NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski reflected on the final time he interacted with his longtime rival Kyle Busch, just days before Busch’s death sent shockwaves through the motorsports world.
“I was flying to Dover last week with Kyle,” Keselowski, 42, told People on Monday, May 25, explaining that he and Busch were on the same flight “more by chance than anything else.”
Busch won the Ecosave 200 in Dover on May 15, the final race of his storied career. He died on Thursday, May 21, at the age of 41.
A representative for the Busch family revealed on Saturday, May 23, that he died of pneumonia that progressed “into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications.”
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“Kyle is normally a fairly gregarious person, very outgoing — and he wasn’t,” Keselowski said of their last exchange. “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.”
He added, “That was pretty much the last time I saw him.”
Keselowski said he had “visions before his death” about how his long-standing rivalry with Busch might play out as the two drivers entered into the twilight of their respective careers.
“I thought about this multiple times: What’s it going to be like when we’re both in the Hall of Fame and we’re doing some kind of ceremony together, whatever that might be? Will the hatchet be buried? I think so,” Keselowski said. “And will we actually be able to share a laugh about it? I guess in my mind, I hope so and now obviously not.”
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He continued, “The hard part is the closure was supposed to be when we were retired and when we were done racing together and I don’t think that’s just for me, by the way. I think that’s for a lot of people. And to not get that is tough.”
Keselowski noted that his relationship with Busch had evolved over the years, saying, “For whatever reason, Kyle and I had built into a relationship where although there’s 30-some other drivers on the racetrack, I valued meeting him more than anyone else.”
“It’s the middle of the season head-on one-on-ones that we had at different racetracks, and knowing he was the guy to beat and I was the guy to beat him,” he said. “And him knowing that, and kind of having that rivalry where we didn’t talk to each other. … When we were in settings together, we stood on opposite ends of the room. In the moment, that didn’t feel all that pleasant, but it sure beats the reality of today.”
