Checkered Weekend: NASCAR Mourns Kyle Busch, Indy 500 Breaks Purse Records, Alex Marquez Out Two Rounds After Barcelona Crash

NASCAR Mourns Kyle Busch

There are no words that adequately cover the loss of Kyle Busch. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, one of the most talented and polarizing drivers the sport has ever produced, passed away suddenly last Thursday at the age of 41. His family confirmed the cause of death as severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.

The grief that followed was immediate and overwhelming across the entire motorsport community. Busch spent the majority of his career at Joe Gibbs Racing, winning two championships with the iconic No. 18 before joining Richard Childress Racing ahead of the 2023 season. His final three Cup wins all came with RCR, all in 2023, all under the No. 8 he had made his own at the team.

That number will not return to the track. RCR announced the car will carry the No. 33, not the No. 8. The team was definitive about why. "Kyle Busch was instrumental in the design of RCR's stylized No. 8 and it has become synonymous with Kyle and an important symbol for his fans and the NASCAR industry," the team said in a statement. "No one can carry it forward to the level that he did. The No. 8 is reserved and ready for Brexton Busch when he is ready to go NASCAR racing." Brexton, Kyle's son, is currently 11 years old.

The decision carries a clear historical parallel. When Dale Earnhardt was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500, RCR shelved the No. 3 and replaced it with the No. 29 for Kevin Harvick. The No. 3 did not return to Cup competition for over a decade, eventually passed to Earnhardt's grandson Austin Dillon. The No. 18, which Busch carried through the defining years of his JGR career, has not been used since he left at the end of the 2022 season.

Rosenqvist Makes Bank!

The 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 did not just produce the closest finish in race history. It also generated the largest purse in the event's history by a significant margin.

The total payout for the 2026 race reached $30,906,400, an increase of more than 50 percent over last year's $20,283,000. Newly crowned champion Felix Rosenqvist took home $4.34 million, while Mick Schumacher earned Rookie of the Year honors after finishing 18th, the highest position among all first-time starters, collecting a $50,000 bonus as part of a total payout of $218,800.

IndyCar and IMS President J. Douglas Boles pointed to a month that exceeded expectations across every metric. "The Month of May featured a back-to-back grandstand sellout crowd, our largest crowd since the 100th running in 2016, and intense on-track action with the most lead changes ever in the Indy 500. Felix Rosenqvist added his name to the history books in stellar fashion, with the closest finish in Indy 500 history and now the largest purse."

For context on how quickly the numbers have moved:

Year	Total Purse	Winner's Share
2026	$30,906,400	$4,340,000
2025	$20,283,000	$3,800,000
2024	$18,456,000	$4,300,000
2023	$17,021,500	$3,700,000
2022	$16,000,200	$3,100,000

Alex Marquez to Miss Mugello and Balaton Park

MotoGP heads into its Italian and Hungarian rounds without Alex Marquez, who will sit out both events as he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained at the Catalan Grand Prix at Barcelona.

Gresini Racing confirmed last Thursday that Marquez will not take part in the Mugello or Balaton Park rounds, meaning he will be absent until at least the Czech Grand Prix on June 21. The Spaniard suffered a broken right collarbone after making contact with Pedro Acosta's KTM at Barcelona and required surgery. Scans also revealed a minor fracture of the C7 vertebra, though no immediate operation was performed on that injury. Further tests were scheduled this week, but Thursday's update from Gresini made no reference to the vertebra or any updated timeline for full recovery.

Gresini has not announced a replacement rider, though the regulations require the team to field one. When Fermin Aldeguer missed the Thailand season opener earlier this year, Ducati test rider Michele Pirro stepped in as his substitute.

The timing is particularly difficult for the Marquez family. Alex returned to his home in Madrid alongside elder brother Marc Marquez, who is also sidelined after suffering a foot injury at the French Grand Prix the week before Barcelona. Marc underwent surgery on both the broken foot and his right shoulder and missed the Catalan round entirely.