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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, races during the last chance qualifier for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, races during the last chance qualifier for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Kurt Busch did it. The longest-serving NASCAR driver currently held off the advances of inarguably two of the most talented drivers of all time, and took the checkered flag at Kansas.
Busch won his first race of the season, and boy, he did it at a time his team needed it.
As is pretty well documented, 23XI Racing had been suffering from some problems as of late. Poor results and incredible bad luck led to a pretty gloomy atmosphere in the team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.
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However, Busch’s win will surely lift their spirits up, and perhaps, act as the turnaround they needed.
This was something that NASCAR Hall of Famer, Dale Earnhardt Jr also mentioned even before Busch won the race, when the #45 won Stage 2. Dale Jr. had tweeted, “@KurtBusch takes bad teams and makes them better. He takes teams that didn’t even exist last year and makes them better. It’s a rare quality even some of Nascar’s greats didn’t possess.”
Along with Earnhardt Jr, many NASCAR fans and community also had a similar reaction to Kurt Busch after the veteran took the win.
.@KurtBusch takes bad teams and makes them better. He takes teams that didn’t even exist last year and makes them better. It’s a rare quality even some of Nascar’s greats didn’t possess.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 15, 2022
Tremendous, season-changing win for Kurt Busch. Boy, did 23XI need that one. Busch launches himself into the playoffs from P21 in points before this race. Excellent stuff to earn that one.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) May 15, 2022
Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman, them boys up to something! Congrats @KurtBusch! 🙌🏼🏆 #winners
— Ty Gibbs (@TyGibbs_) May 15, 2022
Kurt Busch wins 23XI Racing’s first non-superspeedway and full-distance event.
It’s the first time a 23XI Racing car has shown this much pure speed in its existence.
How fitting it is for Busch to be sponsored by the Jordan Brand today.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) May 15, 2022
There was a time where Kurt Busch appeared to have reached the end of his career; self-inflicted.
He was already a Hall of Famer by that point.
His second act, marked by a different vibe, has resulted in nine wins and a reputation as a valuable building block. Ageless results.
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) May 15, 2022
Kurt Busch every time he joins a new team pic.twitter.com/Yek6mfAyxD
— Pan (@NoctLC78) May 15, 2022
We all need to appreciate how incredible Kurt Busch is. Doesn’t matter the team. The man is simply on another level https://t.co/VEAhd122wl
— Jon Ratcliffe (@donniejay25) May 15, 2022
Kurt Busch outlines teamwork as key to his first win of the season
After taking his first win of the season, naturally, Kurt Busch was all fired up. In his post-race interview, Busch credited his success to “teamwork.”
“I don’t do this alone, and the way Toyota’s helped us, JGR. My brother’s been so important on the family side of just, ‘Hey, you gotta get through these steps.’ Bubba is a tremendous teammate,” he said.
Also Read: “Got Engaged, Gone Downhill” – Ryan Blaney Eats a Humble Pie After Insensitive Bubba Wallace Joke
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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 Monster Energy Toyota, speaks to the media during the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
With his first win of the season under his belt, Kurt Busch will surely have affected not just the #45 team to do better, but also the #23 team of Bubba Wallace, that anyway had a pretty solid outing at Kansas if not for some bad luck once again.
Anyway, do you think Busch’s win will change 23XI Racing’s fortunes in what remains of the regular season?
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Let us know in the comments below.
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