Victory at last: Matt McCall reverses fortunes, savors first Monster Energy Series win

The first win is always the sweetest, but it’s even sweeter when it comes after not only a disappointing race the weekend before but a seemingly long winless streak. Matt McCall, crew chief of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, got that ever-so-sweet first victory in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. “This is what you work every day for," McCall said. "A lot of hours, but got a wheel man now.” RELATED: Kurt Busch survives OT thriller | Race results The driver-crew chief pairing of Kyle Busch and McCall is new this season, but Busch knew from the start that the shift to Chip Ganassi Racing was "the right move for him." He entered the 2019 season with confidence that he'd win with his new team. Busch knew he was going to win with McCall, too; it was just a matter of time. “I knew he could be a winner,” Busch said. “I knew from the second I met him. We're all winners now.” McCall felt the same. This season marks McCall’s fifth full-time season as a crew chief with 164 starts under his belt and 16 top fives and 58 top 10s. Five of those top fives and 11 of the top 10s all came from the start of this season with Busch. “(Busch) came in, that was the goal from the very beginning," McCall said. "He has a lot of credentials, so when he starts talking about how many we’re going to win, it’s definitely a confidence booster for sure. He’s almost delivered, and he delivered tonight, so it’s been pretty fun this first half of the season.” After making a weather-related judgment call late in last weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway and receiving plenty of backlash, this was a fitting remedy. Busch had a chance to take home the victory at Daytona, but lightning and a last-minute decision to pit just before the race's final stoppage ended those hopes with heartbreak. None of that matters now. This is Busch’s 31st career win in 16 full-time seasons, but it’s the first for McCall and many other members of the No. 1 team. “It's awesome. Just to get back to Victory Lane for the first time with a new team means the world to me,” Busch said. “But with all these guys, there's so many that got their first win tonight, and they put me in position. A fast car, we had lap time, and we got a nice lucky break to get a shot at it with that yellow at the end. It takes teamwork all the way through, and thanks to Chevrolet, Monster Energy, Gear Wrench, Global Poker. These guys are winners, I couldn't be more proud of them.”