Kyle Busch becomes ninth different St. Patrick’s Day winner
FONTANA, Calif. — Saint Patrick’s Day, observed on March 17, is celebrated mainly by the Irish as a day to remember the saint who ministered Christianity to the Island. The saint is said to have died on March 17, 493, according to TimeAndDate.
Since NASCAR’s inception in 1949, the unofficial holiday has been observed on March 17th every year except 2008. According to BBC, the Catholic Church moved St. Patricks day to March 15th so that the day would not coincide with Holy Monday.
With Kyle Busch’s victory in the Auto Club 400 on Sunday (March 17),the younger Busch brother is now the only active driver to win in the Cup series on the unofficial holiday. Busch’s victory on St. Patrick’s day is the first since Kasey Kahne went to Victory Lane at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2013.
MENCS WINNERS ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY
1957 Ralph Moody at Wilson Speedway
1962 Jack Smith at Savannah Speedway
1963 Fred Lorenzen at Atlanta Motor Speedway
1968 David Pearson at Bristol Motor Speedway
1974 Cale Yarborough at Bristol Motor Speedway
1985 Bill Elliott at Atlanta Motor Speedway
2002 Sterling Marlin at Darlington Raceway
2013 Kasey Kahne at Bristol Motor Speedway
2019 Kyle Busch at Auto Club Speedway
Matt Courson View All
Matt Courson is the Managing Editor for The Racing Experts. Courson has covered NASCAR events at 19 of the 23 active racetracks. When not at the track, the 20-year-old Journalism major enjoys spending time with family and playing Ingress.