Kurt Busch wins with Jordan Brand, 23XI Racing at Kansas
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kurt Busch had the logo of the Jordan Brand on his uniform and hood, but until Sunday, his 2022 hadn't been a season in which he appeared to be a favorite to win a race.
Granted, it might not have been the uniform and the paint scheme, as Busch possesses incredible talent, but those certainly didn’t hurt as he led 116 laps Sunday, including the final nine, to capture the Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
"I felt like I had to play like the GOAT, race like the GOAT," Busch said.
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Kurt Busch wins with Michael Jordan scheme at Kansas
Here are three takeaways from Kansas, where the 2004 Cup champion won for the 34th time in his career and just the first time in 33 tries at the 1.5-mile track.
Busch outlasts Kyles
Kurt Busch restarted third with 33 laps remaining, with his brother, Kyle, in the lead and 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson in second.
Larson took the lead on the restart, and Busch methodically gained ground and passed Larson after a tight, side-by-side battle.
"I had to beat the Kyles," Kurt Busch said. "I had to beat both. This was like the Kyle and Kyle show. ... I had to have the confidence to know that our setup would do things on the short run and long run."
Kyles have outrun feeling
Both Kyle Busch and Larson left Kansas wondering what could have been.
"We were in control of the race on that final restart, and you want to win the race in that instance," Kyle Busch said. "I felt like our car was good enough to do so.
"But Larson did a good job getting into my left rear, getting in the right spot to drag me down the backstretch. ... Once he got clear, it was over [for me]."
Larson scraped the wall several times during the race, including when he tried to hold off Kurt’s Toyota.
"Had it been anybody besides Kurt behind me, I could have held him off," Larson said. "He had by far the best car today. I did what I could."
Tire issues plague teams
Several drivers throughout the weekend had difficulty with left rear tires handling the loads. Crew chiefs and drivers who had issues couldn’t pinpoint why they had a failure at a specific time.
The Next Gen car introduced this year punishes the left rear tire, and the teams and Goodyear always have a little bit of friction because teams want to go as fast as possible, even if that means potentially not abiding by Goodyear guidelines when it comes to air pressures and camber.
Goodyear executive Greg Stucker said the tire is the one they think works best for this car at 1.5-mile tracks.
"Given what we know about tire engineering, materials we use, the placement of components, its ability to carry load, its ability to perform, provide the grip that it needs, we feel like it's a match," he said.
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
