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Autosport
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Sport
Jim Utter

NASCAR Cup Fontana: Kyle Busch powers to record-breaking victory

Busch, who moved from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing over the winter, grabbed the lead on lap 143 and held on through a final round of green-flag pitstops to keep clear of Chase Elliott to win by 2.998 seconds.

The win gives the 37-year-old the outright record for most consecutive seasons with at least one victory, as he pulls clear of seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty to move on to 19 straight seasons.

Busch is also the final winner on the two-mile track layout at Fontana as it is scheduled to be transformed into a short track and will not be on the 2024 Cup schedule.

In addition, the last time Busch won a Cup race in a car not from Joe Gibbs Racing was 25 March 2007, nearly 16 years ago, when Busch drove for Hendrick Motorsports.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the two-time Cup champion, as he had to overcome a pit speeding penalty and battle his way back to the front of the field.

“Could have, should have, would have last week. I think it’s just phenomenal,” Busch said, reflecting on missing out at the Daytona 500 last weekend. “I can’t thank Richard and Judy [Childress] enough, Austin [Dillon] for calling me and getting me talking and getting me the opportunity to come over here to RCR.

Race winner Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro (Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images)

“The guys did a great job. Everybody that worked so hard in the off-season. We did a lot of sim stuff, a lot of testing in general just trying to get up to speed. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to go to victory lane.”

Ross Chastain led the most laps with 91 but ended up third as he faded towards the end, while his Trackhouse Racing team-mate Daniel Suarez was fourth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.

With Denny Hamlin sixth, Brad Keselowski bounced back from a crash at the Daytona 500 to take seventh, ahead of Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon, as last weekend’s runner-up at Daytona Joey Logano completed the top 10.

NASCAR Cup - Fontana race results - 200 laps

Cla Driver Manufacturer Gap Interval
1 United States Kyle Busch Chevrolet    
2 United States Chase Elliott Chevrolet 2.998 2.998
3 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 7.353 4.355
4 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 11.866 4.513
5 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 13.268 1.402
6 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 13.296 0.028
7 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 13.541 0.245
8 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 16.289 2.748
9 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 16.795 0.506
10 United States Joey Logano Ford 17.013 0.218
11 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 17.105 0.092
12 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 23.231 6.126
13 United States Chris Buescher Ford 24.082 0.851
14 United States Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 29.296 5.214
15 United States Harrison Burton Ford 34.796 5.500
16 Ty Gibbs Toyota 36.726 1.930
17 United States Todd Gilliland Ford 36.869 0.143
18 United States Michael McDowell Ford 41.379 4.510
19 United States Erik Jones Chevrolet 42.406 1.027
20 United States Chase Briscoe Ford 43.955 1.549
21 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 1 Lap 1 Lap
22 United States Noah Gragson Chevrolet 1 Lap 1.730
23 United States J.J. Yeley Ford 1 Lap 15.742
24 United States B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 1 Lap 2.555
25 United States William Byron Chevrolet 2 Laps 1 Lap
26 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 4 Laps 2 Laps
27 United States Cody Ware Ford 5 Laps 1 Lap
28 United States Austin Cindric Ford 6 Laps 1 Lap
29 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 15 Laps 9 Laps
30 United States Bubba Wallace Toyota 28 Laps 13 Laps
31 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 60 Laps 32 Laps
32 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 112 Laps 52 Laps
33 United States Ryan Preece Ford 113 Laps 1 Lap
34 United States Tyler Reddick Toyota 113 Laps 5'34.369
35 United States Aric Almirola Ford 114 Laps 1 Lap
36 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 125 Laps 11 Laps

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