Getty Kurt Busch celebrates a win at Kansas Speedway.
The driver of the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD just made Cup Series history for 23XI Racing. Kurt Busch won his first race for the team while setting an organization record for laps led.
The 2004 Cup Series champion struggled early in the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, but he and his team made the right adjustments when it mattered. Busch led a race-high 116 laps and swept the final two stages while having a well-balanced, fast stock car. This shattered the previous 23XI Racing mark for laps led.
Teammate Bubba Wallace had led 92 combined laps between 2021 and 2022 while driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry. Busch entered the AdventHealth 400 with only nine laps led in a 23XI Racing machine, putting the organization’s total at 101 laps. Now there is a new high-water mark for the organization.
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Busch Achieved Another Historic Feat
GettyKurt Busch has won for 4 different manufacturers.
Busch’s 116 laps-led record was not the only big mark for the veteran driver. He also captured the win while driving a Toyota Camry. This means that he has officially registered Cup Series wins in a Dodge, a Chevrolet, a Ford, and a Toyota.
Busch registered 16 wins in a Ford while driving for two separate organizations. He captured 14 and a championship for Jack Roush, and then he added two more at the end of his tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing. This includes the 2017 Daytona 500.
Prior to the move to Ford, however, Busch won four races for Stewart-Haas Racing while driving a Chevrolet. He then added three more victories for the Bowtie while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Busch achieved a significant amount of success in his career while driving a Dodge. He won 10 races for Team Penske, which includes a Crown Jewel race in the 2013 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The win at Kansas, which was a first for Busch, was his first in a Toyota in the Cup Series. It was also his 34th win in 769 career starts. The veteran driver is now 25th on the all-time wins list, just behind fellow champion Brad Keselowski (35 wins).
This Win Turned Busch’s Season Around
Entering the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas, Busch was not in the playoff picture. A run of four finishes outside of the top-16 had dropped him well below the elimination line and put him in a must-win situation.
Busch did exactly what he needed. He took control of the race at Kansas, and he put on a dominant show during Stage 2 and the early portions of Stage 3. He lost his lead to Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch after a late pit stop, but he was able to battle his way back and take the lead once again.
Busch is now squarely in the playoff picture with a win. He is eligible to join his fellow drivers for the first race of the playoffs, which will take place at Darlington Raceway on September 4, provided there aren’t more than 16 winners in 2022. At that point, he would have to rely on points tiebreakers to get him into the playoff grid.
For now, the veteran driver will celebrate the first win of his 23XI Racing tenure, his first win at Kansas Speedway, and a much-needed strong performance after four weeks of frustration. He will also set out to ride this momentum and gain more playoff points.
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