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Autosport
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Sport
Jim Utter

NASCAR Cup Gateway: Kyle Busch survives multiple restarts to triumph

Busch dominated much of the race – leading 121 of the 243 laps – but had to wait a near two-hour weather delay for lightning with the race just five laps old.

Busch powered past Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin on a restart on lap 184 to move into the lead for the final time but then had to fend off repeated challenges on restarts.

A late-race caution for a wreck involving Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – as well as a five-minute red flag for some wall repairs – set up a restart with 15 laps remaining but Busch was once again able to hang on to the lead.

Busch appeared to have a clear path to victory, but Bubba Wallace blew a brake rotor and slammed the wall with five laps to go which set up the two-lap overtime.

But Busch once again held his lead in overtime, to beat Hamlin by 0.517 seconds to earn his third NASCAR win of the 2023 season.

The win is the 63rd of his career and he now has 11 seasons with at least three or more victories.

“That was pretty awesome,” said Busch, who was met by his son, Brexton, on the track after the win. “Man, to sit on the pole, lead a lot of laps, my guys did just a great job today. It was pretty flawless for us. All the fans go out and celebrate with us. We’re going to have a great time with this one. This one is pretty cool.”

Last year’s Gateway winner, Joey Logano, finished third, Larson was fourth ahead of Martin Truex Jr. ended up fifth.

Ryan Blaney, current NASCAR Cup points leader, took sixth place ahead of Daniel Suarez, as William Byron, Michael McDowell – who overcame an early-race spin – and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

NASCAR Cup - Gateway race results (243 laps)

Cla Driver Manufacturer Gap Interval
1 United States Kyle Busch Chevrolet    
2 United States Denny Hamlin Toyota 0.517 0.517
3 United States Joey Logano Ford 1.161 0.644
4 United States Kyle Larson Chevrolet 1.357 0.196
5 United States Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 1.490 0.133
6 United States Ryan Blaney Ford 1.688 0.198
7 Mexico Daniel Suarez Chevrolet 1.811 0.123
8 United States William Byron Chevrolet 1.910 0.099
9 United States Michael McDowell Ford 2.242 0.332
10 United States Kevin Harvick Ford 2.483 0.241
11 United States Christopher Bell Toyota 2.589 0.106
12 United States Chris Buescher Ford 2.622 0.033
13 United States Austin Cindric Ford 2.811 0.189
14 United States A.J. Allmendinger Chevrolet 2.934 0.123
15 United States Todd Gilliland Ford 3.067 0.133
16 United States Justin Haley Chevrolet 3.208 0.141
17 United States Ryan Preece Ford 3.235 0.027
18 United States Erik Jones Chevrolet 3.427 0.192
19 United States Aric Almirola Ford 3.463 0.036
20 Ty Gibbs Toyota 3.686 0.223
21 United States Corey Lajoie Chevrolet 3.729 0.043
22 United States Ross Chastain Chevrolet 3.964 0.235
23 United States Harrison Burton Ford 3.978 0.014
24 United States J.J. Yeley Ford 4.247 0.269
25 United States Ty Dillon Chevrolet 4.255 0.008
26 United States Alex Bowman Chevrolet 4.400 0.145
27 United States B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 4.637 0.237
28 United States Brad Keselowski Ford 4.916 0.279
29 United States Gray Gaulding Ford 1 Lap 1 Lap
30 United States Bubba Wallace Toyota 7 Laps 6 Laps
31 United States Austin Dillon Chevrolet 20 Laps 13 Laps
32 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chevrolet 24 Laps 4 Laps
33 United States Noah Gragson Chevrolet 46 Laps 22 Laps
34 United States Chase Briscoe Ford 50 Laps 4 Laps
35 United States Tyler Reddick Toyota 69 Laps 19 Laps
36 Carson Hocevar Chevrolet 152 Laps 83 Laps

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