NASCAR
Kyle Busch Conquers Gateway in 63rd Career Victory
MADISON, Ill. – The Richard Childress Racing 8 team and Kyle Busch were riding high all weekend long in St. Louis. After qualifying on Busch’s first pole since 2019, they knew their Camaro was a winning contender.
The black and gold 3CHI Chevrolet would leave the field in the dust, leading 121 laps en route to win number three of 2023. Busch did have to hold serve though on numerous late restarts, including overtime. With the summer stretch heating up, Busch is emerging as a true title threat.
Stage 1 would be interrupted by almost two hours of lightning delays after only five laps. These nearby lightning strikes hampered the race despite no rain ever falling at the track. Once the storms cleared the area, Busch won Stage 1 from the pole.
The 8 was as dominant again in Stage 2, only losing by a few car lengths to second-place starter Ryan Blaney. Still riding the momentum wave from last week’s Charlotte win, the 12 was a stout challenger against Busch.
Busch would not retake command until lap 184, with a bad pit stop setting the 8 back a bit. Slowly and methodically though, Busch charged forward and eventually got by Kyle Larson on a restart. What ended up being the winning pass saw Busch go from fourth to the lead in less than a lap.
While the 8 did lead from this point onward, the field had every chance possible at getting Busch back. Rowdy had to be perfect on five more restarts over the last 50 laps. Each time Larson lined up on Busch’s inside but could never get position back.
Four different drivers saw brake rotor failures in turns one and two throughout the race. This list of drivers out early included Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, Noah Gragson and Bubba Wallace. The 23’s issue happened with five laps left, sending this race into an overtime finish.
In overtime the Kyle and Kyle show played out again. Larson would stumble though, sending the 5 backwards while Busch cruised to his third win of 2023.
“Man, that was pretty awesome,” Busch said. “To sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps and have my guys do such a great job today was pretty phenomenal for us. Great for RCR, just win baby! Thanks to Team Chevy, appreciate 3CHI, hope all the fans go out and celebrate with us too. We’re going to have a great time with this one. This one’s pretty cool.”
Now checking Gateway off the winless list, Kyle Busch has earned a Cup Series victory at 25 different tracks. Tied for the series lead with three checkered flags already, it doesn’t seem the the 8 will stop winning anytime soon.
Behind Busch, the Gateway top-10 were: Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, Michael McDowell, and Kevin Harvick.
From one track where Rowdy reigns supreme, next week is a great chance for Busch to go back-to-back. On Sunday Busch will be gunning for his third win at Sonoma Raceway. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 will go green at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The California road course offers a prime chance for a new winner. Will the winding hills lead to an 11th different face in victory lane?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jeff Curry/Getty Images for NASCAR
