CONCORD, N.C. — Race weekend in Charlotte has been overshadowed by tragedy following the death of Kyle Busch.
The Busch family revealed Saturday that the NASCAR legend died from a sever case of pneumonia, that developed into sepsis. He was 41.
The two-time NASCAR Cup winner’s number eight is standing out in the infield of Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Busch was set to race in both the Education Lottery 200 Truck Series, and the Coca Cola 600.
Saturday morning, the Richard Childress Racing Team unloaded Busch’s car at the track, but out of respect for him, they changed the number to 33.
Rain pushed the Lottery 200 back to Saturday night, but fans are still out in support of the Busch family, and NASCAR.
The cause of death for Busch was a surprising development for a lot of fans.
Channel 9’s Glenn Counts walked along the retail tent area across the street from the speedway. He saw a lot of fans wearing Busch paraphernalia that they had just bought as a way to honor the late driver.
Fans such as Randy Paine are shocked that a larger-than-life figure like Busch could lose his life to a microbe.
“Drivers race sick all the time and you don’t think anything of it,” Raine said. “But honestly, it’s really scary for the regular folks to think something so small and insignificant can sometimes turn into something much bigger, which is something you never expect.”
Nothing has come from the family about what kind of treatment Busch may or may not have received. But a lot of people are talking about making sure they are taking care of their own health and if they are not feeling well to go visit a doctor.
According to ABC, Busch experienced shortness of breath, felt overheated, and was coughing up blood the day before he died.
During a race earlier this month, he was thought to have a sinus cold, and was heard on his team radio asking for a shot from a doctor. We don’t know what that shot was for.
Doctors say the most common cause of sepsis is pneumonia.
Sepsis can also be caused by urinary tract infections, stomachs infections, skin and wound infections, and even some medication.
The CDC says about 1.7 million people develop sepsis every year, and hundreds of thousands die from it.
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