NASCAR
Kyle Busch’s Quest to Win Everywhere is One Step Closer to Completion
On May 27, 2018 Kyle Busch made unparalleled NASCAR history, joining an exclusive club of one. In dominating fashion Busch won the 2018 Coca-Cola 600, taking his first win at Charlotte. Busch became the first NASCAR driver ever to win at every active racetrack. This title lasted for all of 126 days, with that fall’s addition of the Charlotte Roval.
Just over five years removed from that history-making night, Busch is on the cusp of capturing this feat again. Thanks to winning last week at Gateway, another track is checked off Busch’s winless list. Busch now has a win at 25 different stops on the Cup Series schedule.
As of early June 2023, Busch has only not won on a select few recent additions to the Cup Series campaign. Going a bit deeper, let’s take a look at Busch’s winless venues across all three National Series.
Cup Series
Busch is only winless at three current stops for the NASCAR Cup Series. These include the Charlotte Roval, COTA and Nashville Superspeedway. The Chicago Street Course will join this list in a matter of weeks, unless Busch takes the inaugural race. At these three venues, Rowdy has been within sight of each track’s victory lane.
Busch’s best Roval result was third last year. Across five Roval starts, Busch has trended upward with back-to-back top-fives. Perhaps Sonoma this weekend will show RCR’s road course strength again. Busch was also a career-best runner-up at COTA in March. Team 8 is seemingly firing on all cylinders when it comes to road courses. October could be the right time for Busch on the Roval.
Nashville Superspeedway is a bit of an oddity for Busch so far in the Cup Series. In the Ally 400’s first two runnings Rowdy finished 11th and 21st, but led laps led each time. The Music City track is far from a foreign site for Busch success though. Rowdy claims two Nashville Xfinity checkered flags, two Truck Series wins, and an ARCA victory here. A Nashville Superspeedway Cup win seems the most feasible for Busch’s near future, given his incredible Tennessee track record.
Also of note, Busch failed to win either of the two Cup Series dates held at the Daytona Road Course or at Road America. The two-time champion did however win the 2021 Busch Light Clash on the Daytona circuit. Later that same year, Busch also won an Xfinity race on the four-mile Wisconsin layout. For the time being, both of these road courses are no longer on the Cup calendar.
Xfinity Series
By far the series with his most NASCAR success, Kyle Busch is the all-time Xfinity wins leader with 102 victories and counting. Martinsville Speedway is the only active track where Busch has competed and failed to win so far. In the 2006 Xfinity race on The Paperclip, Busch quietly started eighth and finished 20th.
Since Xfinity started going back to the Virginia track in 2020, Busch has yet to make another start here. Busch is the owner of four Grandfather Clocks though between Cup and Trucks. It is likely Busch could easily add to his collection should he attempt a Martinsville Xfinity start.
Craftsman Truck Series
Another series where Rowdy reigns supreme, KB has a best finish of second at three tracks in a Craftsman Truck. This includes a 2010 runner-up at Indianapolis Raceway Park, second to a teammate two years ago at Richmond, and playing bridesmaid earlier this year at COTA. Had Busch opted to pit when he was told back in March, he likely would have cycled out ahead of eventual COTA winner Zane Smith.
Both Richmond and IRP are now the Truck Series’ regular season finale and Playoff opener. Due to their current spots on the schedule, Busch is barred from competing there as a Cup veteran. Expect him to run again at COTA next year though, where he will be heavily favored.
Year one of Kyle Busch at Richard Childress Racing has been a success so far. Three wins in the opening 15 races is tied for most of all Cup Series drivers in 2023. The relationship between Busch and RCR seems healthy with no signs of slowing down. This dynamic duo could help Busch reclaim his exclusive title of winning at every track in NASCAR. In a few weeks at Nashville, keep an eye on the 8 to see if Busch can get one step closer to this goal.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jeff Curry/Getty Images for NASCAR
