Matt Johnson
Just a day after the NASCAR world lost all-time great Kyle Busch at 41 years old to a severe illness, new details have come out regarding the 911 call that led to his hospitalization.
Steve Reed of the AP reported that Busch was at Richard Childress Racing’s shop on Wednesday in the Chevrolet racing simulator when he became unresponsive. Emergency services were called and he was transported to a nearby hospital in Charlotte.
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TMZ has since obtained a copy of the 911 call, which was placed around 5:30 PM local time on Wednesday. The caller requested an ambulance immediately, reporting that Busch had “shortness of breath” and that he was coughing up blood and believed he was going to pass out.
Busch’s medical issue first became publicly known two weeks ago. During the race on May 10 at Watkins Glen International, the future Hall of Famer radioed for his crew to have a doctor give him a shot at the end of the race.
The 41-year-old, who is the winningest driver in NASCAR history, has still never missed a race. He won last Friday’s Truck Series race, his 69th at that level, saying in his post-race interview, “You never know when your last one is.” However, he did still have a noticeable cough during the interview.
Busch then raced in the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday and was preparing on Wednesday for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was during that training, while he was in a Chevrolet racing simulator, that Busch experienced the medical issue that resulted in the 911 call.
He was then reportedly moving into the bathroom, where he lay on his side, with the caller telling dispatchers that Busch was “awake” at the time. The caller also requested that paramedics turn off their sirens upon arrival and said he would bring them to Busch through a side entrance.
Richard Childress Racing announced in a statement on Thursday morning that Busch would be missing the weekend’s upcoming race, the first time he’d miss a Cup race in more than a decade. Hours later, NASCAR reported that he had passed away.
