Kyle Busch will not be competing in any NASCAR national touring series events at Charlotte Motor Speedway this upcoming weekend due to being hospitalized for a severe illness.
The news was made on Thursday, May 21, from a released statement from Kyle Busch’s family through social media. Per the statement, Busch is currently undergoing treatment for his illness and will not compete in any on-track NASCAR activities at Charlotte entering this year’s Memorial Day weekend. This includes Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 event on May 24, in which Busch won at in 2018. This also includes Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 event on May 22, in which Busch won at eight times.
As a result, Busch has his current consecutive streak of competing in the Cup division snapped at 397, which spans back to the 2015 Coca-Cola 600. He is coming off a double-duty role between the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Cup Series division this past weekend at Dover Motor Speedway. During the weekend, Busch won the Truck event and finished 17th in the Cup Series’ All-Star Race.
Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Busch’s Cup Series team, also took to social media with a released statement by extending their well wishes for Busch’s recovery. From the announcement, Austin Hill, who competes for RCR on a full-time basis in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division, will pilot Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. The latter event will mark Hill’s 18th career start in NASCAR’s premier series and third of the 2026 season.
Spire Motorsports, the team in which Busch was scheduled to compete with for Friday’s Truck Series event at Charlotte, has yet to announce an alternate driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST entry. The latter event will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.
The 2026 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, May 24, and air at 6 p.m. ET on Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
