A prominent sports physician is raising major questions about the timeline leading up to the death of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch — and suggested those closest to him might have the answers.
“Someone didn’t take it seriously, I think that’s pretty easy to say,” Dr. Jesse Morse, who did not personally treat the beloved two-time Cup Series champion, exclusively told Us Weekly. “This is a tragic event. It’s not like he died in a car crash on the racetrack. That’s kind of the risk of being a race car driver.”
Busch had been suffering from pneumonia for “days or weeks” before his death at the age of 41 on May 21, according to his death certificate exclusively obtained by Us on Wednesday, May 27.
He continued, “This is kind of insane. This is a regular person with an amazing immune system who gets an infection and dies. Obviously there’s not a lack of resources. The guy had whatever the hell he wants at his disposal.”
Busch had been dealing with health issues in the weeks before his death. He was overheard asking for “a shot” from NASCAR physician Bill Heisel during his race at Watkins Glen International on May 10.
The next week at Dover Motor Speedway, he was asked about his condition. “I’m still not great,” he told reporters on May 16. “But the cough was pretty substantial last week.”
“I don’t want to point fingers, but there should be pointing fingers because this shouldn’t have happened,” Morse argued. “Why was he not checked out?”
The doctor continued, “One of the things that I say to my patients — and I talk to NFL players predominantly — you have to protect the player from themselves. That’s why they don’t allow a player to go back into the game after they’ve suffered a concussion. There should be a similar approach to this. You’re driving a vehicle at 200 miles per hour with other people on the track and a lot of people in the stands. If you’re not at your best, you probably shouldn’t be doing that.”
Morse urged that the Busch tragedy should serve as a reminder that athletes like him “aren’t superhuman.”
“They think they are, but they’re not,” he said. “Whatever the specifics of it are, we need to use this as an educational piece. This needs to be informative to make sure this never happens again.”
Busch is survived by his wife of 15 years, Samantha, and the couple’s two children: son Brexton, 11, and daughter Lennix, 4.
