The unexpected passing of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch has prompted experts to issue a stark warning about the dangers of pneumonia and its potential to become deadly.
Kyle Busch, a celebrated two-time NASCAR champion and father of two, passed away unexpectedly on May 21 at the age of 41. According to the Associated Press, he became unresponsive while using a racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina, just a day before his death. Witnesses noted he had been experiencing severe symptoms, including coughing up blood.
Medical examinations later revealed that Busch succumbed to ‘severe pneumonia,’ which escalated into sepsis, a critical and life-threatening condition.
A spokesperson for Kyle Busch Companies shared that the medical assessment provided to Busch’s family detailed a series of events that led to “rapid and overwhelming associated complications.”
Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in the air sacs of the lungs. It can be triggered by bacteria, viruses, or even fungi, making it a serious health concern.
The condition typically develops as a result of an additional illness, such as a flu or severe cold.
It is fairly common as millions of people are diagnosed every year – most often during respiratory virus season. About 1.2 million emergency department visits are attributed to pneumonia and approximately 40,000 people die from it, according to the CDC.
In the days since his death, concerning details emerged about Busch’s final weeks, with many pointing to signs that he was struggling with a medical issue shortly before.
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch has died at the age of 41 shortly after being hospitalized
Busch and his wife, Samantha, on a trip to New York City in 2019
During a race in upstate New York on May 10 he could be heard radioing for medical assistance from his car in an audio clip that Fox NASCAR shared on X.
With 38 laps to go, he could be heard telling his team to fetch Dr Bill Heisel, a longtime physician assistant often utilized by NASCAR for trackside medical needs.
‘Tell him I need him after the race, please…’ he said. ‘I’m going to need a shot.’
According to the Fox TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.
Following a later race on May 15, Busch, who is survived by his wife Samantha and their two children, Brexton, 11, and Lennix, four, admitted that he was still struggling with a ‘substantial’ cough in an interview with The Athletic.
Dr Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious disease at South Shore Health near Boston, told the Daily Mail that the infection that was causing Busch’s reported ‘sinus cold’ in the weeks leading up to his death ‘could have progressed to pneumonia or could have left him vulnerable for a secondary infection of the lungs by a different microbe.’
Busch is survived by wife Samantha and their children Brexton, 11, and Lennix, four
The racing icon was found unresponsive in a simulator last week
Symptoms of pneumonia often include a fever, weakness, a cough that produces phlegm, shortness of breath, confusion or delirium, chest pain, pleurisy (chest pain with a deep breath) and rapid breathing.
Pneumonia is diagnosed through a physical exam in which a doctor listens to a patient’s lungs for abnormal breath sounds, along with a detailed patient history or recent infections and symptoms.
If pneumonia is suspected, an X-ray or CT scan of the lungs is ordered to confirm inflammation. Depending on the type of pneumonia and what is causing it, treatment includes antibiotics or symptom management with supportive therapies.
It is not known whether Busch was receiving care for any ongoing illness or whether he was evaluated for pneumonia.
Ellerin, who has not treated Busch as a patient, added that sometimes pneumonia isn’t immediately suspected if a person has what seems like a run-of-the-mill cold but otherwise looks fine.
‘Some patients can present initially looking well with what we call an upper respiratory tract infection involving sinuses or cold-like symptoms or even lower respiratory tract symptoms involving bronchitis but without pneumonia,’ he said. ‘A minority of these infections can progress to pneumonia at a later time point.’
Dr Omer Awan, a board-certified radiologist and professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who has also not evaluated Busch as a patient, told the Daily Mail that it is possible Busch’s ‘sinus cold’ was an upper viral infection.
‘Viral infections are known to become super infected with bacteria,’ he said. ‘This could have then caused a bacterial pneumonia – although this is speculative.’
Busch radioed his team to ask for a doctor in the middle of his penultimate NASCAR race
The NASCAR legend with Samantha and Brexton at a 2024 Las Vegas Raiders game
Other doctors, who have also not seen Busch as a patient or evaluated his health or medical records, told Daily Mail that pneumonia is a common cause of sepsis, which is the body’s extreme overreaction to an infection.
Sepsis, which impacts about 1.7 million adults and 18,000 children in the US, can occur if there is delayed treatment or lack of appropriate treatment of pneumonia.
‘Think of pneumonia like a snow storm and sepsis like a blizzard,’ Ellerin said. ‘You can do all the right things to prepare for a blizzard but it can still be overwhelming.’
Awan said that ‘pneumonia can progress to sepsis if the infection is severe or aggressive and the immune system mistakenly senses a widespread threat to the body.’
‘In response,’ he added, ‘our immune system mounts not only a targeted response to the infection but also mistakenly attacks normal healthy tissues and organs, which can injure many organs like the kidneys liver and heart. Widespread injury and inflammation can lead to organ failure and ultimately death if not treated appropriately and quickly.’
Once a patient develops sepsis, it can lead to multi-organ failure, uncontrolled bleeding, poor oxygenation and stiff lungs that make breathing difficult, eventually resulting in death.
Busch, who competed in more than 760 races during a storied 24-year career, is believed to have collapsed the day before his death while using a racing simulator in a presumed practice session for the Coca-Cola 600, which was held on Sunday. NASCAR held a tribute to Busch before the race, and the late driver’s wife was in attendance – she broke down into tears while embracing their two children.
Samantha broke down into tears alongside her son during NASCAR’s tribute on Sunday
‘I’ve got an individual that’s shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and he’s producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood,’ the 911 caller was heard telling operators on the emergency call that day.
The caller repeatedly explained Busch was ‘awake’ and lying on the bathroom floor as he waited for paramedics to arrive.
Dr Roberto Swazo, a pulmonologist at Orlando Health told the Daily Mail that pneumonia and sepsis together can also lead to septic shock and respiratory failure, causing the lungs to no longer be able to provide enough oxygen to keep organs functioning properly.
‘Even with aggressive treatment in the intensive care unit, sepsis and septic shock carry a significant risk of death, particularly in older adults and patients with underlying health conditions,’ he added.
According to the CDC, at least 350,000 adults and more than 1,800 children who develop sepsis die.
In the wake of his death, it has emerged that the larger-than-life driver appeared out of sorts during final encounters with fans and friends.
The day before he died, California woman Pamela D Hauck ran into Busch after traveling to Charlotte to watch him race at the Coca-Cola 600.
Hauck and two other women took a photo with the NASCAR great after meeting him at the Richard Childress Racing Museum on Wednesday, and in a post on Facebook she revealed he was ‘not feeling great’ at the time.
The Las Vegas native won championships in 2015 and 2019 with Joe Gibbs Racing
Busch celebrates after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ECOSAVE 200 on May 15
In the comments section, Hauck was asked by another user if she noticed anything that was ‘off’ about Busch.
‘He was definitely off,’ she responded, ‘… not feeling great just not himself, but we were so damned excited he was there it was a special treat.’
She also claimed that Busch seemed ‘like he had a bad cold or [was] getting over the flu’ and ‘just crummy.’
Andrew Murstein – who was friends with Busch for roughly 20 years – has raised the possibility that his good pal may have been struggling with an illness three weeks ago, too.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Murstein, an American tycoon and former NASCAR team owner, explained how Busch recently backed out of a ‘sports-themed’ dinner he was hosting at legendary NYC restaurant Rao’s.
‘I don’t know if he was feeling ill at the time and he didn’t want to tell me, but he wasn’t able to come,’ Murstein said.
Most recently, Busch’s bitter rival Brad Keselowski shared that their final exchange had lacked their typical fiery rapport.
Keselowski, who even admitted that the pair ‘were not friends’ due to their sporting battles, happened to bump into Busch as they traveled to Dover, Delaware, for the NASCAR All-Star race four days before Busch’s death.
Brad Keselowski during the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday. He said he noticed his rival wasn’t feeling well the last time he saw him
Keselowski shared that their final exchange outside the track lacked their typical fiery rapport
He claimed there was instantly something amiss with his rival’s usually boisterous manner.
‘Kyle is normally a fairly gregarious person, very outgoing – and he wasn’t,’ Keselowski told People. ‘He sat down one row behind me and next to me and fell asleep right away and I could tell he wasn’t feeling well.
‘I didn’t really think that much of it, to be honest. And that was pretty much the last time I saw him.
‘We were in a race and you get in a race and you don’t really see each other. So I saw him on the racetrack.’
