Cards
NASCAR collectors will honor Kyle Busch the best way they know how
It is painful when we lose our sports heroes.
It is gut-wrenching when we lose them in the prime of their careers.
We have lost some true legends way too early, from baseball stars Roberto Clemente and Thurman Munson to basketball’s Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, and football player and American hero Pat Tillman. Just two years ago, the NHL lost popular American star Johnny Gaudreau.
And it never seems to end, with the sudden passing of NBA player Brandon Clarke on May 11.
Then, on May 21, the sports world suffered a huge jolt with the shocking death of 41-year-old NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch.
Busch was one of the greatest race car drivers in the world and a true racing legend. The two-time Cup Series champion had won more races than any driver in NASCAR history with a record 234 wins across the three national series. His 63 Cup wins are ninth all time, and he owns the record for wins in the O’Reilly (102) and Truck Series (69).
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A first-ballot Hall of Famer, Busch was a racer’s racer. He was NASCAR’s most accomplished active driver and it’s most polarizing star. A fiery, intense, outspoken competitor, no one wanted to win more, or hated losing worse. He rubbed fenders and ruffled feathers, and then taunted his rivals and haters.
Auto racing, one of the most dangerous sports in the world, has lost its share of legends, from NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt to Formula 1 hero Ayrton Senna. NASCAR has been hit particularly hard, losing stars Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison and young Adam Petty before Earnhardt’s 2001 death sent shock waves around the world. Just five months ago, former NASCAR star and Hurricane Helene hero Greg Biffle and his family were killed in a plane crash.
Like Earnhardt, Rowdy Busch relished his role as NASCAR’s biggest villain. Brutally honest, he spoke his mind, mocked his critics, and then bowed to booing fans after win after win.
But as his marvelous career wound to a close, NASCAR fans, as they are wont to do, had a dramatic change of heart, embracing Busch and showing great respect for his talent and accomplishments. They routinely cheered him after he matured into a proud father, a noted family man, a mentor to young drivers, and a charitable, compassionate person.
That’s why his sudden death from a serious illness stunned the whole racing community and shocked the sports world.
“We lost our Kobe Bryant,” NASCAR star and former Busch teammate Denny Hamlin said.
In a sport that now boasts NBA legend and winning car owner Michael Jordan, Kyle Busch was NASCAR’s biggest star.
“He was our Michael Jordan, our Tiger Woods,” 19-year-old star Connor Zilisch said, choking back tears.
The NASCAR community has a lot of experience dealing with tragedy. So, not surprisingly, it quickly rallied around Busch’s family and friends with an outpouring of love, support and heartfelt memories.
As tributes poured in from throughout the sports world, Busch’s wife, Samantha, his two children, his parents and brother and the whole NASCAR community honored Busch prior to the Memorial Day weekend Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The fitting tribute was the most emotional moment NASCAR has experienced since the death of Earnhardt.
Now his fans and collectors will honor Busch in the way that the most passionate sports fans do—by buying and collecting every piece of Kyle Busch memorabilia and collectibles they can get their hands on.
Though NASCAR trading cards pale in comparison to the stick-and-ball sports, Busch’s Panini cards are among the most collectible racing cards. And while demand and value are sure to spike during the immediate aftermath of his shocking death, most NASCAR collectors collect for the pure joy of collecting.
NASCAR fans are passionate collectors. They will literally collect anything associated with racing—fire suits, race helmets, used tires, lug nuts, dented sheet metal and, of course, checkered flags. During the boom years in the 1990s, die-cast race cars were among the hottest collectibles in the hobby.
Busch was blessed with some of the most colorful and collectible gear and merchandise in the hobby. His 15-year Mars candy sponsorship was one of the biggest marketing successes in the sport as fans had a sweet spot for his M&M’s, Snickers and Skittles merchandise. Colorful Kyle Busch T-shirts and jackets seemingly show up everywhere; popular not only in NASCAR, but among a wide variety of sports fans and pop culture followers.
Kyle Busch touched lives throughout racing, the sports world, and the sports collectibles hobby. Now his fans will honor and remember him the best way they know how.
- Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD. You can reach him at jowens@aimmedia.com.
Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.
