Racing legend Mario Andretti is still processing Kyle Busch’s death on Thursday after the pair attended the same event two days before.
“It’s a shock of my life what happened here,” Andretti told The Athletic while at the Indianapolis 500.
“I’m not sure how to explain it, I’m sure it shocked everyone. Unbelievable.”
Andretti took out his phone and showed a video clip of Busch at the grand opening of the Andretti Indoor Karting & Games in Durham, N.C., on Tuesday.
“Marco [Andretti] invited him,” Andretti said of his 38-year-old grandson, who announced his retirement from racing in October.
“I have him in my phone here.”
Andretti pointed to the video, which showed Busch smiling and shaking hands with people at the event.
“Still can’t believe,” Andretti wrote back to Marco in the text.
Andretti shared his condolences to Busch’s wife, Samantha and the couple’s children, son Brexton, 11, and Lennix, 4, in an Instagram post Friday.
“It’s nearly impossible to find the right words to convey the shock and sadness we all feel with the sudden passing of Kyle Busch,” Andretti wrote, including a photo of Busch at the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 on Feb. 11.
“He was a racer through and through. Deepest condolences to Samantha, Brexton, Lennix, and his family.”
Busch, a the two-time Cup Series champion, died at 41 on Thursday, hours after being hospitalized for a “severe illness,” his family announced in a joint statement with Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR.
No cause of death was given, as of early Friday afternoon.
Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, N.C., on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, according to The Associated Press.
In a 911 call obtained by The California Post, a man can be heard telling the dispatcher that Busch was on a bathroom floor and coughing up blood.
“I’ve got an individual that’s shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out and is producing a little bit of blood — coughing up some blood,” the man said.
Busch, who was in his 22nd full-time season in NASCAR’s top division, was preparing to race in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.
A future Hall of Famer, Busch tallied a record 234 wins across NASCAR’s three national series.