Busch led just one lap, but it was the right one at rain-delayed Cup Series race on Sunday night.
How did Kyle Busch win Sunday night’s long, dusty, rainy, muddy, wacky Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway?
By waiting and watching, not in typical Busch hard-charger style.
Evidence: He led only the last lap.
Busch won the race while Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe delivered the excitement.
Reddick, looking for his first career Cup win and hoping to end a 62-race winless streak for Richard Childress Racing, had built a comfortable cushion at the front over the closing 20 laps. But Briscoe made hard-fought gains as the lap counter changed and charged into position to challenge Reddick for the win on the final lap.
Briscoe jumped to the inside in turn three and pulled alongside Reddick. Briscoe lost control of his car in the dirt entering turn four and slid into Reddick, putting both cars into a spin. Reddick dropped to the inside of the track but retained control of his car and returned to the inside racing lane.
But it was too late. Busch, lurking three seconds behind in third place and having nursed his car through a night of seemingly constant change, came roaring by on the outside and beat Reddick to the line by .33 of a second. Briscoe limped home in 22nd.
What had been an up-and-down race in the dirt, mud and rain—there were two red-flag delays—ended with a dash of short-track drama and boos raining down on Busch, the sudden and surprise winner.
On post-race pit road, where more than a few fights have spiced Bristol finishes over the years, Reddick and Briscoe met and shook hands, Briscoe apologizing for overstepping in his last-gasp rush to get to first, later saying he couldn’t have gone to sleep if he hadn’t at least tried to slide into the win.
Reddick was subdued, saying he “should have done a better job and pulled away so he wasn’t in range to try to make that move. That’s how I look at it.”
Busch won the race by largely avoiding trouble and being in position to inherit first. He has been something less than a fan of the Bristol dirt experiment, so it was with a bit of irony that he walked away with the big trophy.
“The biggest thing that hinders me from enjoying this is the application,” Busch said. “We’re trying to do something that isn’t applicable, in my opinion. These cars are 3,500 pounds. You’re on edge and on your toes trying not to crash every single lap.”
In the end, the leaders crashed and Busch didn’t.
“I kept them (the leaders) in the windshield in case something did happen,” Busch said. “In the final corner chaos ensued, I guess, and we were able to take it through and back into one.”
Those who are keeping score can continue to count Kevin Harvick, an outspoken critic of the Bristol dirt concept, as one who favors an end to the experiment.
“The first thing I can tell you is we did a terrible job prepping the track and full of mud and there was nobody here to pack the track, so we all look like a bunch of bozos coming in to pit (to clear mud from grilles) because we don’t know how to prep the track,” said Harvick, who finished 34th. … “I think it’s ridiculous that we’re doing what we’re doing anyway.”
It was an Easter Sunday that didn’t please everybody.
NASCAR Cup Series Race
62nd Annual Food City Dirt Race
Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt
Sunday, April 17, 2022
1. (11) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 250.
2. (3) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 250.
3. (10) Joey Logano, Ford, 250.
4. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 250.
5. (25) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 250.
6. (8) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 250.
7. (2) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 250.
8. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 250.
9. (17) Michael McDowell, Ford, 250.
10. (7) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 250.
11. (18) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 250.
12. (21) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 250.
13. (1) Cole Custer, Ford, 250.
14. (6) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 250.
15. (15) Chris Buescher, Ford, 250.
16. (20) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 250.
17. (23) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 250.
18. (19) William Byron, Chevrolet, 250.
19. (26) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 250.
20. (24) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 250.
21. (30) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 250.
22. (4) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 250.
23. (31) Aric Almirola, Ford, 250.
24. (14) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 250.
25. (36) Josh Williams(i), Ford, 250.
26. (35) Cody Ware, Ford, 250.
27. (28) Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 248.
28. (22) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 245.
29. (16) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 240.
30. (29) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, Accident, 221.
31. (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 211.
32. (13) Kurt Busch, Toyota, Accident, 211.
33. (33) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Engine, 150.
34. (32) Kevin Harvick, Ford, Accident, 100.
35. (34) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Engine, 91.
36. (27) Justin Allgaier(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 74.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 34.973 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 34 Mins, 27 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.330 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 14 for 82 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Custer 0; C. Briscoe 1-48; K. Larson 49-75; D. Suarez 76-139; C. Briscoe 140-150; T. Reddick 151-249; K. Busch 250.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Tyler Reddick 1 time for 99 laps; Daniel Suarez 1 time for 64 laps; Chase Briscoe 2 times for 59 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 27 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,42,20,3,18,48,22,8,12,47
Stage #2 Top Ten: 14,20,99,9,18,5,22,34,12,8
Keyword: How Kyle Busch Broke His Own Mold to Win NASCAR race on the Dirt at Bristol