Kyle Busch emerges as early championship contender after Fontana triumph

Kyle Busch won his first race with Richard Childress Racing in the final race at the Auto Club Speedway. Driving down the victory lane, Busch got out of his car and took his traditional bow in front of the packed grandstands.

On Sunday, the #8 driver seemed unstoppable after starting the race from the 11th row. Since his debut with RCR, Busch has put together stellar performances. He finished third in the Busch Light Clash, and had a potentially impressive result at the Daytona 500 before the last-lap crash. The 37-year-old's string of performances has been rewarded with a commanding victory at Auto Club Speedway.

The M&M man seems to have returned to form with the RCR team. The two-time Cup Series champion struggled in the previous three years with Joe Gibbs Racing, winning just four races. His average finishing position (16.7) was the worst of his career. The team’s inability to find a replacement for his M&M sponsor and the decline in performance soured the relationship between the two parties.

To everybody’s surprise, Kyle Busch joined RCR to replace 23XI-bound Tyler Reddick. Asked about his struggles last year, Busch was uncertain about what happened. The #8 driver said:

"It was just a completely different feeling of a race car than what I had here last year."

Busch stated he didn’t expect his new partnership with RCR to have such a strong start to the season. He said:

"I felt like there was going to be a little bit of a learning experience, a little bit of a growth pattern. But also on the flip side of that, I always just kind of looked back and watched some of their results and success that they had last year with Austin. It's just been really, really cool."

With impressive performances, Busch has clearly marked himself as a championship contender. RCR hasn’t won a championship since 1994 when Dale Earnhardt won his last championship.

With his win at Fontana, Busch has qualified for the playoffs. Kyle Busch could be the driver to bring championship glory back to RCR.

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Competitors not surprised with Kyle Busch’s comeback

Chase Elliott, who finished behind Kyle Busch, wasn’t surprised his come back to the front of the grid.

Elliott said after the race:

"Why is anyone surprised by this? That's mind-boggling to me that anyone is surprised. Kyle is fantastic, one of the best race car drivers to ever do this. That didn't change overnight. So I'm not surprised. And anybody who is should rethink their NASCAR knowledge."

Ross Chastain’s futile attempts to hold off Busch failed, as the #8 driver eventually took the lead and set the pace for the race. Chastain appraised Busch, saying:

"He's better than me all the time, When he caught up to us, I was really loose. ... He got a lot better over the last half of the race."

Daniel Suarez also praised Busch, calling him a "great driver".