If you ever mentioned Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski in the same breath, one moment stands out. Back in 2010 at the Bristol Motor Speedway during the driver introductions, Keselowski said, “Kyle Busch is an a*****.” That moment has gone on to become truly iconic, and it showed how big their rivalry was. Who would have guessed that 16 years later, Keselowski’s opinion of Busch would be completely different?

Brad Keselowski reflects on his relationship with Kyle Busch

Ahead of the Coca-Cola 600, tragedy struck the NASCAR community when news broke that Kyle Busch had passed away. A statement later revealed that he had severe pneumonia, which turned into sepsis, ultimately proving fatal. The NASCAR world has been sharing their true feelings in what has been an emotional week for the sport, with his former rival Brad Keselowski also opening up.

Keselowski told Marty Smith, “I think for a lot of us, it just hasn’t sunk in. I raced with the guy just five days ago, flew on an airplane with him 7 days ago. He won a race on Friday of last week, and in some ways, this was a guy I expected to be racing with till the end of my career. I think a lot of people in the garage feel the same way, I’m just completely shocked.”

Aged 41, Busch was still suiting up every week for Richard Childress with the same passion he had as a young driver. Even when things were not going well on the track, Busch was a crowd puller, a credit to his ‘Rowdy’ racing style.

However, he was not always a favorite to drive against, especially for Keselowski. The two clashed several times during their years racing together. The first most recognisable incident came in 2012, when Keselowski made contact with Busch and spun him out to win the Cup race at Watkins Glen International.

Busch even once called Keselowski a “dirty racer,” after the latter’s contact sent Busch into the wall at the 2016 Xfinity race in Bristol.

When Brad Keselowski came into the Cup Series, Busch had already won his first championship. While Keselowski ended up making a great career for himself, even securing the Cup Series in 2012, he credited Busch for his stellar career, despite all that had happened in the past, which indicates how respected the driver was.

“There’s no doubt that Kyle made me a better racer. We’re here at Charlotte Motor Speedway, I can remember races with him on ESPN over the last 10-15 years,” said Keselowski in the interview. “Losing to him, coming back and saying, ‘This is what we’re going to do better to beat him’, and beating him. Without that, I wouldn’t be the racer I am. I owe a lot of my success to key learnings from him. They weren’t always fun; we weren’t friends, we were rivals, no doubt about it. But he made me a better racer, and he made this sport better.”

Busch was always a factor in races. Even when he was not winning, Busch knew how to put on a show, which is what separated him from many others. While his passing has left a void that will be hard to fill, the success he has achieved in the sport is going to be extremely difficult to replicate.

Kyle Buch’s records could go untouched

When Busch made his Cup debut, he was touted as a generational talent, even as a teenager. What’s amazing is that in his full-time debut season, he bagged two wins at the Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Since then, he has gone on an absolute tear, racking up wins every year for 19 years, breaking Richard Petty’s record. 63 Cup wins, 102 O’Reilly’s wins, and 69 Truck wins make him the winningest driver in NASCAR history.

The only person close to Busch’s 234-win record in NASCAR is Richard Petty with 200. The next active driver is Keselowski, with 76 wins across the three racing competitions. It is tough to imagine anyone in the current era breaching Kyle Busch’s record, especially with the poise that he showed. To cement his legacy, Richard Childress Racing team decided to retire his #8 number. It will only be available for his son, Brexton Busch, when he eventually reaches NASCAR.

While many talents have come into NASCAR and made a name for themselves, very few have managed to leave an impact at Busch’s level. His style was different from the traditional drivers, but that is what got many into loving NASCAR. While his death is hard to process for anyone who has ever loved NASCAR, one thing that will forever be engraved in people’s memories is what he did on the tracks over the years.