Kurt Busch Wins at Kansas for First Victory with Michael Jordan

Kurt Busch won the AdventHealth 400 from Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first win with 23XI Racing.

Busch led a race-high 116 laps and won the second stage of the race. Busch has struggled early in the season, but was finally able to put a strong race together in his Jumpman-sponsored Toyota Camry.

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Busch said his team has been working to improve from the early-season struggles.

“It’s all about teamwork,” Busch said.  “This is 23XI, this is our first win for the 45 car and with Jordan brand on the hood. I felt like I had to play like the goat, race like the goat, and I had to beat the Kyles.”

Busch was part of a trio that fought for the lead over the final run, with Kyle Larson and brother Kyle Busch fighting for the lead.

Busch said once he got past his brother, he knew he’d be able to chase down Larson.

“If I could get one Kyle, I could get both. It’s like the Kyle and Kyle Show.”

“I’ve been with a lot of teams and a lot of manufacturers. It’s the most gratifying to work from the ground up with a new car number.”

Larson had a strong car throughout the day, but said he knew he’d be able to hold off anyone other than Kurt Busch.

“It was hard to hold off Kyle, and I knew when Kurt got by him it was going to be hard to hold him off. I did my best, but came up one spot short. That was fun racing.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Kyle Larson

3. Kyle Busch

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Christopher Bell

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Ross Chastain

8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

9. Alex Bowman

10. Bubba Wallace

11. Austin Cindric

12. Ryan Blaney

13. Austin Dillon

14. Brad Keselowski

15. Kevin Harvick

16. William Byron

17. Joey Logano

18. Noah Gragson

19. Corey LaJoie

20. Ty Dillon

21. Harrison Burton

22. Cole Custer

23. Michael McDowell

24. Chase Briscoe

25. Todd Gilliland

26. Aric Almirola

27. Chris Buescher

28. Josh Bilicki

29. Chase Elliott

30. Tyler Reddick

31. JJ Yeley

32. Erik Jones

33. Daniel Suarez

34. Cody Ware

35. Justin Haley

36. BJ McLeod

 

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Kurt Busch Wins, Busch Brothers Duel in Atlanta

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kurt Busch won the Quaker State 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon to pick up his first win of the season and lock himself into the Playoffs.

It was a dominant performance by both Busch brothers, as Kurt and Kyle combined to lead 235 of 260 laps.

Kurt led a race-high 144 laps, but he found himself behind his brother following the final green-flag pit stop.  It looked as thought Kyle would run away with the victory, but he struggled to get through lapped traffic.

Ross Chastain, Kurt’s teammate, was able to hold Kyle up through Turn 4.  Kurt took the lead for good and was able to hold off Kyle to pick up the victory.

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Kurt said he enjoyed winning on Atlanta’s old surface one last time before a repave begins in the coming weeks.

“What a genuine, awesome, old-school racetrack,” Kurt said.  “I just asked the track today, ‘last time today on your old asphalt if I could have an old guy win.’”

The victory locks Kurt into the Playoffs and moves him off of the cutline.

Kurt said he was glad to get a victory during a season where they haven’t had the fastest car every weekend.

“This has been one of those years,” Kurt said.  “I knew we’d have our back up against the wall with trying to get above the cutoff line and race hard and race smart.”

Kyle said the handling went away on his car as the final run went on, and that allowed his brother to pull away.

“We just didn’t have enough front end with laps on tires,” Kyle said.  “Had everything I had there early, then just smoked it behind the 42 [of Chastain].”

“Had one valiant effort off of 2, but just didn’t have enough momentum to drag him down and make him go high in 3 and 4.  After that, the tires were smoked.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Kyle Busch

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Alex Bowman

5. Ryan Blaney

6. Tyler Reddick

7. Chase Elliott

8. Christopher Bell

9. Matt DiBenedetto

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Kevin Harvick

12. Austin Dillon

13. Denny Hamlin

14. Bubba Wallace

15. Chase Briscoe

16. Chris Buescher

17. Cole Custer

18. Kyle Larson

19. Joey Logano

20. William Byron

21. Ross Chastain

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Aric Almirola

24. Erik Jones

25. Ryan Preece

26. Anthony Alfredo

27. Michael McDowell

28. Ryan Newman

29. Justin Haley

30. BJ McLeod

31. Garrett Smithley

32. Bayley Currey

33. Cody Ware

34. Josh Bilicki

35. Quin Houff

36. Daniel Suarez

37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Kurt Busch Shocks Playoff Field with Las Vegas Win

 Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kurt Busch won the South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday night for his first career victory at his hometown track.

A caution in the middle of green-flag pit stops late in the race caught most of the leaders -- and most of the Playoff drivers -- a lap down.  Busch stayed out longer than the others and was able to inherit the lead when the caution came out and the other leaders had to wave around.

Over the final 30 laps, Busch held off Matt DiBenedetto, Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin over numerous restarts to claim his first victory of 2020 and lock himself into the next round of the Playoffs.

Busch said the victory was the culmination of two decades of frustration at his home track.

“You dream of winning at your hometown track, and for two decades it’s kicked my butt,” Busch said.  “I’m in awe, this is what kids dream of when they grow up racing.”

Busch said the victory was due to his crew chief’s pit strategy call finally working in their favor.

“One of those quirky Matt McCall pit sequences finally unfolded,” Busch said.  “We got lucky; I knew the race would come to us, we just needed to get to nightfall.”

Hamlin had one of the fastest cars throughout the race, but he couldn’t get to Busch’s bumper and challenge for the victory in the closing laps.

Hamlin said it was another example of late-race cautions costing his team a chance at the victory.

“Just the same thing as Darlington, untimely cautions,” Hamlin said.  “It’s what’s keeping us out of victory lane.  We obviously had a dominant car today.”

“Really encouraged with the way we ran.  Obviously disappointed we didn’t win and that’s just been the way the Playoffs have gone.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Matt DiBenedetto

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Martin Truex Jr.

5. Alex Bowman

6. Kyle Busch

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Erik Jones

9. Chris Buescher

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Jimmie Johnson

12. Clint Bowyer

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Joey Logano

15. Ryan Newman

16. Cole Custer

17. Aric Almirola

18. Matt Kenseth

19. Ryan Preece

20. John Hunter Nemechek

21. Michael McDowell

22. Chase Elliott

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

24. Christopher Bell

25. William Byron

26. Ty Dillon

27. Corey LaJoie

28. Bubba Wallace

29. Daniel Suarez

30. Brennan Poole

31. Gray Gaulding

32. Austin Dillon

33. JJ Yeley

34. Quin Houff

35. Joey Gase

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Timmy Hill

38. Tyler Reddick

39. Chad Finchum

Photos courtesy Chris Graythen (Getty Images)

Busch Brothers Duel in Kentucky

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kurt Busch won the Quaker State 400 from Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night,

Busch took the lead after the final restart of overtime, and he outran his younger brother Kyle to get to victory lane.

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Last weekend, Busch lost the lead during a lightning delay that ended the race at Daytona, and he said this race made up for the loss last weekend.

“When we got the yellow at the end, that put us back in it,” Busch said.  “Last week was whatever, because this week we got the trophy.”

Busch has had a strong car on 1.5 mile tracks throughout the season, but was winless coming into Saturday’s race. 

The victory was the first for Busch with the new team, and he said the victory was a first for many on the team.

“A lot of first wins with this group of guys,” Busch said.  “The way that we got together and had speed, we just weren’t competing…now we’re all winners.”

Kyle Busch said he was disappointing in finishing second in a close finish to his older brother.

“It was a thriller, just unfortunate that we were on the wrong end of the deal,” Busch said.  “It’s obviously cool to put on great races and great finishes.  Been a part of a lot of them…in fact none with my brother.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Kyle Busch

3. Erik Jones

4. Kyle Larson

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Joey Logano

8. Daniel Suarez

9. Ryan Newman

10. Chris Buescher

11. Paul Menard

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Ryan Blaney

14. Aric Almirola

15. Chase Elliott

16. Matt DiBenedetto

17. Alex Bowman

18. William Byron

19. Martin Truex Jr.

20. Brad Keselowski

21. Ryan Preece

22. Kevin Harvick

23. Bubba Wallace

24. Daniel Hemric

25. Michael McDowell

26. Ty Dillon

27. Matt Tifft

28. Corey LaJoie

29. David Ragan

30. Jimmie Johnson

31. Ross Chastain

32. Landon Cassill

33. Bayley Currey

34. Quin Houff

35. Austin Dillon

36. BJ McLoed

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Logano Dominates in Michigan

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Joey Logano won the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway on Monday afternoon.

The race was delayed from Sunday due to rain, but Logano dominated from the drop of the green flag.  After starting on the pole, Logano led 163 of 203 laps on Monday.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

After a caution came out to send the race into overtime, Logano had to hold off Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch to get to victory lane.

Logano said he used his experience on previous restarts to hold off Busch over the final two laps.

“You race this whole race, and you keep building that notebook up,” Logano said.  “Great execution day; our racecar was obviously very fast, and our pit crew’s amazing.”

Busch finished second, and is still looking for his first win on the season.

After getting into the wall earlier in the race, Busch said the light damage his car had affected his ability to get to the lead late in the race.

“That’s more than I was hoping to see for damage, but I had a blast,” Busch said.  “This gives us reason to smile and be happy; we ran up front and we were strong.”

“We got enough stage points today that I was like, ‘hell with it, we don’t need to get anything but the win.’”

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Kurt Busch

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Daniel Suarez

5. Kyle Busch

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Kevin Harvick

8. Ryan Newman

9. Ryan Blaney

10. Alex Bowman

11. Denny Hamlin

12. Daniel Hemric

13. Paul Menard

14. Kyle Larson

15. Jimmie Johnson

16. Chris Buescher

17. Aric Almirola

18. William Byron

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Chase Elliott

21. Matt DiBenedetto

22. Ty Dillon

23. Corey LaJoie

24. Matt Tifft

25. Ryan Preece

26. Austin Dillon

27. Michael McDowell

28. Bubba Wallace

29. Landon Cassill

30. Garrett Smithley

31. Erik Jones

32. Quin Houff

33. Josh Bilicki

34. David Ragan

35. Clint Bowyer

36. Kyle Weatherman

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Busch Continues to Roll, Wins at Bristol

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kyle Busch won the Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon for his third victory of the season.

Busch took the lead when the other leaders pitted during a late caution.  On the restart, Busch had to hold off his older brother Kurt for the victory.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Kyle said it was fitting that the two brothers, who have 14 Bristol wins between them, would battle it out at the end.

“It was fun to battle out the brother there at the end,” Kyle said.  “I saw him working the top…and I was able to get up there and make some ground.”

Busch struggled with his car’s handling throughout the weekend, and was involved in a wreck on lap 1.  After fixing his car and fighting back through the field, Busch said his team got him the track position they needed at the right time.

“This Skittles Camry wasn’t the best today,” Busch said.  “We made the most of not having the best and got everything we needed there at the end.”

Kurt Busch started 27th on Sunday, but after working his way through the field, he found himself chasing his brother for the victory.

Busch said his team gave him a car capable enough of winning, but that his car didn’t handle well until the tires warmed up.

“We struggled on taking off,” Busch said.  “I just can’t get that right-rear to grip until it’s got heat in it; it’s hard to be patient when you’re running for the win on old tires.”

“I really wanted to beat him…I was going to wreck him.  He’s already won, and I figured he could give a little love to his brother.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Kurt Busch

3. Joey Logano

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Denny Hamlin

6. Paul Menard

7. Clint Bowyer

8. Daniel Suarez

9. Ryan Newman

10. Jimmie Johnson

11. Chase Elliott

12. Matt DiBenedetto

13. Kevin Harvick

14. Austin Dillon

15. Ty Dillon

16. William Byron

17. Martin Truex Jr.

18. Brad Keselowski

19. Kyle Larson

20. Bubba Wallace

21. David Ragan

22. Chris Buescher

23. Alex Bowman

24. Erik Jones

25. Ryan Preece

26. Landon Cassill

27. Matt Tifft

28. Michael McDowell

29. Ross Chastain

30. Daniel Hemric

31. Bayley Currey

32. Quin Houff

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

34. Corey LaJoie

35. Timmy Hill

36. Gray Gaulding

37. Aric Almirola

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Busch Snaps Winless Streak with Bristol Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kurt Busch won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

Busch snapped a 58-race winless streak with the victory and locked himself into the Playoffs.

After taking the lead away from his teammate Clint Bowyer on a late restart, Busch held off Kyle Larson over the final run to pick up his sixth victory at Bristol.

Busch said he was excited to win on a night when the cars were hard to handle.

“This one’s one of the sweetest because you have to work the hardest right now,” Busch said.  “The cars are right there on edge and you’ve got to work every single lap.”

Busch was one of many drivers that had damage from an accident on the third lap, but he said the damage to his car wasn’t as bad as some others.

“All this damage, and I was like, ‘it’s not that bad, we’re going to be okay,’” Busch said.  “Just so proud of the team effort.”

Larson finished second after starting on the pole and struggling with his car’s handling through the night. 

Larson said his finish was better than what they should have had.

“Our Chevy wasn’t very good from lap 1 to 500, but we got a second place finish out of it,” Larson said.  “We were probably a 12th to 15th place car.”

“I think if I had a better car, tires probably would have showed what they’re really capable of.  Just a really frustrating day.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kurt Busch

2. Kyle Larson

3. Chase Elliott

4. Joey Logano

5. Erik Jones

6. Clint Bowyer

7. Ryan Blaney

8. Alex Bowman

9. Jimmie Johnson

10. Kevin Harvick

11. Trevor Bayne

12. Ryan Newman

13. Austin Dillon

14. Denny Hamlin

15. Kasey Kahne

16. Brad Keselowski

17. David Ragan

18. Daniel Suarez

19. Chris Buescher

20. Kyle Busch

21. Ty Dillon

22. Matt DiBenedetto

23. William Byron

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25. Landon Cassill

26. Ross Chastain

27. Blake Jones

28. Timmy Hill

29. Jamie McMurray

30. Martin Truex Jr.

31. Aric Almirola

32. JJ Yeley

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Corey LaJoie

35. Jesse Little

36. Paul Menard

37. Michael McDowell

38. Darrell Wallace Jr.

39. AJ Allmendinger

40. Gray Gaulding

Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Logano Returns to Victory Lane with Talladega Win

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Joey Logano won the Geico 500 from Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon.

Logano led a race-high 70 laps, and led a group of Ford drivers who dominated most of the race.  Fords made up six of the top seven spots, and Logano said his victory was due to the Ford drivers working together.

Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

“Ford teamwork is what did it today,” Logano said.  “Not only with the Team Penske Fords, but all the Fords out there.”

Logano won on Sunday for the first time in a year.  Following his victory last year in Richmond, Logano’s car was found to be illegal by NASCAR and the win could not be used to get into the playoffs.  A string of bad luck followed and Logano missed the playoffs.  With his win on Sunday, Logano punched his ticket to this year’s playoffs. 

Logano said it was a weight off his shoulder to return to victory lane.

“Man, it feels so good to be back in victory lane,” Logano said.  “It feels so good, we don’t have to worry about the playoffs thing; we’re in.”

Kurt Busch was running second in the closing laps, but after getting separated from his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick, his plan to challenge for the victory fell apart.

Busch said he should have done something different in the closing laps to try and pick up the victory.

“I didn’t quite make the right move and it’s a shame,” Busch said.  “It was one of the best Fords I’ve ever had.”

“My plan was to roll with Kevin until the last lap and then slingshot by him on the outside.  Everyone’s just running side-by-side trying to get everything they can…and it didn’t quite materialize.”

Unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Kurt Busch

3. Chase Elliott

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

6. David Ragan

7. Aric Almirola

8. Alex Bowman

9. Ryan Newman

10. Daniel Suarez

11. Chris Buescher

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Kyle Busch

14. Denny Hamlin

15. Ty Dillon

16. Darrell Wallace Jr.

17. Kasey Kahne

18. Ryan Blaney

19. Matt DiBenedetto

20. DJ Kennington

21. Cole Whitt

22. Brendan Gaughan

23. Timothy Peters

24. Gray Gaulding

25. Ross Chastain

26. Martin Truex Jr.

27. Joey Gase

28. Jamie McMurray

29. William Byron

30. Paul Menard

31. Clint Bowyer

32. Michael McDowell

33. Brad Keselowski

34. AJ Allmendinger

35. Austin Dillon

36. Timmy Hill

37. Reed Sorenson

38. Trevor Bayne

39. Erik Jones

40. Kyle Larson

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images