Ex-NASCAR star Danica Patrick reacts to Kyle Busch's tragic death: 'A devastating loss'

Ex-NASCAR star Danica Patrick is like much of the sports world, in shock at Kyle Busch’s unexpected death.

Busch died at age 41 on Thursday, and Patrick said the suddenness of his death still hasn't fully sunk in.

"I think that we're all just shocked. We're sad," Patrick said during an appearance on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" on Friday. "You know, it's just something that no one expected. When I first heard something was wrong, I thought he was driving something, but it was something completely different."

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Patrick called Busch’s death devastating for his family and the NASCAR community.

"It's just a devastating loss for Samantha and Brexton and Lennox and Kurt and his parents and the whole family and for the NASCAR and racing community," Patrick said.

"Cause love him or hate him, Kyle Busch was a figure, he was a polarizing figure and he was an incredible driver that will go down as being one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever. That's a loss in another way, too."

Patrick heaped praise on Busch’s driving skills. He was a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the winningest driver in NASCAR national touring series history.

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Busch is the all-time record-holder for wins in both the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (69). He also had a win in 19 consecutive seasons, which is the most of all time.

Patrick said Busch was able to get to that next level when racing so often.

"I get asked, like, ‘What does it take to be a great driver?’ And many times I've referred to this scenario and Kyle Busch has always been in my mind as the driver that does this the best. But when a driver is out there on track, this is like almost like an altered state of focus," Patrick said.

"The drivers that could access that next level of like, go mode were able to be the best drivers. And I always in my mind was thinking about him, but he's he was so able to get to that next level so often. He was just incredibly fast and incredibly passionate and always wanted to be the best."

Patrick raced in NASCAR's top series from 2012 to 2018. She had seven top-10 finishes and one pole in 191 races.

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