Kyle Busch, winner at Dover Motor Speedway only a week ago, was supposed to make the fifth of his eight scheduled NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts on the 2026 schedule this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The Las Vegas, Nevada native tragically passed away after being hospitalized for what has only been described as a "severe illness" on Thursday. He was 41 years old.
The rain at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night, which resulted in the postponement of the Truck Series race until Saturday morning, felt fitting, given the dark and somber mood surrounding the race track and the broader NASCAR community, coupled with the shock that NASCAR and its fanbase won't stop feeling any time soon.
It also felt fitting in another way.
Kyle Busch was a driver whose impact will never be forgotten, and I think that's a statement that we're all already very much aware of, to the point where it feels like it goes without saying.
Now we have already literally seen tangible evidence of this fact, even just one day after his passing.
Over the past few seasons, NASCAR has used a qualifying metric to determine its qualifying orders, and, in cases of canceled qualifying sessions, its starting lineups across the three national series.
In 2025, the metric was modified to consist of only two factors: the entry's finish in the most recent race, and the entry's rank in the owner standings, weighted at 70% and 30%, respectively.
Note that the formula is based on the car/truck, not the specific driver in said car/truck.
Busch was to drive the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet this weekend at Charlotte after finding victory lane at Dover. The win was his second in four starts this season, as he also won at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) in February. The Dover win made the No. 7 team the only race team with two victories.
The No. 7 also leads the Truck Series owner standings, thanks to Busch's success. That success also included a runner-up finish at Texas Motor Speedway and an eighth place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Corey Day, who runs full-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for JR Motorsports, was tabbed to drive Busch's truck at Charlotte, before the tragic news was confirmed on Thursday evening.
Because of the rain, qualifying had to be canceled. As a result, Day is set to start Saturday's 134-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina oval on pole.
In Kyle Busch's truck.
Thanks to a perfect metric score of 1.00.
It seems almost fitting, in a way, that Busch, the all-time winningest driver in Truck Series history with 69 victories, and the driver whose success at that level played a key role in him becoming the all-time winningest driver in NASCAR national series history with 234 wins, could effectively solidify another pole position for a NASCAR Truck Series race as the community mourns his passing.
Because make no mistake about it. He's the one who earned it.
We all know that Busch's legacy will be felt for years to come. We got hard, tangible evidence of that on Friday, just one day after he left this world.
What a small, subtle reminder to us all that his memory will truly never fade, and neither will his impact.
Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday morning for live coverage of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it.
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