Kyle Busch spent a quarter-century turning boos into fuel. On a Tuesday night in Miami, though, the sound that followed his name was warm, sustained and unmistakably for him, and the man who built a career on being impossible to ignore was not there to hear it.
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“Thank you for this incredible honor and for continuing to show Kyle so much love. There was no Rowdy without the fans, and there will never be another Rowdy because there is truly no one else like Kyle. Thank you,” Samantha Busch said while accepting her late husband’s 2026 National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver Award at the NASCAR Awards ceremony in Miami on November 10, as posted by NASCAR via X.
The fan-voted honor, presented at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, was the first of his 25-year career. It also made him only the second driver to win the Cup Series award posthumously, after Dale Earnhardt in 2001, and the first driver outside the Elliott and Earnhardt names to take it since Darrell Waltrip in 1990.
Kyle Busch died on May 21 at 41. His family said severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications.
Samantha opened by congratulating Kyle Larson and his wife, Katelyn, on Larson’s third Cup Series championship, then turned to the love Kyle has received since his death.
“There’s been so much love for Kyle from this sport over the past several months, and I wish more than anything that he could be here to see it. He gave so much of his life to racing, and I know it would mean the world to him to see the impact he had on NASCAR and the people who love it,” she said.
She addressed the personality that made Kyle one of the garage’s most recognizable figures. His outspoken streak divided opinion, but she made clear he never reshaped himself to win over critics.
“Kyle never changed who he was to make people like him. He was passionate, outspoken, and fiercely competitive. He was rowdy through and through,” she said.
That identity extended to the grandstands, cheers and boos alike.
“Whether you cheered for him or booed him, he gave you something to make noise about, and he loved that. To Kyle, that passion was what made this sport so special. Seeing that same passion bring everyone together to honor him has been incredible,” she added.
Samantha thanked Chase Elliott and the other drivers who urged their supporters to vote for Kyle. Elliott, who had won the award eight straight times from 2018 to 2025, asked the National Motorsports Press Association to remove him from consideration in 2026. She said the respect from the competitors who raced against her husband meant a great deal to the family.
Fans were central to her tribute, too. She recalled how Kyle loved packed grandstands, meeting families and seeing children light up over an autograph. He knew supporters gave their time and hard-earned money to follow his career, she said, and he never took that for granted.
For Samantha, though, the award’s deepest meaning lies with their children, Brexton and Lennix.
“What makes this award extra special to me is what it gives to Brexton and Lennix. They miss their dad in ways that I can’t even begin to explain,” she said.
She explained that the honor lets them see how their father made people feel and how much he meant to the NASCAR community. Knowing they will have that reminder of the man they love was especially important to her as their mother.
Samantha Busch has continued to speak about Kyle Busch’s legacy
This was not the first time Samantha has spoken publicly about life after Kyle. In June, she shared an Instagram post on navigating grief while raising their two children, writing that she had lost her partner and best friend but remained a mother whose responsibilities did not pause.
In August, she received the Seeds of Hope Award at the Carlos Rodón Foundation’s Willow Gala, where she reflected on the heartbreak of losing Kyle. She voiced hope that his legacy would live on through their children, racing and the work they built together through the Bundle of Joy Fund.
On the red carpet before the ceremony, Samantha revealed how badly Kyle wanted this award in his lifetime. He tried to rally fans to vote for him and, on one occasion, mistakenly believed he had finally won because he did not see Chase Elliott at the event. When he learned otherwise, he asked NASCAR for the voting numbers to see how close he had come.
Kyle finished with two Cup Series championships, 63 Cup wins and a record 234 victories across NASCAR’s three national series. The trophy he chased for years now sits beside numbers that explain only part of his story.