Kyle Busch upsets the field with his overtime victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
Coming off the Talladega weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the midwest. A 400-mile shootout at Kansas Speedway is where the winner earns the crown as the Buschy McBusch Race 400 champion. Kansas offers many grooves for a run throughout the race. The preferred line is near the fence, but there is some history with teams staying fast while running the bottom line. Fans never know what to expect at Kansas, which is why they look forward to this race weekend.
The First Stage Starts with Keselowski on the Pole
Brad Keselowski starts the race from the pole, and he holds off William Byron in the early going. Keselowski had a comfortable lead as the field hit the competition caution on lap 25.
Keselowski continued to hold his own coming out of the caution. However, he was unable to keep Kyle Larson in check. Larson roared to the front coming all the way from 32nd when the race kicked off. He briefly took the lead on lap 64 before Brad Keselowski was able to retain the spot.
Larson and Keselowski battle for eight laps before Larson eventually takes total control of the race. As the first stage winds down, Kyle Busch creeps into the picture and uses lapped traffic to his advantage.
As Larson tangles with lapped cars, Kyle Busch sweeps by for the lead. Busch presses on to win the opening stage of the race.
Kyle Larson Kicks-off the Second Stage
Kyle Larson held the point as the second stage begins. Larson was able to hold off Kyle Busch and set sail.
Larson leads through the green pitting cycle, which came to an end 57 laps into the second segment. With stage two running caution-free all the way, Kyle Larson wins the second stage without any issues.
Kyle Busch Upsets the Field with his Overtime Victory
Looking for his second victory of the season, Kyle Larson returns to the lead and takes the green flag in the race’s last stage. The race starts another long green-flag run, lasting 58 laps. Green flag stops begin during the middle of the segment, and Kyle Larson cycles back into the lead.
On lap 230, NASCAR puts out the caution with an uncontrolled tire in the infield grass. Kyle Larson restarts with the lead after pitting under the caution. Kyle Larson battles for the lead with Denny Hamlin. Hamlin makes the pass for the lead but rubs against the wall while doing so. The rub is enough to allow Larson to return to the lead and for a caution flag to pause the race for Hamlin’s scuffle with the safer barrier.
Two more cautions happen coming to the end of the race. Kyle Busch makes a pass on Larson for the lead right before the last caution comes out.
Now entering overtime, Kyle Busch takes control of the restart. He has a great jump as the field tangles in his rearview mirror. Kyle Busch has no other contenders coming to the white flag. Kyle Busch then cruises to his first Cup victory of the season in the Buschy McBusch Race 400.
More than a Win Needed to Make the Playoffs – a Real Possibility
Kyle Busch’s win on Sunday scores him his 17th consecutive season with a win. However, his victory comes in a year where it seems that it will take more than just winning to make it into the playoffs. The NASCAR Cup Series now has ten different winners in 11 races this year. There are 15 more races before the playoffs begin in early September.
Big Names on the 2021 Winless List
Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, and Tyler Reddick are a few big names on the winless list this season. More than likely, these drivers will eventually score a win this season, and this possibility only adds to the excitement.
The rest of the regular season looks promising that we could see the last few playoff spots decided by a tiebreaker or someone below the cutline with a win. Getting more than one victory and winning early is becoming more important. The Cup Series stiff competition means teams will be more aggressive trying to score more points. Teams will go for stage wins for more points, and there may be more dark horse wins. Wins and points give teams more control of their playoff destiny.