"Turn two was a battle" - Kurt Busch delighted with top-five finish at Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway

43-year-old NASCAR veteran Kurt Busch expressed joy at his fifth-place finish at the Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Pheonix Raceway yesterday.

The Las Vegas-born driver currently drives for 23XI Racing alongside teammate Bubba Wallace Jr. in the Cup Series.

The race on the one-mile long oval in Arizona panned out well for Busch as he scored his team's first top five in his car. Busch tried to explain his race craft in a post-race interview and said:

“It was a little loose on corner exit. That turn two was a battle – a couple of guys spun right in front of me over there. We gave it our best. Once we got that sorted out in turn two, some of the other parts of the track got tight for us, but my car really surprised me on the refires."

Busch was also surprised at how he and his car were able to compete on older tires, stating:

“It was surprising, and it was fun. I’m normally a sticker guy. I need sticker tires and this car reacted really well to scuffs today, so that’s good for our notebook at 23XI. The restarts – I was able to find the right spots to be."

The veteran hopes this result will uplift the team and help them make regular top ten appearances with both cars as NASCAR heads to Atlanta for the upcoming weekend.

Kurt Busch leads teammate scoreboard at 23XI Racing

Kurt Busch leads his teammate Bubba Wallace Jr. at 23XI Racing in overall performance in the 2022 season. The 43-year-old has managed to best his younger counterpart in Fontana as well as Las Vegas with eighth and thirteenth place finishes, respectively.

Wallace Jr. has struggled to match his teammate after his second-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500.

The 23XI drivers and crew will be looking forward to the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 in Atlanta, as morale was certainly helped by a strong finish yesterday.