Kyle Busch Scores His 63rd Cup Series Victory at Gateway!

After leading 121 laps today, Kyle Busch matches his win total for the previous 2 years combined at Joe Gibbs Racing.

MADISON, ILLINOIS - JUNE 03: Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 3CHI Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 03, 2023 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images) Via Media.NASCAR

After a rocket of a lap under qualifying put Kyle Busch on the Pole for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway, Kyle Busch would go on to dominate and win Stage 1 in rout to win his 3rd race of the season. Kyle Busch would not fall much outside of the top-5 all race long but in the end over multiple restarts, it was the Kyle n' Kyle show as he would line up with Kyle Larson again and again. In the end Busch would hold his own on the outside against Larson and hold off a hard charging Denny Hamlin over the last lap who would eventually finish P2. 

Busch would lead 121 laps on the day, this would be the first time a Richard Childress Racing car would win leading 100+ laps since Kevin Harvick did it for the team in 2013. Busch would go on to win Stage 1 and finish P2 in Stage 2 to score a total of 19 Stage points and 6 Playoff points. He would score overall 59 points on the day. The 3rd win on the season for the younger Busch brother puts him firmly in second place in the playoff standings, just behind William Byron who has more Playoff Points @ 17 vs Busch's 16 Playoff Points.

This being his 63rd career Cup Series victory marks the first time Busch has won at a new track since Charlotte in 2018's Coke 600. That is, if you do not include the Bristol dirt race he won last season as a "new track". This also marks his 25th different track he has won a points paying race on in the Cup Series. This win also puts Busch's all-time win total at an unreachable 228 combined victories.

By: Tom Luttermoser