NASCAR Kansas: Kyle Busch takes first Cup win of 2021
Kyle Busch celebrated his birthday by becoming the latest winner of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season at Kansas Speedway.
Busch, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Sunday, led the way on the final restart with two of 267 laps remaining. With the help from a push from team-mate Martin Truex Jr, Busch got clear of Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson who made contact on the restart.
The race remained green and Busch took the chequered flag at Kansas, as Kevin Harvick rallied from a pitstop penalty to finish in second place.
Busch is now the 10th different winner in 11 races this season and he has secured his 17th straight season with at least one win – moving one behind Richard Petty who holds the all-time record with 18 consecutive seasons.
The victory is also the 58th of Busch’s career and capped a perfect weekend having also won Saturday night’s Truck Series race at Kansas.
Brad Keselowski finished third, Matt DiBenedetto was fourth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five.
Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry M&M's Mix, celebrates after winning in Kansas.
Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
The Kansas race came alive after Denny Hamlin ended up cutting a tyre down and hit the Turn 2 wall to force a caution on lap 246.
Several lead-lap cars pitted but Larson was among those who stayed out and remained in the lead and at the restart on lap 250, Larson was followed by Busch, Blaney, Joey Logano and Ross Chastain.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Cindric clashed on lap 253 on the back straight fighting for 15th place to bring out another caution, and with 10 laps to go at the green flag, Larson led followed by Busch, Keselowski, Blaney and Chase Elliott.
Busch quickly moved into the lead on the restart and then Christopher Bell spun collecting Stenhouse and Ryan Preece at Turn 4 to bring out another caution.
But with just two laps to go at the final restart Busch led the way followed by Blaney, Larson, Truex and Keselowski, to keep clear of the chasing pack and take his first Cup win since taking victory at Texas Motor Speedway last October.
Completing the top 10 were Truex, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, William Byron and Austin Dillon.
Results
| Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Laps Led | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 |  Kyle Busch |
Toyota | 267 | 3:05'20.818 | 20 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'21.154 | 0.336 | 0.336 | ||
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'21.532 | 0.714 | 0.378 | 72 | |
| 4 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'21.570 | 0.752 | 0.038 | ||
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'21.674 | 0.856 | 0.104 | ||
| 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. |
Toyota | 267 | 3:05'21.732 | 0.914 | 0.058 | ||
| 7 | 8 | Tyler Reddick |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'21.857 | 1.039 | 0.125 | ||
| 8 | 17 | Chris Buescher |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'21.923 | 1.105 | 0.066 | 13 | |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'22.032 | 1.214 | 0.109 | ||
| 10 | 3 | Austin Dillon |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'22.123 | 1.305 | 0.091 | ||
| 11 | 99 |  Daniel Suarez |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'22.221 | 1.403 | 0.098 | ||
| 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
Toyota | 267 | 3:05'22.374 | 1.556 | 0.153 | 7 | |
| 13 | 34 | Michael McDowell |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'22.442 | 1.624 | 0.068 | ||
| 14 | 42 | Ross Chastain |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'22.683 | 1.865 | 0.241 | ||
| 15 | 1 | Kurt Busch |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'23.015 | 2.197 | 0.332 | ||
| 16 | 6 | Ryan Newman |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'23.184 | 2.366 | 0.169 | ||
| 17 | 22 | Joey Logano |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'23.357 | 2.539 | 0.173 | ||
| 18 | 48 | Alex Bowman |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'23.520 | 2.702 | 0.163 | ||
| 19 | 5 | Kyle Larson |
Chevrolet | 267 | 3:05'23.522 | 2.704 | 0.002 | 132 | |
| 20 | 14 | Chase Briscoe |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'23.987 | 3.169 | 0.465 | ||
| 21 | 12 | Ryan Blaney |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'24.826 | 4.008 | 0.839 | ||
| 22 | 33 | Austin Cindric |
Ford | 267 | 3:05'39.176 | 18.358 | 14.350 | ||
| 23 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Ford | 266 | 3:05'23.685 | 1 Lap | 1 Lap | ||
| 24 | 41 | Cole Custer |
Ford | 266 | 3:05'23.842 | 1 Lap | 0.157 | ||
| 25 | 43 | Erik Jones |
Chevrolet | 266 | 3:05'24.083 | 1 Lap | 0.241 | ||
| 26 | 23 | Bubba Wallace |
Toyota | 266 | 3:05'24.175 | 1 Lap | 0.092 | ||
| 27 | 7 | Corey Lajoie |
Chevrolet | 265 | 3:05'25.638 | 2 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 28 | 20 | Christopher Bell |
Toyota | 265 | 3:05'50.529 | 2 Laps | 24.891 | ||
| 29 | 10 | Aric Almirola |
Ford | 264 | 3:05'32.141 | 3 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 30 | 77 | Justin Haley |
Chevrolet | 263 | 3:05'27.509 | 4 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 31 | 78 | B.J. McLeod |
Ford | 260 | 3:05'29.842 | 7 Laps | 3 Laps | ||
| 32 | 37 | Ryan Preece |
Chevrolet | 259 | 2:58'41.690 | 8 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 33 | 53 | Garrett Smithley |
Ford | 259 | 3:05'32.570 | 8 Laps | 6'50.880 | ||
| 34 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
Chevrolet | 258 | 2:53'05.696 | 9 Laps | 1 Lap | 23 | |
| 35 | 15 | Joey Gase |
Chevrolet | 258 | 3:05'31.379 | 9 Laps | 12'25.683 | ||
| 36 | 51 | Cody Ware |
Chevrolet | 257 | 3:05'26.968 | 10 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 37 | 00 | Quin Houff |
Chevrolet | 256 | 3:05'30.941 | 11 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 38 | 55 | Matt Mills |
Ford | 255 | 3:05'34.099 | 12 Laps | 1 Lap | ||
| 39 | 52 | Josh Bilicki |
Ford | 250 | 3:05'33.281 | 17 Laps | 5 Laps |
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