​Kyle Busch was one of Chicagoland Speedway’s most successful NASCAR Cup Series drivers, claiming two wins and leading more than 500 laps before the track disappeared from the schedule after 2019. As NASCAR returns this weekend, fans are looking back at his standout record at the 1.5-mile Joliet, Illinois venue. Across 15 Cup Series starts there, Busch tallied two victories, eight top-10 finishes, and led 523 laps, cementing his status among Chicagoland’s all-time greats.
Busch’s first Chicagoland win came in July 2008, after starting from the pole and leading a race-high 165 laps to steer his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to Victory Lane. He returned a decade later to celebrate again, weathering a 16th-place qualifying run in 2018, working his way forward, and taking the lead late to claim his second victory at the track. His success extended well beyond those two triumphs. From 2012 to 2018, Busch finished 15th or better in seven consecutive Chicagoland races, including a runner-up finish in 2013, fourth in 2012, seventh in 2014, eighth in 2016, and ninth in 2015. He also captured four poles at Chicagoland, starting first in 2008, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
One of Busch’s most memorable Chicagoland moments came in 2015, when, just months after sustaining serious leg and foot injuries at Daytona, he returned to lead 121 laps at Chicagoland before finishing ninth and later going on to win his first Cup Series championship that season. By the time NASCAR left Chicagoland after 2019, Busch had led 523 laps there—one of the highest totals for any driver at the venue.
The Cup Series’ final visit to Chicagoland before its seven-year hiatus occurred in June 2019. Busch entered that weekend as the defending race winner but could not match the speed that had carried him to victory the year before; after qualifying 17th, he finished 22nd as Alex Bowman took the first Cup Series victory of his career. That race would prove to be Busch’s last Cup Series start at Chicagoland Speedway. Now, as NASCAR returns to the Illinois oval, Busch’s enduring Chicagoland legacy remains a key part of the track’s history and a cornerstone of his enduring Hall of Fame résumé.