Kurt Busch Outduels Kyle Larson at Kansas Speedway

Over the past decade, Kurt Busch has developed a reputation as something of a team-fixer. His last three programs (Furniture Row Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing) all saw significant improvements immediately after he joined the program. That made him a natural fit at the newly-expanded 23XI Racing this year, where he joins Bubba Wallace in a two-car program with winning expectations. Just 13 races into his time with the team, those expectations have already been fulfilled.

Busch was third on the final stint before passing brother and Toyota Racing Development stablemate Kyle Busch for second with 20 to go. That put him in position to chase leader Kyle Larson in the final stretch. He caught Larson with 15 to go, then got to his side with 10 to go. He dove inside, then held the line for two laps. Eventually, Larson ran out of room pushing too hard and hit the outside wall. That got the elder Busch brother clear to the race lead, and from there he never looked back.

Not only is it Busch's first win for 23XI Racing, it is a win on debut for team owner Michael Jordan's Nike-partnered Jordan Brand as a sponsor. It's also a banner day for Toyota, who placed all six of its factory-backed cars in the top ten today even after Busch's 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace fell to last on the lead lap with a pit lane penalty twice in the second half of the race. Aside from Larson, every other car in the top six of today's race was powered by Toyota. Given how poorly that entire program had run in the season's opening months, the turnaround is hard to overstate.