Kyle Busch wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway

Kyle Busch and Richard Childress completed the circle Sunday.

Busch, who joined Childress’ team at the end of last season after 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing, rolled to victory Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in his second points race with RCR. The driver and team owner were at odds once upon a time, Childress responding to on-track aggression by Busch by urging a bystander to “hold my watch” while he addressed the issue with Busch.

Confirming the wisdom of putting him in RCR’s top car, Busch dominated the final portion of Sunday’s race and made it clear he likely will be a front-line contender in their first season together.

Busch had the lead before the final round of green-flag stops, returned to the front after the stops and wasn’t challenged over the final miles.

“I think it ranks high just because it ranks to the fact of I can do it,” Busch told Fox Sports. “I never doubted myself, but sometimes you do. You kind of get down on it, you wonder what’s going on and what’s happening and you put yourself in a different situation and you’re able to come out here and reward your guys. It’s not about me always winning, but it’s about the guys. I’ve been with a lot of great people that have given me a lot of great opportunities in my career, so it’s awesome to be able to reward them.”

The victory gave Busch a significant record. It marked his 19th consecutive season winning at least one Cup race, giving him the all-time lead in that category. He was tied at 18 with Richard Petty.

The race was the final one on the 2-mile oval at ACS. The track is scheduled to be replaced by a half-mile oval.

Following in the top five were Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Kevin Harvick.

A packed restart on lap 87 changed the face