NASCAR

Rowdy’s most iconic NASCAR moments at Atlanta

by
Scoops
July 12, 2026

We continue our weekly ‘Kyle Busch Remembered’ series with a look back at his many memorable drives at Atlanta, and honestly, there were too many to choose from. Busch won 14 NASCAR races at the track, and was involved in several other iconic moments beyond that.

For example, his 2021 duel with brother Kurt didn’t even make the list, nor did his 2009 Truck charge after losing third gear.

Busch won 234 victories between Cup, O’Reilly, and Trucks in his NASCAR career, and passed away unexpectedly just days after his final victory. He was 41 years old.

Every week since then, we’ve been highlighting his most impressive, memorable, or even infamous moments at whatever track is up next on the NASCAR Cup schedule.

We’ve already covered Sonoma, Nashville, Michigan, Pocono, and Chicagoland which you can find by clicking the names of each track as mentioned. Now, here’s a look back at Rowdy’s greatest moments at Atlanta…

The first Cup win for Toyota … ever

Race winner Kyle Busch celebrates

Photo by: Motorsport.com / ASP Inc.

When Kyle Busch joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, it took him just four races before he reached Victory Lane. This win was very special, and not just because it was Busch’s first win with his new home, but because it was the first Cup win ever for Toyota as a manufacturer. It was also the beginning of an incredible relationship with Gibbs, as Busch earned 56 of his 63 Cup wins with the organization, as well as both of his championships.

Part of the closest three-wide photo finish in NASCAR history

Watch: Hear FOX Sports Latin America’s call of Daniel Suárez’s wild Atlanta win

Busch didn’t win this race, but we just had to include it. Early in the 2024 season, Busch was part of one of the most iconic finishes in the history of NASCAR. Battling Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez for the Cup win at Atlanta, he made a sensational move up the middle on the final lap, splitting the cars of Blaney and Suarez like a wedge. Busch was pulling air off the right-rear of Blaney entering Turn 3 and Suarez was doing the same to Busch from the third lane. They were deadlocked exiting the final corner, and with no one pushing them, it was a proper drag race. Like fighter pilots in formation, no one could truly tell who won as they crossed the finish line. In the end, Suarez was declared the winner, just 0.003s ahead of Blaney and only 0.007s ahead of Busch — the closest margin of victory between the top three finishers in the history of NASCAR Cup Series racing.

Busch’s 102nd and final NASCAR O’Reilly Series win

While Busch enjoyed immense success at every level of NASCAR, the O’Reilly Series is where 102 of his 234 victories took place. He won almost 30% of the O’Reilly races he entered in his career, and three of those were at Atlanta. In 2021, he led 97 of 164 laps from pole to win at Atlanta — another classic episode of the ‘Kyle Busch Show.’ He also had to fight off Jeb Burton in an overtime restart, keeping things close at the end. However, this one was different, because it was last O’Reilly checkered flag of his career. Kind of ironic too, as he finished last in his first-ever Atlanta O’Reilly race 18 years earlier.

Unreal drive to win 2005 NASCAR Truck race

To this day, footage of this 2005 Truck finish is thrilling to watch. Busch was ninth on fresh tires for a three-lap shootout, and it was a single-file restart. Nonetheless, he immediately began to slice through the field, driving all over the track as he surged forward. At the white flag, he was third. Down the backstretch, it was only Jack Sprague between him and victory. Busch jumped to the outside through the final set of corners and got squeezed up into the wall as Sprague lost control. Bobby Labonte, also on fresh tires, was right there as well, with Johnny Benson spinning underneath him. Labonte and Busch were likely going to be side-by-side, but the spinning truck of Sprague collected Labonte with Busch narrowly avoiding him as he charged to the finish line in the chaotic finish.

Becoming the all-time wins leader in Trucks

In 2019, Busch earned a milestone win at Atlanta in the Truck Series. It was his 52nd in the third level of NASCAR, which officially made him the winningest driver in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history, a title he is likely to hold for a very long time. Busch won the race by almost a second over Johnny Sauter, and broke a tie with four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. for the No. 1 spot.

Three consecutive NASCAR Truck Atlanta wins at the end of his career

Even in recent years with the reconfigured version Atlanta, Busch remained nearly unbeatable in Trucks at the track. Honestly, it was even more impressive now with how close and unpredictable modern Atlanta races are. Busch won the Atlanta Truck race in each of the last three years — 2024, 2025, and 2026. Sadly, he won’t get the chance to extend that record, but it was quite the show to see how he controlled the pack over the last three years. In 2024, he beat Ty Majeski by just under two tenths, and in 2026, he was just over a tenth clear of Carson Hocevar in a 1-2 finish for Spire. But 2025 was the closest, by far. He defeated Stewart Friesen by a measly 0.017s in a dramatic photo finish (the closest Truck finish in almost twenty years). But while that was the most the most memorable, Busch’s 2026 win (the penultimate win of his NASCAR career) is extra special and bittersweet, as it was the final victory he got to celebrate with his wife Samantha and son Brexton at the track.