Not once, but thrice—that’s how many times Kyle Busch went sideways during the 2012 Budweiser shootout. Yet, nothing could stop Busch from winning the race that day at Daytona International Speedway. Back then, many of us became lifelong Kyle Busch fans as he edged out Tony Stewart for a well-deserved victory. And his son, Brexton Busch, was bound to have the same emotions.

In a video that recently surfaced online, the father-son duo can be seen going through the race highlights together. Busch first showed Brexton a framed image of himself going sideways in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing. Like any little one, Brexton couldn’t contain his excitement and wanted to know everything. As the highlights played, Busch walked him through the chaos lap by lap, and as Rowdy finally crossed the line in first, Brexton celebrated right alongside him.

That race Busch showed his son could’ve ended before it really began, as Kyle Busch was forced into a backup car after a practice crash on Friday, which meant NASCAR sent him to the back of the field for the race. From there, he navigated five cautions, made two extraordinary saves, including one when Jeff Gordon’s push sent him completely sideways, and then watched Gordon’s No. 24 barrel-roll down the frontstretch after the same sequence of contact.

Through all of it, Busch stayed on the lead lap, hunted down defending champion Tony Stewart on the final restart, and slingshot past him at the line to win by just 0.013 seconds, which became the closest finish in Shootout history at that point.

“I don’t know how many times I spun out, but I didn’t spin out, you know?” Busch joked then in Victory Lane.

But the race carried a lot of historical weight that Brexton is already old and experienced enough to feel – even if he fully grasps it years later. It was Busch’s first-ever Shootout victory, and the first for Toyota since the manufacturer entered NASCAR in 2006. And only 13 of the 25 starters completed all 82 laps, with just 10 on the lead lap at the finish. It was a carnage-filled race, truly.

The win made Crew chief Dave Rogers say that “Today, I think we eliminated all questions of who deserves credit,” referring to lingering doubts about whether Busch’s talent or his equipment deserved more of the credit for his wins.

Perhaps this was what Kyle Busch was talking about when he mentioned that he wanted to recover from his winless slump in the 2026 season and teach his son a lesson in never giving up. Busch knew how important it was for Brexton to see his father as a hero who never stopped racing at the top and stayed at his best level even at the peak of his career.

And the first race Brexton participated in since his father’s passing made one thing clear: Kyle Busch’s lesson surely reached his son.

Brexton Busch claims first top-10 after family tragedy

Nobody expected an 11-year-old to come back and race weeks after losing his father. Yet, Brexton Busch decided to honor his father and all that he taught him.

On Monday night, Brexton returned to Charlotte for the opening round of the CookOut Summer Shootout, competing in the Young Lions division in a neon green No. 18 Legends car, which is the same number his father won two Cup championships in for Joe Gibbs Racing. The car also carried a tribute decal reading “Rowdy 1985–2026” with the No. 51, the very number Kyle Busch used in Truck Series and Legends cars.

And starting 13th in a 25-lap race, Brexton sensed contact coming on the inside with about four laps to go, darted to the outside to avoid it, and drove his way to a P6 finish. Clearly, Brexton showed why the likes of Richard Childress have shown so much faith in his ability that RCR reserved his father’s no. 8 for him to carry forward when he is ready.