Denny Hamlin drove his wheels off and deserves all the credit, praise, and acclaim for winning Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Even with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe close on his heels, Hamlin’s veteran status and experience – not to mention his uncanny ability to predict where his homies were going to go on the last lap, and then cut them both off at the pass – allowed Hamlin to outlast the younger B-boys to earn his 62 Cup victory.

But from the drop of the green flag – actually, from pre-race driver introductions – until the checkers fell, something just didn’t feel right. Something was missing, or rather, someone was missing, and it’s a feeling we all are likely never going to get over: the absence of Kyle Busch.

Perhaps many have not realized it, but last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 was the first Cup race since 2000 in which there wasn’t a Busch brother entered in the starting field. Kurt’s career ended in 2022 due to the lingering effects of a concussion that forced his premature retirement from the sport.

And of course, there was Kyle’s tragic passing from pneumonia and sepsis three days before the Coca-Cola 600, something that’s still too hard to believe and come to terms with. We were all so stunned and walking around in a fog due to Kyle’s death that, oddly, sure, we missed seeing him and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the 600, but we had already been forewarned that he would not be racing at all that entire weekend anyway due to what was termed a “severe illness” (he planned on competing in all three races).

Yet we all knew Rowdy would potentially be back the following week in Nashville, challenging for the lead as he normally did.

That is, until the tragic news update several hours later that Busch had passed away at the far too young age of just 41, shaking the NASCAR and sports world to its core.

But Sunday, to many of us, including the thousands who stood up in the Nashville Superspeedway grandstands on Lap 8 (or even those at home in front of their TVs) and held up eight fingers to memorialize the younger Busch brother, the reality that he truly was gone, that we’d never see him and the No. 8 on the racetrack again or Kyle signing autographs or posing for photos for fans pre-race, really began to set in.

I’m betting countless fans watched Sunday’s race either from the stands or on Prime and subconsciously wondered numerous times where Busch was running in the race. There’s nothing wrong or morbid about feeling that way. It’s just that we had been so conditioned over Kyle’s nearly 25-year NASCAR career that his sudden absence remains unfathomable.

Except for the 11 Cup races he missed in 2015 due to foot and leg injuries suffered in a crash in the season-opening Xfinity Series race in Daytona – and yet he still came back after his rehab and recovery to win the Cup championship that season – as well as one missed race in 2011 due to a suspension, Busch was always there at every Cup race.

And even though his prowess and success had admittedly slipped in the last two-plus seasons, he still was Kyle Busch, the most dangerous driver in NASCAR. I don’t mean dangerous in a bad way; not at all. Rather, Busch was the most dangerous driver in the sport because, as he proved time and time again, even when others counted him out, he had the ability and talent to win from any position on the racetrack, even from last place, which he did several times.

We will never see Busch again, nor his No. 8. Well, at least not for the next seven years, when son Brexton will finally turn 18 and be eligible to reclaim his father’s old car number in the Cup ranks, as team owner Richard Childress promised after Kyle’s passing.

Instead, we will continue to see the transformed No. 33 in place of the No. 8 for the next seven seasons, and thus far, with Austin Hill behind the wheel of the 33 for now, as he did at both Charlotte and Nashville, finishing 27 in each race.

Notice I didn’t say Hill is Busch’s replacement, because no one could ever begin to replace Kyle and the 234 combined wins he had across the Cup, O’Reilly, and Truck Series, the most wins by far of any driver in NASCAR history, with Richard Petty ranked second with 200 wins in the Cup/Grand National series.

I mentioned a moment ago how we were so conditioned to see Busch literally here, there, and everywhere, from the back of the pack to the front of the field. Even if you didn’t like Busch personally and were not a fan of his, you’re lying if you deny that he was an incredible talent. He was his generation’s version of Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Like Earnhardt, Busch welcomed being put in the role of the guy with the black hat, the spoiler, or the next generation of The Intimidator. He reveled in knowing he was the guy so many loved to hate, but also the guy that so many more loved for his refreshing approach and talent, his diehard competitiveness and spirit, and the fact that he was perhaps the only guy in NASCAR who truly and firmly believed he could win every race he started.

I looked everywhere for Busch during Sunday’s race, from the broadcast to the in-race positions on the scoreboard. But neither he nor his No. 8 was anywhere to be found. I know it’s going to take a long time for many of us to come to grips with the fact that he’s truly gone and never will return.

But we can at least take solace in knowing that, thanks to places like YouTube, FOX Sports, Prime, USA, NBC, TNT, NASCAR.com, and ESPN, Busch’s memory and legacy will never be too far away or forgotten, allowing us to relive his greatness and not forget the enjoyment he brought to so many.

During his post-race press conference Sunday night, Hamlin took time to pay tribute to his former teammate and friendly rival:

“He certainly taught me a lot,” Hamlin said of Busch. “You see so many tributes and people have stories that you just didn’t know. I didn’t realize just a few months ago he had a Q&A, and he was asked who has he learned the most from teammate-wise, and he said me, and I was like that made me feel good. I didn’t realize that he had said that.

“Yeah, it was an honor to be his teammate for 15 years. He raised my game. Without him as a teammate, there’s no way I win the races I win, especially the ones like today.”

While Kyle Busch’s passing has left many in the NASCAR community heartbroken, it’s clear that those he impacted most will carry his memory forward and keep his spirit alive on the track.