Dale Earnhardt Jr. reads final text with late Kyle Busch

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Revealed his final text exchange with late Kyle Busch Hours before NASCAR driver dies.

“The day before he passed away, I texted him about bringing his late model’s seat to my shop this Thursday,” Earnhardt Jr., 51, said on the Tuesday, May 26 episode of “The Dale Jr. Download” podcast. “We agreed that he would drive our car in the CARS Tour.”

The CARS Racing Tour is a stock racing organization that features late model race cars. Earnhardt Jr. and the late Busch both discussed which No. 1 car they would drive in the Tour.

“He texted me and he said, ‘What plan are we going to run?’ I was like, ‘You can run any plan you want. “I was like, ‘What number do you want to run?'” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “He goes… he’s literally ‘The Dale Jr. 8.’ I was like, ‘You got it.’ ‘”

Earnhardt Jr. said Busch sent him an afro emoji, adding that’s what “race fans” looked like when they saw him driving an older model. (Earnhardt Jr. drove the Budweiser-sponsored No. 8 car for nine seasons from 1999 to 2007.)

Earnhardt Jr. also became emotional when discussing Busch’s death, saying it was “extremely” hard to believe the athlete had died.

“I guess what I enjoyed was getting to know Kyle a little bit more as a person,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “We know who he is on the track, we know how he behaves on the track and in the media, et cetera. What he looks like in a suit on the track and in that environment. I know him on a personal level.”

He continued, “But hearing how he interacted and how he treated other people, the jokes they might share in text messages… I really enjoyed understanding who he was off the track and how he interacted and engaged with other people, or treated or talked to, it was good.”

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News broke on Thursday, May 21, that Bush was hospitalized with a “serious illness.” Hours later, NASCAR confirmed He died at the age of 41. alms Cause of death has been announced Days later, he revealed he died of pneumonia and “developed sepsis, leading to rapid and severe related complications.”

Earnhardt Jr. initially Thinking of his long-time rival Called the late Busch “one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history” in a lengthy social media statement Thursday.

“Kyle and I have had real challenging lives over the years. But luckily we took the time to figure out our differences, which was sparked by a conversation he had on the bus surrounding how we run a racing team,” he shared in part via X . “I was very eager for us to have a better relationship. But it was the work he put in that made that possible.”