Kyle Busch Had Health Update For Reporters Just Days Before Shocking Death

As the shock of Kyle Busch's death at 41 turns to mourning, many NASCAR fans have been left wondering exactly what happened and if there were any signs that they might have missed.

As it turns out, there might have been a few.

Busch was dealing with some sort of unspecified sinus issue that was giving him a nasty cough during his last Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. Busch spoke to reporters about the issue and called it a "substantial cough" that still hadn't gone away.

"You can still kind of hear it. I'm not great. But the cough was pretty substantial last week," he said at the time.

Theories

Everyone from real doctors to "social media doctors" have offered their theories on what might have happened to Busch. Some are saying it might have been a pulmonary embolism, others are suggesting it could have been some form of pneumonia.

"Obviously, could be a number of things but Pulmonary embolism comes to mind," one user suggested. "I had one 6 months ago. Coughed for weeks and then coughed so hard I thought I broke a rib. Had blood. Went to ER. Ended up PE."

"Had a friend (30 something) die of pneumonia pre-Covid A healthy individual who, we think, didn't think it was too serious/just a cold."

"Pneumonia turns to sepsis quickly if bacteria ends up in bloodstream which can happen with severe cough," a third proposed.

"Might have been walking pneumonia, hardly any symptoms except a nasty cough."

Unfortunately, we're not likely to get a definitive answer unless Busch's family reveals it to the public. And right now the family has more important things to deal with than the curiosity of fans.

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:11 AM.