Kyle Busch came in hot like a McLaren’s Custom Grille at Talladega. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. – When Kyle Busch took the checkered flag following Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, it was more than just earning his 62nd NASCAR Cup Series career win.
It was more than just tallying the 13th victory for Richard Childress Racing at Talladega Superspeedway, a track that was the house of Dale Earnhardt in the famed No. 3 ride.
In this case, it was about a man who overcame the demons and frustrations of the high speed and equally risky superspeedway in Talladega County.
Namely, Busch reflected on his harrowing accident during the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The intense accident left Busch with a broken right leg and left foot.
“Well, ever since 2015 struck, I’ve always just hoped to walk out of a speedway race at the end of the day,” Busch said. “When you’re able to do that, you might as well take solace in it. It’s not a win, but at least you’re going home on your own two feet.”
Although the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has the luxury to not compete at the superspeedways in Atlanta, Daytona and Talladega in the Xfinity Series, such does not exist in his primary stock car discipline.
Starting from the 17th position, Busch dropped to a 25th place result in Stage 1 before rallying to a 15th place finish in Stage 2.
The box score may not seem impressive for the Las Vegas native when recalling his race day at Talladega. Then again, a win is what matters above any statistic or loop data.
Busch led only three laps and parlayed some of his best Cole Trickle in the waning moments of the GEICO 500. In this case, he avoided Bubba Wallace’s spinning No. 23 Toyota Camry in Turn 2 and drove past Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford.
Taking the lead as the race’s final caution came out, Busch found himself in the right place at the right time.
No, he did not luck his way into Victory Lane. After all, he earned the sixth best Driver Rating in Sunday’s race, an impressive and difficult feat for any driver to achieve.
Regardless, Busch savored his win while considering the level of competition, unpredictability and risk with racing at the high speed, mammoth superspeedways.
Busch looked like another Richard Childress Racing driver who drove a black Chevrolet at Talladega. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
“Races, they’re all hard to win, but especially speedway races are hard to win,” he said. “You got 30 guys out there vying for it, that have a legit shot to win, barring different circumstances.
“There were some wrecks in front of us today. We were able to squeak through, not get caught up in it fortunately, which isn’t a whole lot of my luck here. We’ll take this one, for sure.”
If anyone understands the level of difficulty and rewards from a hard fought battle at Talladega, Busch’s car owner, Childress, can speak volumes about it. Fielding winning entries driven by Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, the NASCAR Hall of Famer can take pride in his organization’s latest victory with Busch.
“Talladega is always a battle of survival,” Childress said. “That’s what the battle really is. If you can be there at the end, you got a chance to win. That’s what we wanted to do. That’s always our goal here and Daytona. You got to be there at the end.
“Both drivers (Busch and Austin Dillon) talked about coming out here racing, racing as hard as they could, and they did. It was a good day for one. Austin didn’t have that good of a day, he was involved in that crash. But Talladega will give you that, give you the peaks and valleys.”
The No. 8 team is finding those peaks early and often with Busch coalescing with his crew chief Randall Burnett. A strong driver and crew chief rapport is just as indelible and critical as a fast, neutral handling stock car at a high banked, high speed track like Talladega Superspeedway.
“It’s hugely helpful,” Burnett said. “For him to buy into what we’re doing, the communication is there, ‘Hey, man, this is where we’re at in the race, this is what we’ve got going on.’ For him to understand that, process that, do everything he can to help us along the way, is huge for us, how we play our strategy.”
Perhaps the defining moment of the race was when Busch decided to stay out when Burnett radioed for him to pit for fuel. Rather than pit and adhere to Burnett’s call, Busch took a gamble for track position and a chance to tally his second victory of the 2023 season.
“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t really voice that over the radio about, ‘Hey, we got to win, we might as well stay out and ride this thing out.’ I just thought it in my head,” Busch said. “It’s cool to work with Randall. Obviously, he gives me a lot of leeway just with my experience and stuff like that, being here.”
Busch and his family along with Martin the GEICO Gecko bask in a win in the Yellowhammer State. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
Even a 62-time Cup race winner like Busch continually learns and evolves in efforts to tally more victories. A change of scenery and willingness to explore other possibilities paid off for the veteran Cup racer on Sunday afternoon.
“Probably a few years ago, I would have pitted and just taken the finish, whatever that might have been,” Busch said. “We probably would have been caught up in that wreck.
“When I thought that we’d have a shot for a front row start at the end, I was like there’s no way we can pit. If we run out of gas coming off of turn two after we take the green flag, so be it. Yeah, just go for it, roll the dice.”
