Kyle Busch running down Shane van Gisbergen for the lead in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, March 2, 2025. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)
DEL VALLE, Texas – So. Close. Two words that Kyle Busch is probably sick of hearing after an almost certain win slipped through his fingers at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday.
Busch led the most laps of any driver in the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, 42 of the 95 total laps. It was clear that the No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet was fast and out of everyone in the field, Busch had arguably the most pressing reason to win – to snap a nearly 60-race winless streak tracing back to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in the summer of 2023.
After a solid qualifying run placed him in the eighth starting spot, Busch was in a decent position to have a shot at the front of the field. Luckily for him, an unfortunate turn of events for third-place starter Chase Elliott in Turn 1 allowed him to quickly work his way up to fourth. Shortly after, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace was forced to serve a drive-through penalty after cutting the esses, handing one more position to Busch without much effort on his part.
The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet quickly became the talk of the race. Busch set the fastest lap time of 1:40.16 after 10 laps and gained on the leaders through every section of the track.
Just before the end of Stage 1, Busch pitted under green and the pit crew made slight adjustments to accommodate his feedback about the car not cornering well in Turn 15. As the green-white-checkered flag waved, he crossed the line in fourth, collecting valuable stage points.
As other drivers took to pit road under different pit strategies, Busch cycled his way up to the second position outside of leader Shane van Gisbergen for the Stage 2 restart. Polesitter Tyler Reddick was able to take action at the restart and pass Busch on the inside for second, but he did not stay put for long. On Lap 27, he passed both Reddick and van Gisbergen to take the lead for the first time.
Kyle Busch racing the No. 8 RCR Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet at Circuit of the Americas. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)
SVG stayed close on Busch’s bumper and eventually took the lead back on Lap 34. Following varying pit stops, Busch found himself back on the front row in Stage 3 with Michael McDowell leading. Just before a caution came out for Daniel Suarez spinning and rookie driver Connor Zilisch hitting the tire barrier coming out of Turn 19, the No. 8 managed to pass McDowell for the lead and held off the rest of the field at the restart on Lap 55.
Then, it was lights out for Busch. He shot out to a 2.5-second lead over the field, but not without last week’s winner, Christopher Bell, crawling closer in his rearview mirror. Bell was on an alternate pit strategy and had two lap-fresher tires than Busch. As the laps wound down, Bell crept closer and closer, gaining on Busch in corner entry.
With five laps to go, Bell successfully made the pass for the lead. Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end. He quickly lost ground and came on the radio stating that the right rear tire was “done”. Luckily, the rest of the field was about 10 seconds behind the lead pack, so Busch was still able to pull off a top five finish.
Kyle Busch leading the field in Stage 3 of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)
Understandably disappointed, Busch pointed out how proud he was of the No. 8 crew and that a small change in strategy may have been the difference between a top five and a victory.
“Any time you run good, that’s obviously a positive,” Busch said post-race. “Real happy with the guys and everybody on the Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet. We put all the right pieces together, just maybe didn’t have two-lap fresher tires that we needed there at the end to be able to compete with the (No.) 20.
“Felt we were pretty evenly matched. Maybe the tires were just that much of a difference. When I had to start running that defensive line, that just killed us. It is what it is.”
Not only did Busch recognize the talented individuals on his own team, but also Kaulig Racing for their efforts in partnering with RCR this year and the benefits they have all reaped from that after three races.
“Obviously, that’s what it’s all about. Four cars are gonna be stronger than two. Appreciate everybody at Kaulig and everybody there doing what they do to help us and us helping them and it being a mutual thing and being able to be stronger together. I feel like the first three weeks have really been a benefit of that. We’ve seen the positives in that and I hope that continues.”
Busch will have another opportunity to break his winless streak at Phoenix next weekend, where he has three Cup wins and 23 top-10 finishes.
Editor’s Notes
Rob Tiongson contributed to this article onsite from Circuit of the Americas in Del Valle, Texas.
