‘He’s going to pass out.’ What Concord 911 call reveals on day Kyle Busch fell ill
A newly released 911 call details what was happening inside GM Charlotte Technical Center the day racing legend Kyle Busch reportedly fell ill in a Concord racing simulator and then died in the hospital Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that Busch was testing a Chevrolet racing simulator on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte.
Emergency calls obtained by The Charlotte Observer reveal that a man was “coughing up some blood” and “thinks he’s going to pass out” while inside the GM Charlotte Technical Center at 5:32 p.m. on Wednesday. General Motors is home to Chevrolet, and the Charlotte-area center has simulators, according to its website.
Another man called 911 to report the emergency. The caller said the man was awake on the bathroom floor with shortness of breath and was “very hot” and asked an ambulance to come with its lights off to the center, at 7605 GM One Team Drive.
The recorded 911 call, obtained through a Cabarrus County records request, does not identify the caller or the man in need of help, per a North Carolina law that protects that information. But it might build a picture of the moments before Busch was transported to the hospital with what the family called a “severe illness.”
An official cause of Busch’s death has yet to be released.
After his illness, the family — which includes his wife, Samantha; his son, Brexton; and daughter, Lennix — was swift in saying that he wouldn’t participate in NASCAR racing this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch’s hospitalization came a little over a week after Busch told his crew chief over the radio during a Cup race at Watkins Glen that he wasn’t feeling well, and asked his doctor to give him “a shot” after he finished the race.
According to the FOX broadcast at the race, Busch had been struggling with a sinus infection. He still, however, finished the race with a Top 10 — and then a week later, at Dover, won the Truck Series race, the last race win of his career.
Busch won two Cup Series championships in his 22-season full-time career. He also won an all-time most 234 races across all three of NASCAR’s national series — Cup, O’Reilly and Trucks.
Busch will be replaced in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 by Austin Hill, a longtime O’Reilly Series driver for Richard Childress Racing. Busch was also slated to run in the Truck Series race on Friday evening for Spire Motorsports; that seat will now be filled by Corey Day.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 4:46 PM.
