Dale Coyne Racing has altered the font of Romain Grosjean's No. 18 Honda for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 as a tribute to two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who died suddenly on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Grosjean will start from the 24th position in the race on Sunday, May 24, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, driving the stylized vehicle.
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The font design mirrors the one Busch used during his 14 years at Joe Gibbs Racing, where he earned 56 of his 63 career NASCAR Cup victories.
Fox Sports IndyCar commentator Townsend Bell, who raced alongside Busch at the 2020 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, proposed the visual tribute and coordinated with Joe Gibbs Racing to secure trademark permissions.
"Thanks to Dale Coyne Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing for making it happen," said Bell, who also expressed personal grief over the loss.
Bell noted Busch's generosity toward his family, saying, "He couldn't have been more generous when my son first arrived in Charlotte.
He was a friend."
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The modified car joins other tributes at the Brickyard, including a message on the frontstretch scoring pylon for Busch, who won back-to-back Brickyard 400 races in 2015 and 2016.
Busch had long aimed to attempt the double-duty schedule of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, nearly finalizing agreements with Andretti in 2017 and McLaren in later years before his death at age 41.
Reactions from the racing community poured in as drivers gathered in Indianapolis and Charlotte ahead of the weekend races.
Two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden called Busch "an extreme racer, one of the best you'd ever see on track," and acknowledged the impact on Busch's family.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson praised Busch's technical abilities and racing intellect, noting his unique blend of old-school knowledge and modern engineering communication.
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"Technically, in knowing the build of a car, he's one of the best," Johnson said, adding that Busch's bravery and skill completed the rare combination.
