NASCAR Cup Series
Analysis: 'Rowdy' is back - and that should scare the field
By staffreport
Kyle Busch returned to his winning ways Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, scoring his first NASCAR Cup Series win for Richard Childress Racing.
Kyle Busch found his way back to Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
That should surprise nobody — but it should concern the rest of his NASCAR Cup Series competition.
RELATED: Auto Club results | At-track photos: Fontana
‘Rowdy’ was not contending for wins often last year, his final of 15 seasons driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. His last victory came 28 races ago at the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway — a victory that frankly fell into his lap when leaders Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe tangled in Turn 4 on the final lap, allowing Busch to scoot through to the checkers. He led significant laps at Gateway, Nashville and Darlington but couldn’t close the deal.
There was no backing into his Sunday win in Fontana, his first driving for the storied Richard Childress Racing. Busch led 27 laps, including each of the final 21 circuits en route to the triumph. It was his most Busch-esque performance in recent memory, stalking oft-leader Ross Chastain for the lead late but showing patience in his attack.
An early pit-road speeding penalty mired Busch at the rear of the field for a Lap 47 restart after originally exiting the pits third. Busch powered the No. 8 Chevrolet all the way back to 11th place in the remaining 22 laps of Stage 1, an immediate warning shot to the rest of the field of how quick his machine was.
Busch capitalized on that speed and limited further mistakes, a note that became particularly pertinent on the final round of green-flag pit stops at Lap 166. Moments after nabbing the lead from Chastain, the duo darted for pit road together — but Busch was notably conservative, likely to avoid another penalty. Chastain took as much ground as he could and drew even with the No. 8, but Busch and his crew won the race off pit road anyway.
The two-time champion used that track position to his advantage and held off second-place runner Chase Elliott by 2.998 seconds as Chastain fell to third.
It’s been an incredible start to Busch’s new chapter with RCR — seemingly no need for a get-to-know-each-other period. The exhibition run at the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum produced a podium finish with a third-place result, parlayed into an impressive Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway that saw the No. 8 Chevrolet lead laps in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel and Daytona 500.
The team left Daytona without the results to show for their dominance, which included the most laps led in Duel No. 2 and heading the field at Lap 200 of the Daytona 500. No opportunity was blundered in Fontana.
His competition knows he’s back — and how dangerous a confident ‘Rowdy’ can be.
Some, though, showed their respect after the two-time Cup Series champion made his return to his winning ways after departing the JGR powerhouse.
“Congratulations to Kyle. For him to leave and then to go get the job done like that is pretty cool,” said Elliott, the 2020 series champion. “He’s always been really good to me, so happy for them and looking forward to getting to Vegas and hopefully competing for some more wins.”
Elliott’s teammate and 2021 title winner Kyle Larson offered similar praise.
One of the best to ever strap into a NASCAR stock car, undoubtedly. Busch’s victory makes history — 2023 now marks 19 straight winning seasons for the Las Vegas native, breaking Richard Petty’s long-standing record who won in 18 consecutive years.
With a win in his pocket just two races into the new year, a rejuvenated Rowdy is bound to find more success sooner than later.
Kyle Busch found his way back to Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
That should surprise nobody — but it should concern the rest of his NASCAR Cup Series competition.
RELATED: Auto Club results | At-track photos: Fontana
‘Rowdy’ was not contending for wins often last year, his final of 15 seasons driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. His last victory came 28 races ago at the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway — a victory that frankly fell into his lap when leaders Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe tangled in Turn 4 on the final lap, allowing Busch to scoot through to the checkers. He led significant laps at Gateway, Nashville and Darlington but couldn’t close the deal.
There was no backing into his Sunday win in Fontana, his first driving for the storied Richard Childress Racing. Busch led 27 laps, including each of the final 21 circuits en route to the triumph. It was his most Busch-esque performance in recent memory, stalking oft-leader Ross Chastain for the lead late but showing patience in his attack.
An early pit-road speeding penalty mired Busch at the rear of the field for a Lap 47 restart after originally exiting the pits third. Busch powered the No. 8 Chevrolet all the way back to 11th place in the remaining 22 laps of Stage 1, an immediate warning shot to the rest of the field of how quick his machine was.
Busch capitalized on that speed and limited further mistakes, a note that became particularly pertinent on the final round of green-flag pit stops at Lap 166. Moments after nabbing the lead from Chastain, the duo darted for pit road together — but Busch was notably conservative, likely to avoid another penalty. Chastain took as much ground as he could and drew even with the No. 8, but Busch and his crew won the race off pit road anyway.
The two-time champion used that track position to his advantage and held off second-place runner Chase Elliott by 2.998 seconds as Chastain fell to third.
It’s been an incredible start to Busch’s new chapter with RCR — seemingly no need for a get-to-know-each-other period. The exhibition run at the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum produced a podium finish with a third-place result, parlayed into an impressive Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway that saw the No. 8 Chevrolet lead laps in the Bluegreen Vacations Duel and Daytona 500.
The team left Daytona without the results to show for their dominance, which included the most laps led in Duel No. 2 and heading the field at Lap 200 of the Daytona 500. No opportunity was blundered in Fontana.
His competition knows he’s back — and how dangerous a confident ‘Rowdy’ can be.
Some, though, showed their respect after the two-time Cup Series champion made his return to his winning ways after departing the JGR powerhouse.
“Congratulations to Kyle. For him to leave and then to go get the job done like that is pretty cool,” said Elliott, the 2020 series champion. “He’s always been really good to me, so happy for them and looking forward to getting to Vegas and hopefully competing for some more wins.”
Elliott’s teammate and 2021 title winner Kyle Larson offered similar praise.
“Couldn‘t be more happy for @KyleBusch . The guy is one of the best race car drivers of all time and will always be. I‘m glad it only took him 2 races to remind the world.
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) February 27, 2023 ”
One of the best to ever strap into a NASCAR stock car, undoubtedly. Busch’s victory makes history — 2023 now marks 19 straight winning seasons for the Las Vegas native, breaking Richard Petty’s long-standing record who won in 18 consecutive years.
With a win in his pocket just two races into the new year, a rejuvenated Rowdy is bound to find more success sooner than later.