When the first time is sweet, times ahead are bound to be good. Negativity floated around NASCAR’s Cup debut at Iowa Speedway, especially due to the repaving. But on D-day, we were treated to an exhilarating race. Dramatic lead changes unfolded between Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. And as Blaney prevailed, he achieved a first of his own.

Located close to his mother’s hometown Des Moines, the Iowa track is familiar for Blaney. He added his third win on the track last weekend, setting a record. Blaney is now the only driver to have wins across all three NASCAR series at Iowa. Yet Kyle Busch outshines him in this category.

Ryan Blaney reminds us of rival’s jaw-dropping glory

The third time Ryan Blaney zipped up his firesuit at Iowa Speedway, he was only 18. In September 2012, a dewy-eyed teenage Blaney snagged his first-ever NASCAR win at Iowa. Then in 2015, a mature Ryan Blaney clinched an Xfinity trophy at the track, driving for Team Penske. Finally, in 2024, he completed the trifecta – becoming the tenth driver to win across all three series on at least one track.

Post-race, a tired Blaney talked about his achievement: “Home track. I got to. Means a lot. I mean, it’s cool to win in Truck here, Xfinity, now Cup. Gosh, I’m worn out. Driving hard. I figured I deserved a burnout.” 

However, Blaney’s rivals in the trifecta competition have some massive achievements. Sitting on top of them all is Kyle Busch, who has completed the triple glory across a whopping 17 tracks. Over 21 years of racing, Rowdy has picked up trophies and medals like berries in a garden. Presently, Kyle Busch continues to struggle with a 38-race winless streak. He is 31 points below the playoff cutline, drawing speculation about his dwindling future. His present woes sometimes make his grand achievements almost unbelievable, like a distant dream. But when reminded, Busch’s glittering past continues to wow people.

Kyle Busch dons a crown that not even Richard Petty can touch, just because of Busch’s versatility. Petty owns 200 wins only in the Grand National/ Cup Series. But Busch’s stats far outweigh his, with 231 trophies across Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck. If any future driver aimed to break either Petty or Busch’s achievements, a gargantuan task would face them. They would have to average at least 15 combined wins in a 15-season career or perhaps 12 combined wins per season in a 20-season career. 

Yet they would not be able to either, as NASCAR has tweaked its rules a lot since Busch or Petty stamped their glory.

Busch had an advantage in his prime

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In terms of race trophies, the RCR No. 8 driver is the winningest. Busch owns 63 Cup wins, 102 Xfinity wins (highest among all drivers), and 66 Craftsman Truck wins. But how did Rowdy compete in all these races in the first place, let alone win them? That is because NASCAR rules were loose back in the day. All drivers – including Cup Series full-timers- could compete as often as they wanted in Xfinity and Truck.

So Kyle Busch took full advantage of that. In 2009, he made 86 starts – running full seasons in Cup and Xfinity and a part-time schedule in Truck. However, times have changed as NASCAR put its foot down. Now Cup drivers can race in extremely limited Xfinity or Truck races. If that wasn’t the case, we may have been able to witness one or two exceptional drivers like Ryan Blaney surpassing Busch’s jaw-dropping stats.

Hence, as Ryan Blaney basks in his Iowa glory, Kyle Busch continues to struggle. Yet his past glory may be a reminder that Rowdy can come back to his form any day and it won’t be surprising.