Eleven years old, starting 14th on a quarter-mile dirt oval in Tulsa, and the kid drove through thirteen cars to get to the front. Brexton Busch won the Restrictor Micro sprint car feature at Port City Raceway on July 17 — his first trip to victory lane since his father, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, died on May 21.
The division races kids ages 9 to 16. Brexton has been a regular in it, and a prolific one. Last year he won 48 races across multiple disciplines, following the same trajectory his father rode from Las Vegas bullrings to the top of American motorsport. But this one carried a different weight.
Kyle Busch was 41 when severe bacterial pneumonia progressed into sepsis and killed him in Charlotte, North Carolina. His death came two months after his final Cup Series start at Watkins Glen. He had competed professionally since 2001, won Cup Series titles in 2015 and 2019, and ranked ninth on the all-time Cup wins list. At the time of his death he held the record for combined victories across NASCAR’s top three national series. He drove the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing for fifteen years before moving to Richard Childress Racing in 2023.
Samantha Busch, Brexton’s mother, posted on Instagram after the Port City win.
“This is his very first win since Kyle’s passing,” she wrote. “There was a lot of emotions to say the very least. Beyond proud of him not just for winning but all that he’s navigating at young age, beyond shattered Kyle isn’t here to be part of this, beyond grateful for all the support and amazing people we have around us.”
Coming from 14th to the lead on a dirt sprint track is the kind of drive that would’ve gotten the old man out of his seat. Kyle Busch built a reputation on exactly that brand of relentless — “Rowdy” wasn’t a marketing department creation. He raced everything, won everywhere, and chewed through equipment and competitors with equal disregard. That his son is already cutting through fields from the back of the grid at age 11 suggests the apple didn’t bounce far from the tree.
Brexton has been racing in the micro sprint ranks for several seasons, competing in the same kind of short-track development series where his father and uncle, 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch, first made their names. The Restrictor Micro class runs on smaller chassis with engine limitations designed to keep young drivers competitive without outpacing their skill level.
Nearly two months after Kyle Busch’s death, the sport is still processing the loss. The Cup Series garage has carried his absence through a summer stretch that included the race at Watkins Glen — his final start — and the events that followed. Richard Childress Racing has continued operating the No. 8 team that Busch drove since 2023.
For Brexton, the next race is the only thing that matters. The kid’s got 48 wins from last year to chase down, and he just put the first one on the board without his father in the pits.
Sources:
- Yahoo Sports — Son of NASCAR champion Kyle Busch, Brexton, wins first race since father’s death
- Wikipedia — Kyle Busch