Welcome to the newest era of Richard Childress Racing, ladies and gentlemen.
The organization, which has struggled to replicate the level of success it once found with Kevin Harvick, has taken its newest driver, two-time champion Kyle Busch, to victory lane in a historically significant event at Auto Club Speedway.
Driving the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro, Busch climbed through the pack rapidly in the opening laps of the event, from a 21st-place starting spot, only to be sent to the tail-end of the field again after a pit road penalty prior to the one-quarter mark of the event.
Having to climb back through the field, Busch was able to inherit the lead for the first time on lap 138, taking it over from Kevin Harvick – who made his 750th consecutive NASCAR Cup Series start in Sunday’s event.
Ultimately, a duel for the victory would come between Busch and Ross Chastain, who led a race-high 91 laps, with the Richard Childress Racing driver getting the advantage off of pit road for the final round of pit stops.
The Las Vegas, Nevada-native was able to stretch his advantage to three seconds over Chase Elliott, who was able to rebound late in the event to secure a runner-up finish in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports entry.
Ross Chastain would come home in third place, while his Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez placed fourth in the event. Kevin Harvick, in his (and everyone’s) final event at Auto Club Speedway, rounded out the top five.
Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, and Joey Logano completed the race’s top-10 finishers, in the final event at the two-mile configuration of Auto Club Speedway.
After running inside the top-15 all afternoon, Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. recorded a 12th-place finish.
Leaving Auto Club Speedway, the second of 26 races in the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season, Ross Chastain leads the points by a single marker over Joey Logano. Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, and Daniel Suarez round out the top-five in points.
