Kyle Busch experienced shortness of breath and was coughing up blood the day before his death, according to a 911 call obtained Friday by USA Today.
Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion considered one of the best drivers of all time, died on Thursday. He was 41.
The Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR confirmed his death hours after announcing that Busch had been hospitalized this week and would miss Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Emergency responders were called to a General Motors facility on Wednesday in Concord, N.C.
In the 911 call, a man tells a dispatcher that Busch was on the bathroom floor in distress. The unidentified caller asked that emergency responders turn off their sirens on arrival.
“I’ve got an individual that’s (experiencing) shortness of breath, very hot and thinks he’s going to pass out and he’s producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood,” the caller told the dispatcher.
Busch was transported to a hospital in Charlotte.
No cause of death has been released.
Busch is survived by his wife Samantha, 11-year-old son Brexton and 4-year-old daughter Lennix. He was also the younger brother of NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch, 47.
Busch accrued 234 wins across NASCAR’s top three series: 63 in the Cup Series, 102 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 69 in the Craftsman Truck Series. He won the trucks race at Dover on Friday, six days before his death.
The Las Vegas native was the NASCAR Cup Series champion in 2015 and 2019. He never won the Daytona 500 but claimed the pole for the first time this year before finishing 15th.
Among Busch’s big wins were the 2008 Southern 500, the 2015 and 2016 Brickyard 400 and 2019 Coca-Cola 600.
