Kyle Busch not only beat home the other three drivers competing for the NASCAR championship, he also took the race win to secure his first title in style at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Busch, who missed the first 11 races of the season after a breaking his leg in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona in February, not only climbed into title contention midway through the year, he also kept things together throughout the Chase and was the class of the field in the race that mattered.
Busch, seemingly on his way to a second-place finish that would have still secured the championship, took the lead from Brad Keselowski on a late re-start and pulled away from fellow Chase contender Kevin Harvick to win the series’ biggest prize.
The 30-year-old needed only to finish ahead of fellow title contenders Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing), Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports) and Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing).
Gordon, making his final appearance as a full-time driver in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, finished sixth while Truex was 12th.
Busch’s season was far from straight-forward, but his form after his return in late May was nothing short of outstanding. NASCAR stated that Busch would be eligible for the Chase if he took a race win and finished inside the top-30 in points after 26 races.
Click here to find out how.
It took Busch just over a month to find Victory Lane at Sonoma Raceway. That started a stretch of four wins in five races for the 30-year-old, including three straight wins at Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Despite an early setback early in the Chase, Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team soon got into the groove, including three top-five finishes to advance to the Championship 4 at the final round.
The Sprint Cup championship is the fourth for team owner Joe Gibbs. It is also the first Sprint Cup championship for Toyota.
VIDEO: Race Recap
RESULTS: Ford EcoBoost 400 – Homestead-Miami Speedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MAKE | START | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 3 | 267 | 41 | Running | 43 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 13 | 267 | 46 | Running | 42 | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 8 | 267 | 86 | Running | 43 | 2 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 2 | 267 | 72 | Running | 41 | 1 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 23 | 267 | 2 | Running | 40 | 1 |
| 6 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 5 | 267 | 9 | Running | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 19 | 267 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 15 | 267 | 0 | Running | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 12 | 267 | 0 | Running | 35 | 0 |
| 10 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 1 | 267 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | 7 | 267 | 8 | Running | 34 | 1 |
| 12 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 11 | 267 | 3 | Running | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 22 | 267 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 10 | 267 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 21 | 267 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 4 | 267 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 6 | 267 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 26 | 267 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 18 | 267 | 0 | Running | 25 | 0 |
| 20 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 20 | 266 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 17 | 266 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Chevrolet | 16 | 266 | 0 | Running | 22 | 0 |
| 23 | 33 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 25 | 266 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 35 | 266 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | Ford | 28 | 266 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 33 | 265 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 55 | David Ragan | Toyota | 38 | 265 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 40 | 265 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 36 | 265 | 0 | Running | 15 | 0 |
| 30 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 39 | 264 | 0 | Running | 14 | 0 |
| 31 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | Ford | 42 | 264 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 41 | 264 | 0 | Running | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 29 | 264 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 26 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 31 | 264 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 34 | 263 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 30 | 263 | 0 | Running | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 37 | 263 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 98 | Ryan Preece | Chevrolet | 43 | 262 | 0 | Running | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | 32 | Josh Wise | Ford | 32 | 247 | 0 | Running | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 9 | 241 | 0 | Running | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 14 | 209 | 0 | Running | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 27 | 104 | 0 | Accident | 2 | 0 |
| 43 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 24 | 45 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 5043 | Leader | 25 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 2 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 5042 | -1 | 36 | 3 | 23 | 28 | 1 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 5038 | -5 | 36 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 1 |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr | 5032 | -11 | 36 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 2 |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | 2368 | -2675 | 36 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 2 |
| 6 | Joey Logano | 2360 | -2683 | 36 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 0 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 2347 | -2696 | 36 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 1 |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 2333 | -2710 | 33 | 2 | 10 | 21 | 0 |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | 2327 | -2716 | 36 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 2 |
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | 2315 | -2728 | 36 | 5 | 14 | 22 | 1 |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | 2314 | -2729 | 36 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 1 |
| 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 2310 | -2733 | 36 | 3 | 16 | 22 | 1 |
| 13 | Jamie McMurray | 2295 | -2748 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| 14 | Paul Menard | 2262 | -2781 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 15 | Matt Kenseth | 2234 | -2809 | 34 | 5 | 12 | 20 | 4 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 2175 | -2868 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 3 |
| 17 | Aric Almirola | 940 | -4103 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 18 | Kasey Kahne | 939 | -4104 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 872 | -4171 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| 20 | Greg Biffle | 869 | -4174 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 832 | -4211 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| 22 | AJ Allmendinger | 758 | -4285 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | Casey Mears | 754 | -4289 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 24 | Danica Patrick | 716 | -4327 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 712 | -4331 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 26 | Sam Hornish Jr | 709 | -4334 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 27 | David Ragan | 701 | -4342 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 28 | Tony Stewart | 695 | -4348 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 29 | Trevor Bayne | 655 | -4388 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | 588 | -4455 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 553 | -4490 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | David Gilliland | 533 | -4510 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 | Alex Bowman | 437 | -4606 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt | 422 | -4621 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | 399 | -4644 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Michael Annett | 398 | -4645 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Josh Wise | 254 | -4789 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Jeb Burton | 216 | -4827 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Michael McDowell | 213 | -4830 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Alex Kennedy | 120 | -4923 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | 74 | -4969 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Bobby Labonte | 60 | -4983 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | Michael Waltrip | 58 | -4985 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Ryan Preece | 35 | -5008 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Brian Vickers | 32 | -5011 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Will Kimmel III | 11 | -5032 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Mike Wallace | 8 | -5035 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | T.J. Bell | 7 | -5036 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Eddie MacDonald | 7 | -5036 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | Kyle Fowler | 3 | -5040 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 | Ron Hornaday Jr | 2 | -5041 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 52 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -5043 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 53 | Brian Scott | 0 | -5043 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 54 | Erik Jones | 0 | -5043 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -5043 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 56 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -5043 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -5043 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 58 | Regan Smith | 0 | -5043 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Chase Elliott | 0 | -5043 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 60 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | Chris Buescher | 0 | -5043 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | Boris Said | 0 | -5043 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -5043 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 65 | Justin Marks | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -5043 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | Travis Kvapil | 0 | -5043 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | B J McLeod | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 0 | -5043 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -5043 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 72 | Joey Gase | 0 | -5043 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 73 | Derek White | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Jeff Green | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Ryan Ellis | 0 | -5043 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | Tanner Berryhill | 0 | -5043 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Discussion about this post