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Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Stories about Kyle Busch were everywhere Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as the sport tried to come to terms with the NASCAR superstar\u2019s unexpected passing.<\/p>\n Read more Chase Elliott wants to figure out a way for Kyle Busch to win \u2018Most Popular Driver\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n First came the news around 11:20 a.m. Saturday from the Busch family<\/a> that provided more information about Busch\u2019s cause of death.<\/p>\n \u201cThe medical evaluation provided to the Busch Family concluded that severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications,\u201d the family said in a statement.<\/p>\n After that came a torrent of stories from the garage.<\/p>\n Busch, who was 41, had been in the game so long \u2014 and had raced so often in all of NASCAR\u2019s three major series \u2014 that everyone had a core memory of the racer they called \u201cRowdy.\u201d And there was time to tell them, too. Many of Saturday\u2019s events got rained out at the speedway, which meant there were a lot of NASCAR folks sitting around, waiting for Sunday night\u2019s Coke 600 and exchanging memories.<\/p>\n Joe Gibbs, who owned the racing team Busch drove for when he won his two NASCAR Cup championships in 2015 and 2019, told one of the best. The former Super Bowl-winning coach is one of the most respected men in the NASCAR garage, and few would purposely criticize him.<\/p>\n Busch didn\u2019t mind doing so, though. He was a \u201cfreight train,\u201d as Gibbs said, and it was best to get on that train before you got run over.<\/p>\n At one race in New Hampshire, Busch finished second. This made Gibbs cringe, because he knew Busch was one of those guys with the opinion that finishing second just meant you were the first loser.<\/p>\n Gibbs went down to monitor Busch\u2019s interactions with the media because, as Gibbs noted: \u201cSometimes there might be something I could have to handle afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n Gibbs was pleasantly surprised to see that Busch wasn\u2019t laying waste to anybody in this particular press conference, though. The former NFL coach thought to himself: \u201cWell, gosh: He must be happy he finished second.\u201d<\/p>\n After the media availability was over, Busch strode directly over to his boss. He got in Gibbs\u2019 face and said three words: \u201cYour cars suck!\u201d<\/p>\n Then he walked off.<\/p>\n Gibbs laughed when he told this story on Saturday, and there has been a lot of laughter interspersed between the tears this weekend as the reality of Busch\u2019s sudden death sets in. People have begun to recover from their shock and remember him fondly, as they did in the days and weeks after Dale Earnhardt Sr.\u2019s death at the Daytona 500 in 2001.<\/p>\n Gibbs also told a story of when Busch, who often delighted in playing a villain, won a race at Bristol and was being booed by many fans as he got out of the car.<\/p>\n Instead of getting upset himself, Busch mimed wiping away fake tears to the crowd. Busch didn\u2019t drive for Gibbs the past several years, but all Joe Gibbs Racing cars will have \u201cRowdy\u201d on the nameplate above the door for Sunday\u2019s Coke 600 \u2014 one of many tributes scheduled.<\/p>\n Driver Brad Keselowski, with whom Busch butted heads off and on for years, said he hoped NASCAR\u2019s hall of fame in Charlotte would make a one-time exception and induct Busch along with the rest of the just-announced class.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand there\u2019s a lot of things to work through on that,\u201d Keselowski said. \u201cBut it\u2019s very clear Kyle\u2019s a first ballot hall of famer, and I don\u2019t know why that needs to wait another year.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more Who will win Coca-Cola 600? Our predictions, best bets for NC\u2019s biggest NASCAR race<\/a><\/p>\n Busch had asked for a doctor to \u201cgive him a shot\u201d during the race weekend at Watkins Glen earlier this month, but he then won a trucks race the following weekend at Dover \u2014 the last of his record 234 wins across NASCAR\u2019s top three series.<\/p>\n When asked if he thought Busch wasn\u2019t feeling well the past 10 days or so before his death Thursday, Keselowski said: \u201cYes, and I won\u2019t go into any specifics. But then when he ran the truck race (May 15), I think (that feeling of Busch being sick) was honestly kind of erased in my mind. I\u2019m not any level of doctor. But I do know the workload associated with running a double-duty weekend pretty well, having done it myself. He obviously executed at a very high level, winning one of the races, so I kind of was very dismissive of that (health issue).\u201d<\/p>\n Keselowski also said, however, that NASCAR drivers routinely put pressure on themselves to stay \u201chealthy,\u201d whether or not they really are.<\/p>\n \u201cRacing season is a very difficult season,\u201d Keselowski said. \u201cIt\u2019s 38 weekends a year, and there\u2019s a lot going on\u2026 I mean, shoot, I broke my leg \u2026 and had to power through it, because that\u2019s what the sport requires. … There\u2019s no shortage of drivers that would love to take my seat, or anybody else\u2019s seat, if we weren\u2019t doing well. And I think every driver feels that pressure, as most athletes do.\u201d<\/p>\n Several drivers said Saturday that Busch\u2019s death would be a wakeup call to them to monitor their own health more closely.<\/p>\n Said driver Joey Logano: \u201cImmediately I started thinking about: \u2018What are the things that I\u2019m putting off, health-wise, that I should be attacking right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Logano was both a teammate and a competitor with Busch over the years, and the two had antagonized each other several times. \u201cA rollercoaster relationship,\u201d Logano called it. But over the past few years, as each had children, they had started to mend their relationship and had recently played in a game of pickup basketball against each other at Talladega.<\/p>\n \u201cWho knows what would have been once we were done racing,\u201d Logano said. \u201cEverybody changes. And I think, when you\u2019re done racing, you bury the hatchet.\u201d Logano also noted that Busch had \u201ca ridiculous amount of grit\u201d and marveled at the reaction to Busch\u2019s sudden death that went \u201call the way to our president,\u201d as Logano said.<\/p>\n Indeed, President Donald Trump praised Busch on social media and mourned his death.<\/p>\n