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A decision made by NASCAR that could impact the legacy of Kyle Busch has fans of the sport torn after the driver’s sudden and tragic death last week.
Busch died in a North Carolina hospital last week just days before the running of the annual Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 41-year-old had been dealing with an illness for weeks, which was later revealed to be a serious case of pneumonia that developed into sepsis.
Busch’s death has shocked the motorsports world and tributes have poured in to honor the driver. But NASCAR has made a move to impact the driver’s standings this season after his passing.
NASCAR has officially removed Busch from this season’s point standings, according to Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass.
According to reports, the decision was made after conversations with Richard Childress Racing ‘about how to handle Busch’s death and being empathetic to the impact of those who would see his name in the standings.’
After conversations with RCR, NASCAR has removed Kyle Busch from the points standings
The move divided NASCAR fans, with some saying that this erases him from the year’s history
Others say the visual of seeing Busch’s name fall down the standings could be too much
The decision completely split the NASCAR fanbase on whether or not this move was valid or if it takes away from Busch’s legacy.
‘Right decision.. Seeing his name pop up every week and continue to fall in the standings has absolutely no benefit to anyone,’ wrote one person in favor of the move.
‘Seeing his name, and watching him drop lower and lower would be a gut punch every week…at least for me. So this was the right decision,’ read another supporter of the decision.
One fan posted, ‘I think what matters most here is that it sounds like the decision was made with input from RCR, and I would presume that RCR advocated for what Kyle’s family wanted.’
But there were others who believe this erases Busch – and pointed to other examples of drivers who died but stayed in the standings.
‘i’m sorry this is just not right,’ wrote one detractor. ‘Kyle earned those points and should be included in the final tally. Dale [Earnhardt] Sr was included in the 01 standings and [Jason] Leffler was included in the 13 standings. Same with every other driver who died mid season.’
‘I understand the sentiment but I also feel like it is erasing him from history,’ read another comment. ‘Sometimes life is painful and all need to find a way to cope or deal with it.’
Another read, ‘Not a fan of that decision at all. Busch earned those points. Making the points go away makes him invisible? Like his tragic death did not happen? Celebrate what he did in life/racing. Stop erasing history to make yourself feel better about it. Bad decision, KB deserved better.’
