reflects on Kyle Busch's tragic death and NASCAR's emotional tribute

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — The shocking decease of NASCAR's Kyle Busch is being felt crossed the world, with galore inactive successful disbelief that the legendary operator passed distant past week owed to complications from pneumonia, including Tennessee's Rick Barnes.

After a play filled with tributes from crossed aggregate sports leagues that see the NHL, MLB, IndyCar and the PGA, the quality is inactive shocking to grasp.

For some, watching NASCAR enactment unneurotic a beauteous tribute to the operator past play astatine the Coca-Cola 600 was conscionable the benignant of happening needed to assistance the athletics get done the days pursuing the tragic news.

KYLE BUSCH ON "HANG OUT WITH SEAN HANNITY"

After passing distant past Thursday astatine a section Charlotte hospital, quality of the untimely decease of Kyle Busch sent shockwaves done the sports community.

Kyle Busch and his son, Brexton Busch, question to fans during operator introductions earlier the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 astatine Daytona International Speedway successful Daytona Beach, Fla., connected Feb. 19, 2024. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

One of those fans who travel the athletics intimately is Tennessee hoops manager Rick Barnes, who grew up going to races successful Hickory, North Carolina.

An avid NASCAR follower, the shocking quality of Busch passing distant is inactive hard to rack his encephalon around.

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"Being a NASCAR fan, I was shocked, I couldn't judge it," Barnes told OutKick. "I was truly successful disbelief due to the fact that I was reasoning of Kyle Busch astatine 41 years aged and wondering however could this perchance happen. As i’ve followed it precise intimately I conscionable deliberation it got to a constituent wherever erstwhile you're his property you astir apt consciousness similar you tin flooded everything, and support going. It sounds similar helium pushed himself truly to astir similar a tragic death. 

"I tin lone ideate what it's similar for him, I’ve had double-pneumonia and I cognize what I felt like. I tin lone ideate him climbing into that simulator with those g-forces coming astatine him, it had to conscionable wholly overwhelm his whole...he astir apt couldn’t move."

Tennessee caput manager Rick Barnes protests a telephone during the archetypal fractional of an NCAA assemblage hoops crippled against Florida successful Gainesville, Fla., connected Jan. 7, 2025. (Alan Youngblood/AP)

NASCAR assemblage rallies astir household of Kyle Busch

From the opening montage featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr. connected Amazon Prime, to the countless drivers paying their respects to Busch successful antithetic manners, it wasn’t hard to announcement the interaction Busch had connected the NASCAR world.

But, it was the infinitesimal CEO Steve O'Donnell took the microphone to talk with the fans astatine location and successful the crowd, flanked by Kyle's woman Samantha and their 2 kids, the tenor changed.

As "Amazing Grace" was played, with NASCAR drivers lasting down the Busch family, the realization started to acceptable successful that we had mislaid a legend. For their part, the enactment did a fantastic occupation paying their respects to Kyle, portion his lad Brexton hugged his parent Samantha choky astir the hips.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childress, Samantha Busch, Brexton Busch and NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell basal connected the grid during a remembrance ceremonial for Kyle Busch earlier the Coca-Cola 600 astatine Charlotte Motor Speedway successful Concord, N.C., connected May 24, 2026. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

If anything, NASCAR knows however to grant those who were portion of their family, which Tennessee's Rick Barnes pointed out.

"I person large respect for NASCAR due to the fact that I deliberation they person the bushed connected America," Barnes recalled to OutKick. "The mode they respect what’s travel earlier them, they’ve ne'er mislaid their mode successful presumption of history. They’ve wholly continued to grant that. You person a feline who is genuinely 1 of the top ever, I thought they did a large occupation with that.

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"The bittersweet portion evidently is his woman and 2 kids close there, knowing that I deliberation helium wanted to 1 time contention his son, which is what makes NASCAR truthful beautiful."

It's wide that Kyle Busch volition permission a lasting bequest and ne'er beryllium forgotten, arsenic the NASCAR satellite continues to grant the legendary operator moving forward.