Kyle Busch Takes First RCR Win at Auto Club

Photo Credit to Lionel Racing via Twitter

NASCAR

Kyle Busch Earns Fifth Win at Auto Club, First with Richard Childress Racing

FONTANA, Calif. – It only took the pairing of Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing two weeks to become a winning combination. In the final NASCAR Cup Series race at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway, Busch collects his 61st career victory. This also marks the fifth win for the Las Vegas native at the California track. The only remaining question now is how many more wins can the 8 grab in 2023?

Busch was a man on a mission early on, starting 21st due to metric qualifying setting the lineup. While Ross Chastain took off late in Stage 1 for that win, Busch was not far back in 11th.

Midway through Stage 2 saw a wild moment on a restart. The biggest crash in Auto Club Speedway history ensued, as both lanes were stacked up due to the leaders playing restart games. This resulted in 11 cars damaged, as many drivers went sliding in every direction. Taken out in this chaos was Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, and Aric Almirola.

Once Stage 2 resumed, Ross Chastain was not to be denied, taking a Stage-sweeping day for the first time in his career. The 1 would win Stage 2 by a whopping six seconds over Kyle Busch. Combined with his Daytona 500 Stage 2 win, Chastain is racking up Playoff points already this season. 

Chastain’s banner day would sadly unfold on pit road, as the 1 team lost spots on a few pivotal stops. Busch grabbed the lead to start the final Stage and looked unbeatable with the 8 in the wind.

A bold move by Joey Logano would briefly set Busch back, but he quickly reeled in the 1’s bumper thanks to an ever more daring four-wide pass.

After several laps of closely following Chastain, Busch made his move for the lead just before coming to pit road for the final time. Both leaders made their last fuel stop with 33 laps left, with the 8 gapping the 1 in this sequence. Busch would eventually cycle out ahead of Chastain by several seconds. The 1 would lose second to Chase Elliott in the closing laps, but the 9 was no competition for the 8. Busch and the RCR No. 8 team would go to Auto Club victory lane by a winning margin of three seconds.

“Coulda-shoulda-woulda, right, about last week,” Busch said. “But no, I think it’s just phenomenal. I can’t thank Richard and Judy enough. I can’t thank Austin for calling me and getting me talking and getting me this opportunity to be able to come over here to RCR; and be a part of Chevrolet and be able to race this Lucas Oil Camaro today. To be able to put it up front like that, man.

“The guys did a great job, Randall (Burnett, crew chief), everybody that has worked so hard during the off-season. We’ve done a lot of sim stuff; we’ve done a lot of testing in general just with trying to get up to speed, systems and all that sort of stuff. But man, there’s nothing more rewarding than being able to go to Victory Lane.

“Want to give a shout-out to my wife and son and daughter back at home. I miss you guys, I’ll see you back at home tonight, and also Rowdy Energy, appreciate them. I need some 3CHI for my hands; I death gripped that wheel throughout the second half of that race. We held on, man, we got it today.”

“I think [this win] ranks high just because it ranks to the fact of I can do it. I never doubted myself, but sometimes you do. You kind of get down on it, you wonder what’s going on and what’s happening and you put yourself in a different situation and you’re able to come out here and reward your guys. It’s not about me always winning but it’s about the guys. I’ve been with a lot of great people that have given me a lot of great opportunities in my career, so it’s awesome to be able to reward them. I’m going to enjoy it for sure, and hopefully there’s many more left to go.”

Behind Busch, Elliott, and Chastain, top finishers were: Daniel Suarez, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, and Joey Logano.

This Auto Club win carries a few major milestones for Busch. As his 61st career victory, a tie is broken with Kevin Harvick for ninth-most all-time Cup Series wins. Busch has now also won a race in 19 consecutive seasons, setting that all-time record after breaking the tie with Richard Petty. The Las Vegas native is now also locked into his 16th Playoffs, also tied as an all-time record.

The next race will be in Kyle Busch’s hometown, as race three of the 2023 NASCAR season is Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch is running all three races next weekend, as he goes for the triple sweep in Trucks, Xfinity, and the Cup Series. Coverage of the Pennzoil 400 will be Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Chasing three checkered flags from Vegas, how many can Busch leave with?

Written by Peter Stratta

Be sure to follow us on Twitter

Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter

Photo Credit to Lionel Racing via Twitter