“I was up all night thinking about what today should have looked like for Kyle and the kids,” Samantha wrote on social media
Credit: Samantha Busch/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Kyle Busch’s wife, Samantha Busch, remembered the late NASCAR legend in an emotional tribute post on the first Father’s Day since his death
- “Watching these memories hurts more than I can explain, but they also remind me how lucky we were to have him,” she wrote alongside sweet throwback videos of their family
- In addition to Samantha, the NASCAR driver is survived by the couple’s two children: son Brexton, 11, and daughter Lennix, 4
Kyle Busch's wife, Samantha Busch, is remembering the late NASCAR legend on the first Father's Day since his death.
One month after Kyle died at age 41 from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, his wife, 40, shared an emotional tribute on behalf of herself and their kids — son Brexton, 11, and daughter Lennix, 4 — on Sunday, June 21.
“This still doesn't feel real at all,” Samantha wrote on Instagram alongside a collection of videos from their family's sweetest moments together. “I was up all night thinking about what today should have looked like for Kyle and the kids. The Father's Day cards that were already made, sitting in a drawer with no one to give them to. Trying to figure out how to navigate a day that should be filled with so much joy for them.”
Emphasizing that Kyle was the kind of dad who “never missed a chance to be silly” or skipped the opportunity to “stay up a little longer” to read his kids one more bedtime story or spend “one more moment” with them before bed, Samantha went on to recall, “Nothing made him prouder than being Brexton and Lennix's dad.”
In one video included in the heartbreaking montage, the family of four could be seen hugging on the track after one of Kyle's races. Other clips feature the late racer spending quality time with his kids over the years — whether it was on a boat, at the beach or in their family home.
“Watching these memories hurts more than I can explain, but they also remind me how lucky we were to have him,” Samantha wrote. “Kyle, the kids and I miss you every second of every day. Our hearts ache for you, but it's more than that. Your absence is something we physically feel. Our bodies hurt from missing you, from reaching for someone who isn't there, from loving someone we can't hold anymore.”
Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!
Along with promising to always tell Kyle's stories, Samantha emphasized that she will make sure that “Brexton and Lennix always know just how deeply they were loved by their dad.”
Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty
“Happy Father's Day,” she concluded the post. “We love you and miss you more than words can say.”
Shortly after Kyle's death on May 21, his family gathered to honor his legacy at the Coca-Cola 600, which was supposed to be a major race day for him.
Kyle's parents, Tom and Gaye Busch, also joined his older brother, NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch, in gathering at the speedway's infield as NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell paid tribute to the two-time Cup Series champion with a speech.
"Samantha, I want you to know that this sport stands with you, and that you and your children are NASCAR family forever," O'Donnell said at the time. "Brexton and Lennix, your dad loves you with all his heart. Everyone gathered here, everyone behind you, everyone watching on TV, and all those people up in that grandstand, they are your family, and we've got you."
"Kyle Busch is NASCAR," he concluded. "He was one-of-a-kind, and there will never be another."
Read the full article here
