In the unforgiving arena of big-game lotteries, where odds laugh at the prepared and reward the persistent, the late Kyle Busch has seemingly pulled off one last improbable victory.
This past weekend, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife announced the winners of its annual moose permit lottery. Among the thousands of hopeful names drawn was one that stopped more than a few readers in their tracks: Kyle Busch, of Denver, North Carolina. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who passed away on May 21 at the age of 41 after a battle with severe pneumonia that progressed to sepsis, had applied for the permit weeks earlier.
2026 Maine Moose Permit Lottery Winners | MIFW
As luck would have it, Busch pulled a bull moose tag for Wildlife Management District 5 during the October 12–17 window. That rugged slice of northern Maine, which spans parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis, and Penobscot counties, offers the kind of remote, spruce-and-bog country that serious moose hunters dream about. Under Maine law, if a permit holder dies before or during the season (and no animal has been harvested), the permit can be transferred to an eligible family member. So while Busch won’t be glassing the alders himself, his legacy still has a shot at a classic Maine backcountry hunt.
The late racer was no stranger to the state of Maine either. He made multiple appearances at Oxford Plains Speedway, winning the storied Oxford 250 in 2011 and returning to run late models in recent years for events like the Celebration of America 300. Fans up north remember him as a hard-charging competitor who enjoyed the tight, old-school tracks and the passionate racing community in the Pine Tree State.
"It's always fun. Just an opportunity to kind of come back and run some super late model cars, always enjoy these types of cars and with a stout field of competitors up here at Oxford Plains Speedway and the Northeast. It always makes out for a good, hard-fought race," Busch told Maine's Total Coverage back in July.
Rowdy and fellow racer Kevin Harvick ready to put the hurt on some turkeys | Instagram
That competitive fire translated beyond the asphalt and into the woods as well. Like many who find their way into the hunting world, Busch appreciated pursuits that demand patience, skill, and a healthy dose of luck— just a few of the qualities that embody the annual Maine moose lottery. Like many states with coveted tags, non-resident odds for drawing a bull tag in Maine are notoriously slim (around 1.4% in recent years), yet here we are.
As for Rowdy, apparently he saw no reason to slow down for something as ordinary as mortality. Now with a bull moose permit, drawn from beyond the grave, the only question that remains is who in his family circle will be chasing it down this October.
