Pocono Raceway will remember Kyle Busch on NASCAR's return to the Tricky Triangle

Pocono Raceway always adds something new to the track grounds each year in time for NASCAR’s annual visit to Monroe County.

But one of the new things race fans can see this weekend is something that neither Pocono nor NASCAR had planned or wanted.

It is a black and gold painted rock in Pocono’s Walk of Fame dedicated to the late Kyle Busch that is sure to be a photo spot for NASCAR fans still mourning the loss of one of the sport’s greatest drivers and vibrant personalities.

The rock will also feature the No. 18 with the No. 8 painted in gold. Busch drove the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008 to 2022 and then more recently drove the No. 8 while driving for Richard Childress until the time of his death on May 21.

At Pocono, Busch won eight times in national series, including four in the Cup series. Even when he lost, he always made things interesting.

“I never counted how many [tribute] rocks we have out there … maybe a dozen, at least 10,” said Pocono Raceway president Ben May. “I know we have one for Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Jimmy Johnson, Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, Mario Andretti and for Doc and Rose Mattioli [the track’s founders]. I am sure I am missing a couple. It’s a neat little Walk of Fame there that people can check out and they’re all important figures to Pocono and NASCAR. Obviously, you don’t want to put a rock out there in these circumstances, however. We’d rather, like everybody else, celebrate Kyle’s first-ballot selection to the Hall of Fame about 10 years from now.”

May said he never had a lot of conversations with Busch.

“Nick [Igdalsky, the track’s CEO] and I have always operated on the lines that these drivers are here to do a job,” May said. “They’re focused and the last thing we want to do is get in their way and mess with that focus. The interactions we had with Kyle and his wife, Samantha, were after he won the Cup races here and he had all of four of them in a short burst. He went from never winning here to winning four times in a short clip [between 2017 and 2021]. The interactions we had with him were lovely. He has a lovely family. It’s a racing family and they care for one another. They’re racers.”

In addition to the rock, May said the track will pay tribute to Busch in other ways.

“The start/finish line will have ‘Rowdy’ on it and we have a couple of banners with 8s painted around the facility and then there’s a nice area in our fan zone where the fans will be able to go and leave a note of thanks and celebrate a memory of Kyle and we’ll collect them over the weekend,” May said. “We have a nice variety of things planned and we were able to get him on the program cover. To honor him is extremely important and this NASCAR family is truly a family we and we hope everyone will continue to look after Kyle’s kids. It’s just tragic that Kyle’s gone.”

May said he was happy to see Busch’s son Brexton back racing on Instagram last week.

“They’re racers and they’re going to do that in honor of their dad,” May said. “We’re just going to do our part to offer support and make sure the fans can pay tribute to him and celebrate Kyle’s success and who he was.”

Busch was one of the few racers who when he walked into the Pocono media center, every reporter stopped what they were doing and listened to make sure they heard everything he was going to say.

“He’d say what was on his mind and tell you what he thought, and he’d give the fans a hard time, he’d give the media a hard time and other drivers a hard time,” May said. “That’s what a lot of people saw, but unfortunately, after he passes all of these stories come out about how much he did to help other drivers and did stuff quietly behind the scenes.

“But he always had an opinion and was more than happy to share it. This guy had 234 wins across NASCAR’s three top series and in my lifetime, nobody is going to touch that. It may never be touched. That’s a lot of wins. He had a lot of wins here, but he had a lot of wins at every racetrack.”

In addition to the Busch tributes, fans coming to Pocono will see a new digital LED board on Turn 2.

“We put one up last year, but this one is much bigger,” May said. “We continue to add to the fan experience. In terms of Victory Lane, the paddock and the other permanent structures, we didn’t add anything this year except for this extremely giant board right above Turn 2. The campers will be happy to see it and it should be visible from the grandstand as well.”

An ARCA race will kick off the weekend’s race schedule on Friday, and then the O’Reilly Auto Parts series (formerly the Xfinity series) will have its practice, qualifying and race on Saturday in addition to the Cup qualifying. The Cup series closes it out with the The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

“We’re ready to go,” May said. “We’re happy to have ARCA back. The truck series is on hiatus due to some World Cup conflicts and production issues. So, we’re happy to have ARCA back, which is fun. We’ve had such a long history with ARCA. It’s nice to see those boys and girls back on the big tracks alongside the stars of the Cup series.”

While Pocono’s place on the NASCAR schedule is one week earlier this year than it was last year, May said another facility sellout seems likely.

“We’ve already sold out our campground spots for the sixth straight year and we’re tracing toward a fourth straight facility sellout,” he said. “Everything is clicking with the teams and everything we’re doing with NASCAR and NASCAR is doing one heck of a job as well. We continue to be a family friendly racetrack with our ‘kids free’ program and so having this race when school is out is important to us. So, this weekend is fine and this mid-to-late June window has been been fine. I’m grateful that the fans have responded and they’re still loving this place and supporting us.”

Pocono schedule

Friday

12 noon: ARCA Menards Series Practice

1:00 pm: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying

2:45 pm: ARCA Menards Series Driver Introductions

3:00 pm: ARCA Menards Series Race (60 Laps, 150 Miles)

Saturday

10:30 am: NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice

11:35 am: NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying

1:00 pm: NASCAR Cup Series Practice

2:10 pm: NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying

3:30 pm: NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Driver Introductions

4:00 pm:. NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Race – MillerTech Battery 250 Presented by KOA (100 Laps, 250 Miles)

Sunday

2:25 pm: NASCAR Cup Series Driver Introductions

3 pm: NASCAR Cup Series Race – The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA (160 Laps, 400 Miles)

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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 4:06 PM.