NASCAR 26 will feature Kyle Busch as a selectable driver in Quick Race and Multiplayer modesBusch family gives blessing to his appearance in-gameTribute sticker to be made available in car creator mode
In a recent Discord AMA with iRacing Studios’ Director of Production, Matt Lewis, it was revealed that the upcoming NASCAR 26 will feature a Kyle Busch tribute.
Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, passed away in May due to sepsis, having won his final race the previous week.
Bush winning at Texas in 2016. Image courtesy of NASCAR
Even despite that last Craftsman Truck Series victory in Dover, Busch was the driver with the most wins across all three of NASCAR’s top series: Trucks, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup. Outside of racing. Busch was also involved in several philanthropic ventures, including his own Kyle Busch Foundation.
This sat at odds with his often divisive public persona, which he often played up to, although he still remained a popular figure among the NASCAR community.
‘He’s not just one of the greats, he’s one of the best to ever do it, right?’ said Lewis.
Winner
‘The man is a winner through and through: that showed in his personality on and off the track,’ continued Lewis.
‘And, you know, we worked very closely with NASCAR, with RCR [Richard Childress Racing, Busch’s race team from 2023], with KBM [Kyle Busch Motorsports] and the family, and just wanted to make sure that we do things respectfully and the right way,’ he continued.
‘And so you’re going to see some tribute things in the UI. You’re going to see that tribute sticker that just rolled by in chat [via the Discord AMA] that’s going to be available in the car creator, and then he will be selectable in the Cup Series.
‘So you’ll be able to choose him as a driver; he won’t show up in the AI field, but for those that want to use him in Quick Race and in Multiplayer, he will be available.
‘And that’s, like I said, that’s just a nod to one of the greats. And we feel the exact same way that you do: love him or hate him, he was a winner, and he was tough to beat, and he was all those things on the racetrack that you want a race driver to be,’ he concluded.
NASCAR 26 will be released on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on 18th September.
Featured image courtesy of NASCAR