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NASCAR at Kansas: Kurt Busch Wins the AdventHealth 400

It wasn’t the cleanest race of the season by any means, but Kurt Busch is leaving Kansas Speedway with a win in the NASCAR AdventHealth 400. On a Sunday filled with many cautions and restarts, Busch was able to stay away from the miscues and drive his No. 45 Toyota to Victory Lane for his first Cup Series victory of the 2022 season.

Although a morning storm in Kansas City made it seem as if Sunday’s start time would be pushed back, showers stopped and the sun came out just in time – allowing for the track to be fully dry before the green flag was dropped. A night race under the lights in Kansas would’ve been thrilling, but NASCAR was happy to have gotten in the race during the day.

After leading for most of the start, Tyler Reddick was passed by Kyle Larson on lap 34 – just before the first pit stop of the day. Christopher Bell – who started on the pole – retook the lead later into Stage 1 and held it until lap 64 when a flat tire forced him to pit and Kyle Busch jumped into the front. Ultimately, Busch captured the stage win to open things up in what was bound to be a wild afternoon.

Despite finishing at the top of Stage 1, Busch fell to ninth early into Stage 2 during a pit stop – which featured his car getting close to the wall. William Byron took the lead just 10 laps into the stage by shifting to the inside, while Reddick made a climb back towards the top at No. 2 and Ross Chastain was right behind him in third.

Kurt Busch made a nice move on lap 112 – the 32nd lap of Stage 2 – by going down low to pass Chastain to take the No. 2 spot. Luckily for Busch, the race leader Byron’s car was dealt with a tire issue shortly after, which allowed for him to take the lead midway through the stage. However, Busch didn’t stay atop the leaderboard for long as Chase Elliott soon swooped into the top spot for the first time on the day.

Elliott – who started 14th – led for some solid time, but Kurt Busch later took the Stage 2 win to set up an exciting final set. It proved to be just that as Busch went to work and came out on top.

Kurt Busch Was The Best Driver Down The Stretch Sunday

Stage 3, just like usual, was pretty eventful on Sunday – but Kurt Busch was able to come out on top and capture a win in the AdventHealth 400. Leading for a majority of the day, Busch’s best driving came in the final set as he had to battle to remain in front.

Despite making contact with the wall early into the final stage, Larson avoided spinning out and remained right alongside Kurt Busch. While Larson was able to maintain his car, Elliott soon had a tire go out with 71 laps to go – which had Busch leading and Denny Hamlin in second.

With 40 laps left, Kurt and Kyle Busch were running side-by-side – with Kurt in first and Kyle second. Kyle jumped into the top spot coming off pit road during a caution, but Larson made a quick move to the front. Leading with 10 laps to go, Larson got loose and Kurt Busch was able to retake the lead – never looking back.