Kyle Busch’s loss continues to be felt across the NASCAR garage. On Saturday, Truck Series driver Chandler Smith opened up about the impact the late two-time Cup champion had on his career. 

Smith started the Truck race, the FaithFest 250, in ninth place. However, he managed to cut through the traffic steadily and finished Stage 1 in third. He improved that to second in Stage 2 and eventually crossed the line 8.497 seconds ahead of his teammate Layne Riggs.

After getting out of the car, Smith, a former talent of Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), grabbed the checkered flag and did the 'Busch Bow' as a tribute to his late mentor. While talking to the media post-race, the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports driver was questioned about the impact Kyle Busch has had on him and the Truck Series. 

"Kyle meant a lot to me, truthfully," he said (via Steven Taranto on X). "He meant a lot to me in a sense of he took the time out of his day when I had questions. Not to rush me, he would sit me down and explain what I was asking and giving me the answer, and being very thorough about it and, you know, not be short-winded."

Smith also reflected on Busch’s approach to mentoring young drivers. He added, 

"He cared really deeply about his drivers. And the ones he believed in, you could definitely tell, because those were the ones that he wanted to really take time with, and the ones he had run-ins with, he was pretty vocal about it."

"Rowdy," as he came to be known among fans, passed away on May 21, just hours after being hospitalized for a 'severe illness'. In a statement later released by the family, it was revealed to be a case of pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.

As for Chandler Smith’s race, he led a race-high 105 of 250 laps. The triumph also marked his second consecutive win at the track.

Smith's words about Kyle Busch echo sentiments from another KBM alumnus.

When Erik Jones opened up about Kyle Busch’s impact on his career

Before entering the NASCAR Cup Series, Erik Jones raced in the Late Model series. It was during that time that Kyle Busch spotted him and made a few calls to Toyota and TRD to invest in Jones.

Jones was eventually signed to Kyle Busch Motorsports. From there, he made his jump to the Joe Gibbs Racing team. 

While talking to The Athletic's Jeff Gluck in late June, the Legacy Motor Club driver revealed how Busch helped him and mentored him.

"Kyle always stood there and tried to mentor me," Jones told Gluck. "I remember there was a race at Charlotte in 2015 in the trucks where I lost to Kasey Kahne in a really close finish. I got out and left and didn’t do any interviews."

Busch took it upon himself to guide Jones after that media no-show.

"He said, 'Hey, let’s go to lunch.' We sat down, and he said, 'You know, you can be better than me, man. You don’t have to be that guy. I know you can be better than that. You can get out of the truck, stand there, give an interview, talk like a man, tell them what happened, don’t whine, then walk away and be done. You’ll have so much more respect from people,'" Jones added.

Kyle Busch’s legacy lives on not only in the performance he displayed but also through the next-generation stars who were mentored under him.

Read more on the Daytona Racing Digest! 

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak