DARLINGTON, S.C. – A smiling Kurt Busch was one of the bright spots in Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway, posting a third-place finish for Chip Ganassi Racing in NASCAR’s return to competition after a 71-day hiatus.

Busch, who had to come through the field from 22nd after a random draw set the starting lineup, made steady progress throughout the 400-mile event.

He ended stage one in 16th, climbed to sixth by the end of the second stage and threw his name into the pool of potential winning contenders in the closing third of the event before fading off of runner-up Alex Bowman’s rear bumper in the final 34-lap run to the finish.

Still, a top three was as much or more than Busch expected out of the day from his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.

“It was a great feeling to be able to have such a good car with a good team at Chip Ganassi Racing,” noted Busch. “It was odd to be out there with no fans, but yet I could feel them all the way through the television cameras. So we were out there racing hard, trying to put on a good show (for all of them).

“I think we were a third‑place car with the Monster Energy Chevy. We were a little tight to start the race. That pace that Kevin Harvick had for the first 10 laps was tough to beat,” Busch continued. “Bowman was really quick as well. His setup from Fontana (likely) helped him here today. But to dance with the Lady in Black, I’ll take a third‑place finish.

“It was great to be out there and to race 200 miles an hour, to feel g‑forces again and to have a day where I was out there working and being part of a team.”

Busch’s effort came on a day when the Bowtie Brigade was strong across the board.

William Byron won the opening stage, Jimmie Johnson would have beaten Byron to the green checkered flag if not for a lap-90 crash, and Chevrolets took three of the top four finishing positions – with Bowman second, Busch third and Chase Elliott fourth.

It was representative of the bigger picture, Busch noted, as Chevrolet continues to improve their NASCAR Cup Series program overall following a down year in 2019.

“I believe we’ve improved our Camaros tremendously,” he said. “Hendrick has done what I would call a fuzz step better than us at Ganassi. We’re right in that box to be able to be in the top five. Now we’ve got to cross over and lead some laps, be consistent on pit road.

“But all in all, from the way our day started – buried 22nd off the draw – this is good,” Busch added. “We’re going to be buried again back in the mid pack for when the race starts Wednesday. “But this one today, Matt McCall did a really good job. It’s a balance of Hendrick, our engines, the chassis from Ganassi, the body with Chevrolet and everybody helping out.”

Busch heads for Wednesday night’s Toyota 500 – a primetime, mid-week race at the 1.366-mile Darlington oval – up three positions to 13th in the standings with considerable momentum.

That applies to Chip Ganassi Racing as a whole, too, which put both its cars inside the top 10 after Matt Kenseth’s return to the Cup Series for the first time since 2018 resulted in a 10th-place finish.

“For both cars to be in the top 10, that sets a big tone,” Busch said. “It’s really a neat day for us to bounce back like that (as a team). To back up what we did at Fontana with a top-five run, now we want to keep this train rolling.

“I don’t know what to change,” he added. “I’m going to have all my gear where I’ll wash everything, sanitize it and roll back out to pit road on Wednesday with my driver bag, hop back in the No. 1 Monster Energy Chevy hopefully with a chance to win.”