NASCAR's new 'Shrub': Busch announces birth of son

Looks like Kyle Busch needs to find a new nickname, because "Shrub" doesn’t fit anymore.

He’s no longer the littlest Busch.

Just two days after competing in his first Sprint Cup race of the season, the NASCAR star on Monday night announced to the world that he and wife Samantha are first-time parents.

Heading into last weekend’s All-Star Race, one of the big questions in Charlotte was whether Busch would miss that race -- or this weekend’s upcoming Coca-Cola 600 -- if Samantha went into labor at the same time as competition. Her due date was May 22, this coming Friday.

"I mean, if she goes into labor, my plan has always been to be there for the birth," Busch told reporters on a national teleconference last Tuesday. "The good thing about Charlotte is we have more flexibility being here than if we were on the other side of the country. We'll see what happens the next few days."

Instead, the younger brother of Kurt Busch (hence the Shrub nickname) now has the chance to make his Sprint Cup points-racing debut on Sunday without worry about Samantha going into labor. Busch has been out since breaking his right leg and left foot in the season-opening XFINITY race at Daytona International Speedway in February, the night before the Daytona 500.