May 16, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Kurt Busch exceeds 23XI Racing's expectations with early Kansas win

Kurt Busch has always had the heart of a champion.

At Kansas Speedway, Busch’s brilliance behind the wheel of the No. 45 23XI Toyota was on full display as he held off two of NASCAR’s best —Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch—en route to his 34th Cup win on Sunday. 

“To win at a mile-and-a-half, to beat Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, to be in position for the win, I knew it was there,” Busch said. “I had to dig deep, and I had to find something. I just had to find something that would be a little bit above Larson, a little bit of a trickery move on Larson. I said, ‘I just have to stay close. I've got to stay close.’

“After we got beat off pit road and we were restarting third, ‘Just got to stay close.’"

Busch learned from his experience at Kansas last fall after burning up his front tires on the final run and finishing fourth, that as long as he stayed in the hunt, he had a chance. His brother Kyle had the lead with 36 laps remaining. Larson passed the No. 18 Toyota three laps later. On Lap 246, with 21 circuits remaining, Kurt passed his brother and focused on Larson. 

“Kyle Busch held me as far as a pass to not break my momentum, and we saw that happen with Larson when I was racing him before that,” Kurt reflected on the Lap 181 move of Larson’s when he slid in front of the No. 45 Toyota and hit the wall. “Turn 2 was his weak spot, and that's where I knew I needed to make the final move.”

Larson knew the depth of Busch’s ability. And on Sunday, his former Ganassi Racing teammate had the equipment to match his talent. 

“I think if it had been anybody but Kurt behind me, I could have held them off,” Larson said. “He had by far the best car. I did what I could. I thought when I got out to the lead, I’d be OK. It’s just once I started sniffing traffic, I lost a little bit more. 

“His car was turning really well. The Toyotas had a lot of speed.” 

Kansas marked the first race this season where all six Toyotas finished in the top 10. But for the first time in a month, Busch and the Billy Scott-led No. 45 23XI crew performed a perfectly executed race—and didn’t get swept into another driver’s mistake. 

That couldn’t be said for the other Toyota teams. Four of the Toyota drivers were penalized on pit road—Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Martin Truex Jr. were multiple offenders. Truex and Christopher Bell experienced left rear tire failures as well.

Still, after 267 laps—of which Busch led 116—for the first time this season everything fell into place for the No. 45 team.

“It all unfolded perfectly where I was able to make the move and not lose momentum and break the draft and bring our Toyota home to Victory Lane with Jordan Brand, Monster Energy, Toyota--everybody that's part of this,” Busch said. 

“It was that moment where I could not let the team down, and I didn't want to have to make a phone call to M.J. (Michael Jordan, co-owner) afterward on why we did not win. I could definitely feel the connection. I'm proud that we won today.”

No one was prouder than Hamlin. He shared a tender post-race moment with Kurt Busch on pit road. Hamlin sounded like a proud father when he discussed the efforts of Busch and Wallace after both of his drivers scored top 10 finishes in the same race for the first time this season.

“One of the funnest things is having a front-row seat to those final 25 laps,” Hamlin said. “It was right there in front of me and I'm pushing, because, honestly, I really wanted a one-two finish like really bad, but my car just wasn't where it was early in the day and the track rubbered up, and we just weren't as good. 

“Certainly there's been no win that I've had that has equaled the emotions of this one, for sure. And truthfully, I've kind of let them down with what we had on pit road. They've been outperforming what we've given them on pit road. (Sunday) it all came together. Both cars were extremely fast. The 23 was very fast. I was around them all day. Yeah, two top 10s and a win. We'll take it.” 

Busch was the ideal candidate for 23XI Racing’s expansion plans. Every team that has recruited Busch has benefited from his talents. His resume—the 2004 Cup title, 34 wins over 22 seasons on 18 different tracks with five different teams and four different manufacturers--make Busch a shoo-in for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 

The lessons learned along the way make Busch uniquely qualified for this latest challenge.

“I'm just happy to have a ride and happy to give my best,” Busch said. “Early in my career it was all about me, me, me, and now I've understood this is a team, and every element is super important. 

“To me, this 45 car was a special project to leave my fingerprints on something when I'm done racing, because I know I'm in the twilight of my career, and that's what makes it even more special now that it's a winner.”

Busch’s maturity, humility, and dedication to his team were traits not lost on Hamlin. That combined with Busch’s success—including nine consecutive winning seasons as of Sunday—is why Hamlin insisted on recruiting Busch for his alpha driver role. 

“He wins,” Hamlin said. “The fact is Kurt Busch wins. It doesn't matter about any previous history at this race track. We know when we show up, if we've got a fast car, he is capable of winning. That's what I saw in Kurt Busch.”

Before selecting a driver for the second team, Hamlin did his due diligence. Recommendations from Busch’s former teammates sealed the deal. Hamlin told Busch he needed him. That vote of confidence meant everything to the 44-year-old driver. Hamlin needed Busch to drive the car and believe in what they were trying to build at 23XI Racing.

“Listen, he took a risk,” Hamlin said. “This is a truly new team. These guys are continuing to hire new people every other week. We're still growing. But he is such a team player. I interviewed three of his previous teammates because I never really had a close relationship with Kurt. 

“Every single one of them, all three, said he was the best teammate (they've) ever had. That's your peer review. That's pretty much someone you need to have in your stable. Especially for Bubba, who has never had a teammate before. Might as well put him with the best one that's out there.” 

Hamlin’s plan is to build a championship-contending organization in five years. While he’s just a year and change into the project, Busch’s victory was a huge step to achieving that goal.