Who… should you be talking about after the race?
It might be a little early to crown Kyle Busch as the savior for Richard Childress Racing, but he’s certainly been strong to kick off 2023. After coming tantalizingly close to a Daytona 500 win, Busch handily took the checkers in the Pala Casino 400 Sunday (Feb. 26) at Auto Club Speedway. It’s the 61st Cup Series win of Busch’s career, giving him sole possession of the most wins among active, full-time drivers over Kevin Harvick.
Busch had a strong car, but in the first half of the race couldn’t quite hang with a dominant Ross Chastain on long runs (Chastain won both early stages). An early pit road speeding penalty also hobbled Busch, keeping him from grabbing stage points in the first stage.
But by the end of stage two, Busch was right on Chastain’s tail. In the final stage, he got by him just before the last round of pit stops, where Busch’s crew kept the No. 8 Chevrolet solidly in front. From there, Busch sailed to the win, taking the lead from Michael McDowell for the final time with 20 laps to go after McDowell stayed on track longer than the rest of the field in the final pit cycle.
It was a solid win for Busch, but whether he can bring RCR back to full title form in his first year remains to be seen. Overall, it’s likely that he’ll play a similar role to the one Kevin Harvick played at RCR for many years: close, competitive, but just not quite championship-caliber.
Busch may win several races in 2023, but it may be a stretch to say the team will go from a good mid-tier one to a top-tier contender in just one season.
And don’t forget Corey LaJoie. Thanks to the qualifying rainout on Saturday, LaJoie started his Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in 12th position. And it wasn’t just a serendipitous start for him; the No. 7 car stayed at or near the top 15 all day long, overcoming an early slide through the grass and two other incidents.
In fact, LaJoie grabbed 10th-place stage points in stage two and wound up 14th, ahead of some much better-funded teams and drivers. If the season ended today, he would be in the playoffs over well-funded peers like 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson.
What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
It’s early in the season and teams will come and go as weekly favorites. But is 2023 the year RFK Racing finds their stride?
Despite some bad luck in the Daytona 500 and a little more at Auto Club…
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