Kurt Busch has experienced the best of the best and done more with less, driving a number of organizations through his NASCAR Cup Series career. The veteran adds another to the list this year at 23XI Racing, which is a second-year operation. There is one who puts a month in the race, the bush close to the top of the list.
“I was with different teams, but I’m also blessed to be with quality teams, and this team is no different,” said Busch. “We are bringing the best quality we can to the track through the development of Next Gen, where parts are harder to find, and repairs are a different strategy in terms of what is approved and what is not. But overall, quality from the cars, the teamwork, everything is there.
“We’re a sister team of JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing), so I look at it like there are six Toyotas going on the track to win. And that’s the feeling, that’s the squad, and that’s the sound, which we now have with the 23 car and the 45 car.
Busch is the lineup veteran, now in his 22nd full season. The experience, maturity, and race IQ made him a draw for team co-owners Denny Hamlin and David Wilson of Toyota. Not only is an asset to the company, but Busch is also an asset to team-mate Darrell Wallace Jr. and its further progress.
Four races into the season, Bush did no worse than the 19th and last weekend described checking as a box with a top-5 finish. Bush had an average of 11.3 and finished all in two rounds.
A trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway is a “geographic reset.” While the West Coast was good for Bush and society, Cup Series teams typically watched the track of racing, which follows it as a testament to what has been learned and can now be implemented.
“Here we are with Atlanta, as new as this track is with the sidewalk and the banks being reconfigured in the rules package, this is a mindset change of a plate race,” Busch said. “Then COTA next week, for the first time with Next Gen on a rod course. We’re going to Richmond; that’s a really short distance.
“It’s happened so much that it’s not really a definite reset, it just has to be a calculated effort every week.”
Busch begins its ninth Sunday in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
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