Kurt Busch wins Kansas in 23XI banner day

As many drivers suffered tyre failures, Toyota thrived in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. All six Toyota cars finished in the top ten, with Kurt Busch leading the way as he held off Kyle Larson to win his first race as a member of 23XI Racing.

Entering Kansas, 23XI Racing had been slugging through a challenging season as Busch and team-mate Bubba Wallace were outside the top twenty in points. Both broke through on Sunday as Busch led 116 of 267 laps, more than any other driver, while Wallace consistently ran in the top five-to-ten range and ultimately finished tenth, despite suffering an uncontrolled tyre penalty on a late pit stop.

“[W]e have to clean up our messes on pit lane and at least keep the 23 where it runs when they pit,” team president Steve Lauletta tweeted about Wallace’s woes on pit road. “Working hard at this frustrating issue”.

Wallace’s tyre trouble coming on pit road is rather benign compared to those who had theirs go down while on track. Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick, B.J. McLeod, Martin Truex Jr., and Daniel Suárez were among those who wrecked or had to pit after blowing left-rear tyres, with Bell and Byron doing so while leading; multiple drivers suffered the same fate during practice on Saturday. The issue can be traced to the load placed on the left rear by the Next Gen car’s independent rear suspension, which prompted Goodyear to advise but not mandate a higher air pressure.

At the front, Bell’s downed tyre led to Kyle Busch winning the first stage. Older brother Kurt took the second.

While the elder Busch enjoyed plenty of time in front, he faced stiff resistance from Larson. The two repeatedly traded the lead in the final segment, with Larson drifting into the wall at one point but avoiding further damage. With nine laps remaining, Busch cleared Larson for the lead and would score his thirty-fourth Cup victory and first at Kansas.

“I felt like I had to play like the GOAT, race like the GOAT, and I had to beat the Kyles,” Busch told FOX Sports. His car was sponsored by 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan‘s Jordan Brand. “I had to beat both. This was like the Kyle and Kyle Show. I remember Ned Jarrett said, ‘This is the Dale and Dale Show’. If I can get one Kyle, I can get both. I had to have the confidence to know that our setup would do things on short run and long run.”

“I’m going to go find Toto. I’m in Kansas. I’m loving it.”

All four Joe Gibbs Racing cars led by Kyle finished third through sixth, including 23XI’s other owner Denny Hamlin. Wallace secured tenth.

“We as an organisation have kind of let these guys down,” an emotional Hamlin said after congratulating Busch. “I’m talking about Bubba and Kurt with so many mistakes that we’ve made on pit road and what not. Bubba got let down again on the last stop, but he was fast. I thought he was a little better than I was. We had to go back again three times today.

“But let’s talk about the positives. Just can’t thank Kurt enough. Jordan Brand’s first race, so jealous he gets to drive that car and then to have that thing so fast there.

“I have never had certainly this kind of feeling even for a win for me much less when I did win, so it’s just different.”

The victory also carries emotional weight for the Petty family, particularly Kyle Petty. Busch uses #45 with Petty’s blessing as the number was unofficially retired following his son Adam‘s death in a 2000 crash. Incidentally, Busch’s win comes three days after the twenty-two-year anniversary of Adam Petty’s passing.

Lauletta thanked Petty for the support, tweeting his appreciation for the “trust in @23XIRacing and for the grace shown when asked if we could run the 45. I hope you enjoy this win like we will”. Petty responded, “Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS @23XIRacing and @KurtBusch AMAZING day! First of many…”

Race results

Finish	Start	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Status
1	5	45	Kurt Busch	23XI Racing	Toyota	267	Running
2	3	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	Running
3	6	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	Running
4	18	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	Running
5	1	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	Running
6	9	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	Running
7	11	1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	267	Running
8	36	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	267	Running
9	8	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	Running
10	24	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	267	Running
11	4	2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	267	Running
12	10	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	267	Running
13	21	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	Running
14	30	6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	Ford	267	Running
15	23	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	Running
16	13	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	Running
17	34	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Toyota	267	Running
18	28	16	Noah Gragson*	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	267	Running
19	20	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	Running
20	17	42	Ty Dillon	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	Running
21	26	21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	267	Running
22	16	41	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	267	Running
23	25	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	267	Running
24	12	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	266	Running
25	31	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	266	Running
26	7	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	266	Running
27	35	17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	Ford	265	Running
28	33	77	Josh Bilicki*	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	265	Running
29	14	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	264	Running
30	2	8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	263	Running
31	27	15	J.J. Yeley*	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	263	Running
32	22	43	Erik Jones	Petty GMS Motorsports	Chevrolet	261	Running
33	19	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	256	Running
34	29	51	Cody Ware	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	255	Running
35	15	31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	64	Electrical
36	32	78	B.J. McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	Ford	32	Chassis

Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for points