There is one photograph taken at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the earlier part of the season that says more than any trophy ever will. Kyle Busch had just won the race in the Truck Series, his first win of 2026, and was mid-celebration when an unmistakable little figure began sprinting across the infield. Brexton, his son, arms wide open and racing the way only children can. Kyle got out of his truck. The hug that followed melted each heart, taking place right in the middle of the track.

And when Kyle died on May 21, that one photograph became Brexton’s new profile picture, and moved each one of us. It is important to remember, though, that Brexton’s Instagram page says, “Parent Managed”.

The picture was first posted as a photo to Brexton’s Instagram account on February 21 with the caption, “No. 68🏁 Pumped that @brextonbusch finally got to be here, I know this one means a LOT to him! Thx for being my wingman @carsonhocevar. 👊🏻”.

The moment then was adorable. After all, Kyle would be trackside at every single race that Brexton competed in, and Brexton would be at Kyle’s races. Now, all of Kyle’s teachings would be guiding the little one.

With that, Kyle was known for being extremely demanding as a coach. Once, he even addressed Brexton during a practice session, bluntly saying, “You’re slow, bro. Gotta deliver the hard truth to maximize potential.” However, the strictness came hand-in-hand with his dedication.

He did not just stand back and watch as a dad, clapping and giving support. He was there, critiquing, challenging, believing in what Brexton could do. And Brexton delivered.

Beginning his racing career from the age of five on the track of Millbridge Speedway, by age ten, he managed to win the INEX Bandolero Winter Nationals Championship and sweep all four feature races at the Southern Showdown race series at Florence Motor Speedway, in addition to securing the Golden Driller at the Tulsa Shootout, which was among the toughest youth racing circuits in the country.

It’s worth noting that Kyle’s winning streak actually started on the local circuit when he was just 13 years old and he was racing in the Truck Series at sixteen. Brexton is clearly running ahead of that curve, thanks to his father’s learnings. And that father-son duo, shaping the winning mindset together, leaning onto each other for motivation, was often captured through Samantha’s lens.

And just days before Kyle’s passing, Brexton’s 11th birthday pictures were put up, with the whole family together, completely ordinary. Nobody knew it would be among the last of those posts. Which is exactly why, when Kyle died, and the entire Busch family went silent, with nothing from Samantha, nothing from Brexton, and the silence itself began being revealing enough.

Richard Childress, though, broke his silence and rather loudly, which is only fitting.

The No. 8, a number Kyle had been personally involved in designing, would be suspended, replaced by the No. 33 going forward. The reason was stated without ceremony: “The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing.”

And fans have a lot of faith in Brexton.

Fans back Brexton with emotional support

The Earnhardt comparison came up fast, and it wasn’t an idle one. Dale Sr. died at Daytona in 2001, and Dale Jr. carried that name forward with enough substance. Kyle had built a fanbase of its own intensity, and that fanbase is already orienting around Brexton, the same way it once did around a young Dale Jr.

“This will be the next Dale Earnhardt,” one fan wrote.

Others spoke directly to Brexton: “Young man, keep your hands on the wheel and your foot on the accelerator. Your dad will be beside you always, you now carry the torch for the Bush name!”

Kyle’s plan was to turn Brexton into a complete racer, so he could garner respect on talent alone, and not family name. He also wanted to end his career at the same time Brexton would have started his. In Busch’s words:

“I would say in a perfect world – I’ve kind of dreamt this up a little bit – in a perfect world, I would retire from Cup racing when Brexton is 15 years-old and I’d go run a full Truck series season to see if I can win a Truck series championship

“When Brexton turns 16, him and I can split that truck where he can run the shorter track races and I can run the bigger track races. So, for two years, because you have to be 18 to run the big tracks, so for two years we would split it. And then when he’s 18, he takes it over, and then when he runs it and takes it over and hopefully wins a championship, then he moves on and then I’m out.”

One fan then chose to say the truest words: “Hang in there little man. I can’t imagine what you are going through. You had an amazing Dad. He loved you 100x more than winning in the highest stages.”

Amidst a 100+ race winless streak, Busch had made Brexton his motivation, saying that he wanted to set a good example for him, not one of giving up. What hit him hardest was that his son was old enough to notice, but too young to remember the years his father was untouchable.

“Just, it’s for me to show him that there’s a lot of work that goes into this. That it just doesn’t come easy. That you have to pour it in in order to get the results out of it,” he told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass at Talladega just weeks before his passing.

Brexton, he said, saw all of it, from the SMT film sessions to the data reviews and from team meetings to simulator runs midweek. Kyle never tried to hide the struggle. Instead, he was intent upon using it.

“There’s nothing that stands out to me other than wanting to go out there and win races or be competitive, because I’m raising a little racer myself,” he said.

Now, Brexton will carry his dad’s dream with him, using the belief Kyle had in him as motivation every time he gets behind the wheel.

Several other fans made sure to comfort Brexton and motivate him to keep pursuing his dream in NASCAR: “When you get to nascar you will have a bunch of fans cheering you on but no one bigger than your dad who will with you always and forever.”