“He Was My Superhero” — Daniel Suarez Opens Up About Kyle Busch in the Most Emotional Interview Since His Death
Four days after losing the man he called a superhero, Daniel Suarez stood in victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway, looked up at the sky and pointed. No words. Just a gesture that said everything.
And then, in an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, he finally found the words.
The Michael Jordan of NASCAR
Suarez did not search long for the right comparison when asked to describe what Kyle Busch meant to the sport he dedicated his life to.
“He was the Michael Jordan of NASCAR,” Suarez said simply. “His legacy is going to live forever. He’s broken so many records in the sport, extremely talented driver, very outspoken on the things he believes in — and he was always himself. That’s the beautiful thing about human beings, right, that we all are different. And he never changed. He was always himself.”
It is the kind of tribute that lands differently coming from someone who knew the man behind the helmet — not just the record-breaker, not just the villain the grandstands loved to boo, but the person who picked up the phone on a weekly basis for an entire year just to help a young driver who needed guidance.
A Superhero Who Didn’t Have to Help
Suarez first met Kyle Busch in 2014 — and by his own admission, he was nervous.
“Kyle was like a superhero to me,” he recalled. “I was a little bit nervous because he was already a legend of the sport.”
What followed surprised him. Busch, already one of NASCAR’s most dominant figures, took time — real, consistent, weekly time — to mentor a young driver who had not yet proven himself at the sport’s highest level.
“He didn’t really have to help me, and he gave me a hand when I needed it the most,” Suarez told PEOPLE. “To have a legend like Kyle give me advice pretty much on a weekly basis for an entire year was extremely helpful. And I realized what kind of person he was.”
It is a side of Kyle Busch that the cameras rarely captured — the quiet generosity, the investment in people who had nothing immediate to offer him in return. Suarez said that now, more than ever, that story needs to be told.
“It’s very important to spread the message because he was such a good person behind closed doors.”
Racing With a Heavy Heart
The week leading up to Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 was unlike anything Suarez had experienced in his career. Just seven days before the race, he had been with Kyle — laughing, talking, completely unaware of what was coming.
“Just a week ago I was hanging out with Kyle and he seemed perfectly fine,” Suarez said. “And right now he’s not here with us anymore. It’s very surreal how things were happening.”
By the time he climbed into his car on Sunday, Suarez said he was barely ready to race. The pre-race ceremony — Samantha and Brexton holding each other on the infield, “Amazing Grace” echoing across the grandstands — had broken him open in a way he had not anticipated.
He won anyway. For the man who taught him how.
“It was an honor to be able to win the race for Kyle this weekend,” he said. “I feel very, very blessed to have called him a teammate and to have built a great friendship with him throughout the years.”
Kyle Busch died Thursday, May 21, from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. He was 41 years old. He left behind 234 victories, a family, and a generation of drivers who are only now beginning to understand the size of what they lost.
Daniel Suarez was one of them. And on Sunday night at Charlotte, with tears in his eyes and a No. 8 hat on his head, he made sure Kyle Busch knew it.
Source: Compiled from various sources
