(Photo by Michael Bush/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kyle Busch Surpasses Kevin Harvick for All-Time NASCAR Record

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Feb 23, 2026 3:18 PM ET

Since his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Kyle Busch has been winning races, setting records, and, of course, winning championships. On Sunday at EchoPark Speedway, Busch collected another record. This time, he took it from Kevin Harvick.

Kyle Busch made starts in the Craftsman Truck Series and Cup Series in Atlanta this past weekend. That Truck Series start gave him his 1,299th start across the NASCAR national series. Sunday made it Busch's 1,300th start in NASCAR. That is a record.

No other driver, according to NASCAR Insights, has made more starts in NASCAR. Kevin Harvick is at 1,299 and is retired. He's teased about maybe making another start, just not in the Cup Series. So, maybe we'll see that 1,300th start from Harvick one day.

Kyle Busch waits ahead of qualifying for the Truck Series at Atlanta. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

On Sunday, Kyle Busch made his 1,300th NASCAR start across the top three series:

Cup - 752 starts
O'Reilly - 367 starts
Truck - 181 starts

This surpasses Kevin Harvick for the most starts by a driver in NASCAR history. pic.twitter.com/NR4T2fEnwL
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) February 23, 2026

Of course, Richard Petty made the most starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. That number is never going to be surpassed. Thanks to the 1960s having a much larger racing schedule, Petty had more chances to race early on in his career.

Looking at the list, a few of those names are interesting. Joe Nemechek at No. 3, Michael Waltrip at No. 6, Morgan Shepherd at No. 7. If you just asked a random fan who was on this top-10 list for most starts all-time, I'm not sure they would list those three drivers off the top of their heads.

Kyle Busch is still winless since his 2023 win at Gateway. It's been a long time for Rowdy since winning in the Cup Series. But is 2026 the year that changes? It sure would be nice for Busch to get back to his winning ways. It feels like it would do a lot for the sport. The Cup Series is just different when he's a factor week-to-week.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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