Dale Earnhardt Jr. Details Final Conversation With Kyle Busch Before NASCAR Driver's Death

And because their last conversation was so unremarkable, and because Busch’s death was so unexpected, Earnhardt confessed it was “extremely” difficult to learn his fellow athlete had died. Nevertheless, he’s found some comfort in the week since. 

“What I’ve enjoyed, I guess, is learning more about Kyle the person,” Earnhardt explained. “We know who he is on the race track, we know how he is on the race track and in the media, and so forth. What he was like at the track with the suit on and in that environment. I knew him on a personal level."

Now, the 51-year-old said he’s gotten to know more about how Busch was with the other people in his life. 

“Hearing how he interacted and how he was to others, the joke they may have shared in a text,” Earnhardt considered, “I’ve really enjoyed learning who he was away from the track and how he interacted and engaged, or treated, or talked to other people, and it’s been good.”

Busch’s family confirmed he had died just hours after being hospitalized for a severe illness May 21, which was later confirmed to be pneumonia that evolved into sepsis. 

“Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch,” the organization wrote in a post on X. “A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.”