The NASCAR world is still mourning the loss of Kyle Busch, who died unexpectedly earlier this year.
On August 18, the sport celebrated “Kyle Busch Day,” honoring the two numbers (8/18) that he raced under for the majority of his career. Busch’s fellow drivers took time to share stories of how the veteran impacted their careers.
One such story was offered by Zane Smith, who remembered an early interaction with Busch while appearing as a guest on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
Smith was appearing as a guest on the show alongside Front Row Motorsports teammate Noah Gragson. After Gragson shared memories of Busch’s tough but fair veteran leadership, Smith broke down one of his first memorable interactions with Rowdy.
“What stands out to me was when we went back to racing at Charlotte. I always pulled for Kyle, I was a huge Kyle Busch fan growing up,” Smith said. “This was right in his prime time of just winning Friday, Saturday, then Sunday. … I think I was like third, and to take the lead, I split them three-wide. We had an awesome battle. I remember on the radio he was like, ‘Who the f*** is in the No. 21?'”
Smith seems to think that the angry shout out he received over the radio from Busch helped spark interest in him as a driver from other fans.
“I think people were like, ‘Who is in the No. 21? Let’s look into him.'”
After that early battle, Smith later matched up against Busch on the front row at the very same track he watched him race at as a fan.
“It was my first time ever at Texas. Me and him were starting on the front row together. He said more nice things about me, in his way, and had some great battles. He could have easily just ignored me and big-timed me, but he respected game at the time,” Smith said.
“That was a full-circle moment. I had this picture where I was a fan asking to take a picture with him when I was probably 10 years old at Texas Motor Speedway. I think it was when he was in Xfinity. Years later, we’re starting on the front row together.”
Busch’s legacy continues to loom large over the NASCAR season, but every story shared helps the legend of Rowdy grow a little bit more.
Watch: Ryan Blaney shows off Kyle Busch tribute helmet at Iowa
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