What’s Happening
Kyle Busch takes his RCR Chevrolet to victory in the Pala Casino 400, making it his fifth win on the 2-mile speedway. Busch led 27 of the 200 laps and now has a career total of 61 victories in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The #8 team, and RCR as a whole, have been coming out hot in the 2023 season as they’ve been showing tremendous speed in the first handful of races. Kyle also breaks the record for most consecutive seasons with at least one victory.
What You Need to Know:
- Kyle Busch wins the final Cup race at the 2-mile configuration at Fontana.
- California Native Kevin Harvick led five laps and finished fifth in his 750th consecutive start.
- Stage 1 & 2 winner, Ross Chastain finished third and led the most laps at 91
The Main Characters
It only took Kyle Busch two points-paying races with RCR to get him to victory lane. Could this be another dominant year for Rowdy?
Another main character is Ross Chastain, who swept both stages for the first time in his career but fell just a little short for his first victory of the 2023 season.
Unfortunately, last year’s Fontana winner and fan favorite going into today had early electrical problems resulting in a 29th place finish 15 laps down after some other competitors had problems.
A big check-up in a Stage 2 restart collected favorites Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney as well as others.
Around the Garage
The RCR team grabbed a video of their winning car pulling into victory lane and acknowledged a record that Kyle broke as he crossed the finish line.
Kyle Larson congratulates Rowdy and shares his thoughts on the 2-time Cup Champion.
Older brother Kurt congratulates his younger brother and shares another record that Kyle broke today when winning the Pala Casino 400.
Samantha congratulates Kyle and the whole #8 team and shares her excitement to a strong start for Kyle with the big switch to RCR.
Chase Elliot said he is not surprised at all by Kyle Busch’s early hot streak in 2023 in an interview with Bob Pockrass from Fox Sports.
In The Stands
One fan notices a humbler tone to Rowdy than in the past and showing more smiles.
D. A. Trucker as well as other fans enjoyed the show at the final race for this configuration and are sad to see it go.
Michael Volk shares his thoughts on what Joe Gibbs might be thinking with Kyle’s strong start to the season.
On Your Screen
Black Flags Matter host shares a story about a black cat on the racetrack during the race.
OOTG posted an Auto Club race recap and Eric discusses his thoughts on the Pala Casino 400.
From the Pressbox
Bob shares with us the official results from Fontana.
Here are your Cup driver points after two races into the 2023 season.
Kyle Busch is showing early with his new team that he is on a mission for the 2023 season and is hoping that this is only the beginning.