Former motorsports star Danica Patrick has joined the growing list of people to pay emotional tributes to Kyle Busch following the NASCAR legend’s shock death.Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion and father of two, was hospitalized on Thursday with an unspecified severe illness. Hours later, NASCAR announced that he had died at the age of 41.Busch, who competed in more than 760 races during a storied 24-year career, is survived by his wife, Samantha, and their two children, Brexton, 11, and Lennix, four.Patrick, the former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, admitted she has been left stunned and described Busch’s death as a ‘devastating loss’ for his family and the NASCAR community.

The 44-year-old said on OutKick’s ‘Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich’ on Friday: ‘I think that we’re all just shocked. We’re sad. 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.’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.’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.’