United Kingdom, May 22 -- Legendary NASCAR racer Kyle Busch has died at the age of 41.

The driver's passing was announced by the US racing series on Thursday (21.05.26), just hours after the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion's family had revealed that he had been hospitalised with a "severe illness".

A statement from NASCAR, the Busch family and his Richard Childress Racing team read: "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.

"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, ...