Busch, who moved from his longtime home at Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing in the offseason, grabbed the lead on Lap 143 of 200 and held on through a final round of green-flag pit stops to hold off Chase Elliott by 2.998 seconds.
The victory was significant in many respects.
Busch, 37, will be the final winner on the 2-mile track layout in Fontana, Calif., as it is scheduled to be transformed into a short track and will not be on the 2024 Cup schedule.
The victory also gives Busch at least one win in 19 consecutive Cup seasons, passing seven-line Cup champion Richard Petty for the record.
In addition, the last time Busch won a Cup race in a car not from Joe Gibbs Racing was March 25, 2007, nearly 16 years ago, when Busch drove the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Busch also had to overcome a pit road speeding penalty and battle his way back to the front of the field.
“Could have, should have, would have last week. I think it’s just phenomenal,” Busch said. “I can’t thank Richard and Judy (Childress) enough, Austin (Dillon) for calling me and getting me talking and getting me the opportunity to come over here to RCR.
“The guys did a great job. Everybody that worked so hard in the offseason. We did a lot of sim stuff, a lot of testing in general just trying to get up to speed. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to go to Victory Lane.”
Asked where this win ranked for him, Busch said, “I think it ranks high to the fact of I can do it, I never doubted myself but sometimes you do. You get down and you wonder what’s going on, what’s happening.
“You put yourself in a different situation and you’re able to reward your guys. It’s not about me always winning, but about the guys. I’ve worked with a lot of great people who’ve given me a lot of great opportunities in my career. It’s awesome to be able to reward them.”
Ross Chastain led the most laps (91) but ended up third, his Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez was fourth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 were Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano.
Stage 3
Following the caution between Stages 2 and 3, the lead-lap cars all pit with Harvick first off pit road. The race restarted on Lap 138 with Harvick followed by Busch, Logano and Chastain.
With a push from Chastain, Busch bolted to the lead on the restart.
NASCAR was forced to display a caution on…
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