HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Both of the top-tier Cup Series championships Kyle Busch won in his career happened when he was at Joe Gibbs Racing in Huntersville.
There is now a memorial blocking out the number 18 parking spot, corresponding to the number 18 car Busch drove over the 15 years he spent there.
Mere seconds after winning Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, Trackhouse motorsports driver Daniel Suárez was overcome with emotion.
“The race is official,” the announcer said Sunday night. “Daniel Suárez wins the Coca-Cola 600. What a tribute to Kyle Busch.”
It was a moment of celebration combined with sadness over the sudden loss of someone Suárez says was a mentor early in his career.
“It’s been a very tough week,” said Suárez. “Kyle, he was special.”
As NASCAR paused pre-race to honor Busch, fans were moved by heart-wrenching moments, like when his grieving family was brought out on the track.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and kids, entire family,” said Madison Ricardo, race fan.
On lap eight, fans in the stands held up the number eight, paying homage to the car Busch last drove.
“It was beautiful,” said NASCAR fan Hunter Wilson. “I think they did a very good job of honoring him.”
But as the racing world continues to mourn his death, concern and awareness around the severe pneumonia turned sepsis that took his life is just as prevalent.
“Sepsis is a medical emergency, pneumonia can get worse rapidly,” said Dr. Daniel Feinstein. He’s a critical care specialist with Novant Health.
While Dr. Feinstein is not involved in Busch’s case, he is the co-director for sepsis care at the hospital. He says the elderly, very young children, and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk of pneumonia. But he explained how someone much younger with a stronger immune system could develop a life-threatening case.
“They compensate by breathing faster, they compensate maybe for the heart rate going up,” said Dr. Feinstein. “And those patients can have dramatic, rapid declines.”
Dr. Feinstein says while Busch’s untimely death is a horrific wake-up call, he says as long as a person is vigilant about the symptoms and seeks medical care, pneumonia can be treated at home with antibiotics.
“When we can get to you quickly, we can help patients quite a bit, but time matters,” he said.
Dr. Feinstein says Novant Health has a standard approach to the identification and treatment of sepsis. He says the data shows they find an average of 30 patients each month that would have been predicted not to actually are surviving and returning home.
The doctor also said that there are significant spikes in pneumonia cases starting in the fall going into winter, and also early spring.
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