In 2005, Kyle Busch went into the record books as a NASCAR Cup Series winner when he earned his first career victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Today, he gave the track where he earned his first career victory a worthy sendoff by writing yet another new chapter in the record books and in his own outstanding career.
After taking the lead from Ross Chastain just before the final cycle of green flag stops, Busch drove off into the Southern California sunset to win the Pala Casino 400 at Fontana, the final race at Auto Club Speedway's original two-mile configuration. Busch's win was the 61st of his Cup Series career, his fifth at Auto Club Speedway and his first for Richard Childress Racing.
Busch's victory now gives him 19 straight Cup seasons with at least one victory, which sets a new all-time record. Busch tied the previous record of 18, which had been set by Richard Petty from 1960 to 1977, last year.
Pala Casino 400 unofficial results
- #8 - Kyle Busch
- #9 - Chase Elliott
- #1 - Ross Chastain
- #99 - Daniel Suarez
- #4 - Kevin Harvick
- #11 - Denny Hamlin
- #6 - Brad Keselowski
- #48 - Alex Bowman
- #3 - Austin Dillon
- #22 - Joey Logano
The strength of Busch's car was obvious almost immediately, but it took him some time to find the very front of the field after a pit road speeding penalty served as a setback. After stalking Ross Chastain for much of the second-to-last green flag run, Busch finally took the lead from Chastain just before pit stops with 34 laps to go, then put a gap on Chastain off pit road after quick work by his crew.
From there, only a strategy play by Michael McDowell kept Busch from the top spot, and he would take the lead for good with 21 laps to go as he drove away from the rest of the field to help validate his move to RCR after 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing.
"There's nothing more rewarding than being able to go to Victory Lane," Busch told Fox Sports. "... I think [the win] ranks high, just because it ranks to the fact that I can do it. I never doubted myself, but sometimes you do. You kind of get down, you wonder what's going on and what's happening, you put yourself in a different situation and you're able to come out here and reward your guys. It's not about me always winning, but it's always about the guys.
"I've been with a lot of great people that have given me a lot of great opportunities in my career. So it's awesome to be able to reward them. I'm gonna enjoy it for sure, and hopefully there's many more left to go."
With his 61st win, Busch now temporarily moves out of a tiebreaker with Kevin Harvick for sole possession of ninth on NASCAR's all-time wins list. He has also temporarily re-taken sole possession of the most wins among active full-time Cup Series drivers.
Fontana Farewell
Conditions for the final race at the original Auto Club Speedway before its planned reconfiguration somewhat matched the mood for competitors and fans alike. Damp conditions from rain on Saturday and cold temperatures greeted the Cup Series field, and a combination of weepers in the racing surface combined with particle debris made for challenging track conditions.
But Fontana's wide racing groove would make for plenty of highlights, even as Ross Chastain set the pace for most of the day with 91 of 200 laps led. 13 drivers in all would lead at some point during the day, with six of those leading more than 10 laps apiece.
One of those drivers was Ryan Blaney, but he and several other contenders -- including polesitter Christopher Bell -- would see their days come to grief on a Lap 87 restart. As drivers in the outside lane tried to anticipate Joey Logano's restart, some had to check up after getting on the throttle when Logano did not take off when expected to in the restart zone. The ensuing stack-up led to a 10-car pileup that went down as the largest accident in a Cup race at Fontana.
"I saw the car behind me kind of laid off and got a really big run, so I kind of elected to make the decision to shoot to the bottom and get around it. Unfortunately I think Ryan [Preece] had the same idea," Tyler Reddick told Fox Sports. "We just got collected and went through the grass, and the right front of The Beast Unleashed Toyota Camry TRD was broke."
That accident punctuated a day that featured quite a bit of attrition. Reddick, Preece, Bell, Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger all failed to finish due to crash damage, while Bubba Wallace and Ty Dillon were taken out of the race due to engine failure. Kyle Larson finished 15 laps down in 29th after having to go behind the wall early to fix an electrical issue in his motor.
Race Results Rundown
- While Ross Chastain led the way in third, Daniel Suarez complemented what was a very strong showing for Trackhouse Racing in fourth. Suarez finished in the top five in both stages before matching his Fontana finish from 2022.
- Brad Keselowski earned a seventh-place finish that illustrated what looks to be progress that RFK Racing has made in his second season as team co-owner. Last year, it took Keselowski all the way until Sonoma in June to earn his first top-10 finish following the Daytona 500.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. followed up his Daytona 500 triumph with a 12th-place finish after starting second. Stenhouse seemingly used every inch of racetrack -- as evidenced by him getting into the wall a few times -- to continue what's shaping up to be a very strong start to 2023.
- Corey LaJoie triggered two separate accidents and got spun out for a third, but Sunday's race may have marked the most complete run of his Cup career. LaJoie ran up inside the top 15 all day, challenged for the top 10 at certain points, and finished 14th.
- Harrison Burton was among the drivers who ran long on the final round of green flag pit stops, temporarily taking the lead before making his last trip to pit road. That strategy play would pay off, as he would earn a 15th-place finish -- the sixth top-15 finish of his young Cup career.
- Michael McDowell used his alternate strategy to lead six laps, the most he's led since leading 12 last fall at Texas. McDowell would go on to finish 18th, just behind teammate Todd Gilliland as both Front Row Motorsports cars finished in the top 20.
- There are five drivers in the Cup Series field who really need to reverse their early fortunes. Aric Almirola, Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Ty Dillon have all opened the season with two DNFs in two races and have yet to be running at the finish.
Next Race
The next leg of NASCAR's West Coast swing will bring them to Sin City and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 next Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
