NASCAR great Kyle Busch was rushed to hospital on Wednesday in Charlotte after he became unresponsive in a simulator, it has emerged.
Busch, 41, was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina when he was taken ill, according to the Associated Press, which says several people familiar with the situation have confirmed the details to them.
Busch's family said Thursday that he was hospitalized with a 'severe illness' before announcing his death later that day. No official cause has been given but Busch was struggling with sickness in the days before he was taken ill.
The simulator Busch was in would almost certainly have been preparing him for his next race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The simulators replicate the motion and G-forces drivers would experience at speed on a track in real life.
Busch radioed for medical assistance from his car in the middle of one of his final NASCAR races on May 10 in upstate New York, just days before his death. According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.
Busch went on to claim his record fifth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trophy that day, despite clearly still struggling with illness.
After earning his 69th career Truck Series race win with the triumph at Dover, Busch was asked how many races he wanted to win in his career before he stops racing.
'You take whatever you can get, man,' Busch said. 'You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all - trust me.'
On May 16, five days before his death was announced, Busch was asked if he had recovered from what he thought was simply a nasty cough.
'I had a pretty - you can kind of still hear it, I'm still not great,' Busch said, waving his hand to his face as he spoke to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. 'But er, the cough was pretty substantial.'
