Kyle Busch Shocking 911 Call Reveals He Was Coughing Up Blood, Struggling to Breathe Before Medical Emergency At GM Facility

Newly released 911 dispatch audio is shedding more light on the medical emergency involving NASCAR driver Kyle Busch at the GM Charlotte Technical Center in Concord shortly before his death at age 41.

Previous information about the timeline:

Kyle Busch Became Unresponsive in Chevrolet Racing Simulator Before Sudden Death; NASCAR Not Cancelling Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR Legend Kyle Busch Dead at 41 After Sudden Illness Shocks Racing World

Kyle Busch Hospitalized Suddenly, NASCAR Star Ruled Out for Charlotte Weekend

According to emergency dispatch recordings from Cabarrus County, a caller from inside the facility requested immediate medical assistance after Busch reportedly began suffering severe physical distress while inside the building Thursday afternoon.

The caller told dispatchers Busch was struggling to breathe, felt extremely hot, and had begun coughing up blood while lying on the floor of a bathroom inside the GM facility.

“I’ve got an individual that’s shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he’s going to pass out, and is producing a little bit of blood. Coughing up some blood,” the caller said in the recording.

Dispatchers asked whether Busch was conscious, and the caller confirmed he was awake at the time but unable to stand. The caller also instructed emergency crews to turn off their sirens upon arrival and began providing directions through the building so responders could reach Busch more quickly.

The emergency call follows earlier reporting from The Associated Press, which stated Busch became unresponsive while participating in simulator testing at the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord. He was later transported to a Charlotte-area hospital, where he died. Officials have not yet publicly released an official cause of death.

Questions have also emerged about whether Busch may have been dealing with an illness in the days leading up to the incident.

According to the AP report, Busch had reportedly been battling what was believed to be a sinus cold during NASCAR’s race weekend at Watkins Glen earlier this month. During the race broadcast, Busch radioed his team requesting a “shot” from a doctor after the event, with commentators noting he had been struggling physically during the demanding road-course race because of congestion, elevation changes, and sustained G-forces.

Whether that illness was connected to Thursday’s medical emergency remains unclear.

What has made the news especially difficult for many in the NASCAR world is that Busch had still been actively competing at a high level just days before his death. He won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover last weekend and later finished 17th in the NASCAR All-Star Race. Few watching those races would have imagined they would become the final starts of his career.

Busch was scheduled to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend before the shocking news of his death stunned the motorsports community.

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion spent more than two decades as one of the sport’s most polarizing and talented figures, building a reputation for relentless competitiveness and extraordinary versatility across NASCAR’s top divisions. His death immediately triggered an outpouring of reactions from drivers, teams, sponsors, and longtime fans throughout racing.

Now, as investigators continue reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident, the newly released 911 call offers the clearest picture yet of the frightening medical situation unfolding inside the Concord facility in Busch’s final hours.

If you want to listen to it, you can here, but we caution against it.

About the Author

Shawn Henry

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Shawn Henry has spent years writing about cars, and it shows—not in a resume kind of way, but in how he talks about them. He's the type who'll notice the weird trim option nobody remembers and actually know why it mattered. At Backfire News, he covers pretty much the whole spectrum: off-road trucks and trail builds, performance cars, racing, and the collector market. He's comfortable getting into the technical weeds, but he never forgets that most people read about cars because cars are fun, not because they want a spec sheet. His beat runs from classic and collector vehicles to overlanding culture, modified performance builds, new automotive tech, and the industry news that actually affects what ends up in your driveway. Mostly, though, Shawn thinks the best car stories are about people—the builds they pour money into, the road trips, the communities that form around a shared obsession. That's the stuff he likes writing about, and it's what you'll find in his work here.

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