{"id":42539,"date":"2023-04-23T19:30:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T00:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=42539"},"modified":"2023-04-26T16:00:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T21:00:02","slug":"kyle-busch-avoids-big-one-to-speed-to-victory-at-talladega","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/23\/kyle-busch-avoids-big-one-to-speed-to-victory-at-talladega\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Busch avoids \u2018Big One\u2019 to speed to victory at Talladega"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Holly Cain<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 Kyle Busch is a Las Vegas native after all, so he was \u201call in\u201d to stay on track instead of pitting for fuel during a pair of overtimes restarts in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Sunday afternoon. And he ended up, the big winner.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Busch\u2019s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had just enough gas to make it back to the checkered flag as a half dozen other lead pack cars around him were collected in a multi-car accident while maneuvering forward to challenge for the lead on the final overtime lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got to gamble,\u2019\u2019 Busch, 37, said he told his crew while contemplating whether to pit for fuel or stay in the lead pack for the final overtime restart \u2013 noting afterward he probably wouldn\u2019t have been willing to be so daring if he hadn\u2019t already earned a victory this season at California\u2019s Auto Club Speedway. He didn\u2019t even do a celebratory burnout after the race, convinced his Chevrolet didn\u2019t have enough fuel at that point.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Busch and 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace exchanged the lead during the final two laps of the race but Wallace\u2019s No. 23 Toyota was tagged by Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Penske Racing Ford as those two vied for the lead just after the white flag flew, signaling one lap to go.<\/p>\n

Wallace\u2019s Toyota turned sideways, hit the wall and triggered a chain-reaction accident that eliminated several other of the frontrunning cars while the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Busch was able to continue forward and take his second win of the season and 62nd of this career. It\u2019s Busch\u2019s second career win at Talladega \u2013 the first coming 15 years (and 55 wins) ago.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, and his son, Brexton, affix the winner’s decal to the winning car in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cSometimes you\u2019ve got to be lucky, you know,\u2019\u2019 said a smiling Busch, who led only three laps in securing the RCR team its 13th Talladega victory. \u201cSometimes these races come down to that and you\u2019ve got to take them when they come your way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seas kind of parted there when they [Blaney and Wallace] went up the race track there. They were trying to push-draft and these cars are just not stable enough to do that. I saw the 23 (Bubba Wallace) turn a little bit sideways, and I was like, \u2018just get out of the way.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

Blaney, who led a race best 47 of the 196 laps, looked poised to snap a 55-race winless streak at Talladega before the last lap incident. He was still able to continue after the contact with Wallace, but finished runner-up despite leading the most laps on the afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just you get big runs and you take them when you can,\u2019\u2019 Blaney said, noting of the contact with Wallace, \u201cI\u2019m glad everyone\u2019s okay, but in my mind you can\u2019t make a triple move like that, a triple block. You can\u2019t block three times, I don\u2019t know, the runs are so big and as the leader Bubba\u2019s (Wallace) trying to block, which is the right thing to do. But I think he kinda moved three times. I got to go somewhere. I hate for cars to get torn up and I hate for us to be so close to the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not blaming anybody. It\u2019s just hard racing at the end of this thing and unfortunate that cars got torn up and we missed out on another win.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher finished third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing\u2019s Chase Briscoe and RFK owner-driver Brad Keslowski, who leads all current competitors with six career Talladega wins.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Legacy Motor Club\u2019s Erik Jones, Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 William Byron, Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Christopher Bell, Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Daniel Suarez and Front Row Motorsports\u2019 Todd Gilliland rounded out of the Top 10.<\/p>\n

It was by all accounts, the typical, hard-nosed, tight-quarter racing fans and drivers have come to expect at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Sunday\u2019s race featured 57 lead changes \u2013 the most at Talladega since 2011 (72 lead changes).<\/p>\n

It was a markedly different top of the final leaderboard based on the afternoon\u2019s efforts. SHR drivers Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick each led 11 laps and ran among the front pack for most of the day, but were collected in a multi-car accident on the first overtime period. They finished 20th and 21st, respectively.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, and Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Wallace, whose 35 laps out front in his No. 23 Toyota finished 28th after the last lap accident.<\/p>\n

Also noteworthy, Chase Elliott finished 12th and led seven laps \u2013 the first laps he\u2019s led since returning to competition last week after missing six races recovering from a broken leg. Pole winner Denny Hamlin led seven laps on the day and finished 15th.<\/p>\n

Ironically the race\u2019s earlier mishaps didn\u2019t happen from aggressive action on the race track but instead in slower miscues on pit road. Tyler Reddick spun his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota getting on pit road making his first stop of the race and only six laps later Briscoe spun his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on pit road bringing out a yellow flag \u2013 only to recover and take that top-5 finish.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Direct Toyota, and Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, lead the field on a pace lap prior to the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, 2023 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Wallace, who earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win here at Talladega in 2021, led the most laps (23) in Stage 1. But it was Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 Elliott who ultimately drove forward to claim his first stage win of the season leading the final 11 laps.<\/p>\n

There were 17 lead changes among nine drivers in Stage 2 \u2013 with Almirola moving out front in the final feet to the finish line get around Elliott and claim that stage win.<\/p>\n

As for the two victories in the opening 10 races of Busch\u2019s tenure with Childress, the NASCAR Hall of Fame owner grinned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s helping us build RCR back up to where we want it to be,\u2019\u2019 Childress said, glancing with a smile at bottle of race-winning champagne he brought to the winner\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n

Christopher Bell maintains the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead by 11 points over Ross Chastain as the NASCAR Cup Series moves to the \u201cMonster Mile\u201d \u2013 Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway \u2013 for the Wurth 400 next Sunday at 2 p.m. (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

NCS Race Winner Kyle Busch (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/NCSBuschTSS.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NCS Race Winning Crew Chief Randall Burnett and Team Owner Richard Childress – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/NCSRandallChildressTalladega.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – GEICO 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega Superspeedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega, Alabama<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, April 23, 2023<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    1. (17)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    2. (5)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    3. (10)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    4. (4)  Chase Briscoe, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    5. (20)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    6. (24)  Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    7. (18)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    8. (6)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    9. (22)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    10. (28)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    11. (38)  JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    12. (29)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    13. (13)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    14. (27)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    15. (1)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    16. (33)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    17. (32)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    18. (26)  Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    19. (37)  BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    20. (2)  Aric Almirola, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    21. (11)  Kevin Harvick, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    22. (23)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    23. (31)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    24. (34)  Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    25. (36)  Riley Herbst(i), Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    26. (15)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    27. (7)  Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 196.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    28. (12)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 195.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    29. (19)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 195.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    30. (8)  Joey Logano, Ford, 195.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    31. (3)  Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, Fuel, 194.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    32. (30)  Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, Accident, 189.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    33. (9)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 189.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    34. (16)  Ryan Preece, Ford, Accident, 189.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    35. (21)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 189.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    36. (25)  Harrison Burton, Ford, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    37. (35)  Zane Smith(i), Ford, Accident, 141.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    38. (14)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 141.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  146.575 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 33 Mins, 25 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Caution Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  8 for 34 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  57 among 21 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   A. Almirola 1-6;C. Briscoe 7;B. Wallace 8-30;D. Suarez 31-34;K. Busch 35;R. Chastain 36-38;R. Preece 39-40;E. Jones 41-43;C. Elliott 44-47;A. Bowman 48-52;C. Elliott 53-55;A. Bowman 56;C. Elliott 57;A. Bowman 58-59;C. Elliott 60-62;B. McLeod 63;D. Hamlin 64-70;K. Harvick 71-76;J. Logano 77;M. Truex Jr. 78-82;J. Logano 83;M. Truex Jr. 84;J. Logano 85;M. Truex Jr. 86-97;B. Wallace 98-99;K. Harvick 100-104;B. Keselowski 105-106;C. Elliott 107;M. Truex Jr. 108;C. Elliott 109;B. Wallace 110-114;C. Elliott 115-119;A. Almirola 120-122;W. Byron 123;A. Almirola 124-125;B. Wallace 126;H. Burton 127-130;R. Blaney 131;H. Burton 132-137;R. Blaney 138-140;H. Burton 141;R. Blaney 142-143;D. Suarez 144;R. Blaney 145-146;B. Wallace 147-149;R. Blaney 150-154;T. Gibbs # 155-156;R. Blaney 157-168;T. Gibbs # 169;R. Blaney 170-179;T. Gibbs # 180;R. Blaney 181-188;N. Gragson # 189;R. Blaney 190-193;K. Busch 194;B. Wallace 195;K. Busch 196.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Ryan Blaney 9 times for 47 laps; Bubba Wallace 6 times for 35 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 4 times for 19 laps; Chase Elliott 7 times for 18 laps; Harrison Burton 3 times for 11 laps; Aric Almirola 3 times for 11 laps; Kevin Harvick 2 times for 11 laps; Alex Bowman 3 times for 8 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 7 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 5 laps; Ty Gibbs # 3 times for 4 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 3 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 3 laps; Joey Logano 3 times for 3 laps; Kyle Busch 3 times for 3 laps; Ryan Preece 1 time for 2 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 2 laps; BJ McLeod 1 time for 1 lap; Noah Gragson # 1 time for 1 lap; William Byron 1 time for 1 lap; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 9,48,1,24,5,2,42,22,41,99<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 10,9,4,23,21,19,41,11,47,42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 Kyle Busch is a Las Vegas native after all, so he was \u201call in\u201d to stay on track instead of pitting for fuel during a pair of overtimes restarts in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Sunday afternoon. And he ended up, the big […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":42559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[59,16,208],"class_list":["post-42539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-kyle-busch","tag-nascar","tag-talladega-superspeedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/GettyImages-1484671436-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1670&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-b47","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42539"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42563,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42539\/revisions\/42563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}