NASCAR driver Casey Mears reflected on the death of Kyle Busch on Friday, saying his impact on the sports of professional racing “immeasurable.”

Busch died at the age of 41, hours after it was announced he was going to forgo any racing activities at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend due to a “severe illness resulting in hospitalization.”

Mears appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends First” as he mourned Busch’s death.

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“I would say, really, it’s immeasurable. What he’s accomplished in the sport is done by nobody else. Kyle’s won so many races,” he said of Busch’s impact on the sport. “I mean, there was a stretch there for a handful of years where if Kyle didn’t win a Busch race, a Cup race or one of the truck races throughout the weekend, something was wrong because he was constantly winning races.

“I think that the end of the day he was just a tremendous competitor you absolutely knew he was going to leave 110% on the table at all times. Just one of the best that’s ever been in a racecar. The biggest thing is that he’d just become such an amazing dad, father, husband, brother. I’m just thinking about everybody in the family. Tom and Gaye, his mom, and brother, obviously Samantha and the kids. He was a true champion at home as a family man as well.”

NASCAR, the Busch family and Richard Childress Racing announced the death Thursday evening, but did not offer a cause of death.

“On behalf of the Busch family, everyone at Richard Childress Racing and all of NASCAR, we are devastated to announce the sudden and tragic passing of Kyle Busch,” the statement said. “Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch. A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.

Kyle Busch celebrates his win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., on Sept. 5, 2014. (Steve Helber/AP)

KYLE BUSCH ON ‘HANG OUT WITH SEAN HANNITY’

“Throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR’s highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation.’

“Our thoughts are with Samantha, Brexton and Lennix, Kyle and Samantha’s parents, Kurt and all of Kyle’s family, Richard and Judy Childress, everyone at Richard Childress Racing, his teammates, friends and fans. NASCAR lost a giant of the sport today, far too soon.

“During this incredibly difficult time, we ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy and continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Further updates will be shared as appropriate.”

Busch was a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and had been on the series since 2004, He made 762 career starts with 63 wins. Busch won the championship in 2015 and 2019, and had 234 victories across all three NASCAR national series.

Kyle Busch celebrates his victory in the NASCAR Shelby 427 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas on March 1, 2009. (Isaac Brekken/AP)

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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). His most recent win came last weekend at Dover, when he led 147 laps in a dominating Truck Series victory.

Fox News’ Zach Dean contributed to this report.

Bayern Munich face holders Stuttgart in the German Cup final on Saturday knowing defeat will sour what had been one of their most promising seasons in recent memory.

Just weeks ago, Bayern were flying high and hopeful of a treble after beating Real Madrid for the first time in over a decade, in the Champions League quarter-finals.

But despite challenging defending champions Paris Saint-Germain over two semi-final legs in a breathless display, Bayern finished a goal behind in the tie on aggregate and were eliminated.

Bayern have beaten Stuttgart three times already this season by a collective 11 goals to three. However a defeat on Saturday will sting a club with their ambitions — and their resources.

With just three defeats in all competitions, Bayern have been incredible this season.

Finishing the Bundesliga 16 points ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, Bayern scored 122 goals in 34 matches to shatter the previous single season goalscoring record of 101, becoming the first side in league history to average over three goals a game.

But the Bavarian giants’ financial muscle has meant the league title has become par for the course in recent years, with 13 wins in the past 14 seasons.

A victory on Saturday would not just crown an excellent season, it would break what is becoming a surprisingly long drought in the competition.

The Bavarians have won the German Cup a record 20 times — 14 more than the next best side, Werder Bremen — but they have not lifted the trophy for six years dating back to 2020, the biggest gap between cup wins this century.

Bayern twice crashed out to lower league opposition in that run and only made it to the quarter-final stage once.

– ‘Painful’ –

In 2021-22, Bayern lost 5-0 to Borussia Moenchengladbach in the second round — their biggest defeat in any competition since the mid-1970s.

“We really want to win that again because it’s painful for us that we haven’t won the cup for six years,” Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said on Sunday.

Harry Kane finally broke through for a first team trophy when Bayern won the Bundesliga last season but admitted failing to win Saturday’s showpiece would put a different spin on the campaign.

“If we don’t win, it will leave a bitter taste in our mouths,” Kane said of the clash with Stuttgart at Bayern’s Bundesliga title celebrations in Munich on Sunday.

By lifting the cup on Saturday, Bayern would win the double for a remarkable 14th time. No other team in German history has done so more than once.

A Bayern-Stuttgart clash opened the season in the newly renamed Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, which features the league and cup holders.
That the domestic season should close with the same two teams duking it out shows how far Stuttgart have come under coach Sebastian Hoeness.

The coach, a nephew of Bayern powerbroker Uli, took over with Stuttgart in relegation danger in 2023 but guided them to two Champions League qualifications and their first silverware in 28 yeras.

Stuttgart may be the defending champions but striker Deniz Undav said the pressure is all on the Bavarian giants, with his side happy to play the role of spoilers.

“It’s a bonus game. We’ve got nothing to lose — we’re the complete underdog,” the Germany striker said, adding “there’s one clear favourite and that’s Bayern”.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al Nassr clinched the Saudi Pro League title with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday, ending his long wait for domestic silverware.

A trademark free-kick and a close-range finish, both in the final half-hour, sealed the win Al Nassr needed on the last night of the season, with Al Hilal finishing just two points behind.

Ronaldo, 41, who was without a major club trophy since winning Serie A with Juventus in 2020, arrived in the kingdom to great acclaim in 2023, wept as he watched the final minutes from the bench.

He adds the Saudi championship to his English, Spanish and Italian titles and five Champions League medals.

Al Nassr took a 2-0 lead but were back to 2-1 before Ronaldo’s free-kick on 63 minutes evaded the goalkeeper and a forest of legs to find the far corner.

He struck again nine minutes from time, receiving a cut-back on the edge of the six-yard box and smashing high into the net.

Next up for the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer, with 143 goals, is a sixth crack at the World Cup after he was named in Portugal’s squad this week.

Desert trailblazer

Ronaldo opened the door to a series of big-money Saudi signings when he joined Al Nassr in January 2023 following an unhappy second spell at Manchester United.

Neymar and Karim Benzema were among those to follow after Ronaldo inked a two-and-a-half-year deal estimated at 200 million euros, extended for two years in June 2025.

The stated aim was to turn the Pro League into one of the world’s top five football competitions measured by the quality of players, stadium attendances, and commercial success. International interest has been muted, however.

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia was confirmed as host of the 2034 World Cup, a coup as it pushes to decouple its economy from oil and attract business and tourists, partly via the buzz of sports.

With a record 664 million Instagram followers, Ronaldo has been a highly visible ambassador as Saudi Arabia tries to turn the page on the ultra-conservative image that has defined it for decades.

The world’s biggest oil exporter and home of Islam has been accused of “sportswashing” — using sport to deflect human rights criticism — as it has invested in Formula 1, golf, boxing, and tennis alongside football.

Some of the more outlandish spending on economic diversification, including sprawling tourist developments and NEOM, a futuristic city in the desert, is being reined in.

This month, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it was exiting the breakaway LIV Golf tour, after reportedly ploughing more than $5 billion into a venture that split the sport.

Expensive football signings have also waned with the stream of big-money transfers slowing to a trickle.

Tears and a protest

Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer in his first two seasons, with his career tally now at 973 — tantalisingly close to the 1,000-goals milestone.

His Saudi stint has not always been smooth. In 2024, he was left in floods of tears when Al Nassr lost the King’s Cup final to Al Hilal on penalties, denying him his first Saudi title.

This season, he disappeared from Al Nassr’s line-up for three games in an apparent protest at Benzema´s transfer to rival team Al Hilal.

Al Hilal and Al Nassr were among the stable of Saudi teams owned by the Public Investment Fund, the country’s $900 billion sovereign wealth fund.

Before Thursday, Ronaldo’s only silverware with Al Nassr was the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup. He was also disappointed on Saturday, when Al Nassr lost to Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Two final.