After 10 months, 35 races, nine elimination races, a lot of racing and just as much drama, it all came down to the final restart.
Kyle Busch surged ahead of leader Brad Keselowski with just seven laps left in Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and sped away to not only score the victory, but to clinch his first career Sprint Cup Series championship.
The title came in a season that saw Busch miss the first 11 races of the season after being injured in a crash in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona in February. Busch was granted a waiver for the race starts rule by NASCAR, but still had to win races and finish in the top 30 in points to be eligible for the Chase. Busch did just that, and on Sunday night, came away with the sport’s biggest prize. He spoke afterwards with members of the media about the win and the title.
For team owner Joe Gibbs, it was a special win as well. While Coach Gibbs had teams that won Sprint Cup titles three times previously, with Bobby Labonte in 2000, and Tony Stewart in 2002 and 2005, this was the first title in 10 years. It also marked the first championship for manufacturer Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series. It also means Gibbs has now won more Sprint Cup championships than Super Bowls.
During post race interviews, we also heard from the other three title contenders, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex, Jr.
Kevin Harvick finished in second, and also took second in the points chase. Keselowski was third, with Joey Logano in fourth and Kyle Larson in fifth.
The win in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway also came down to a late race battle. Kyle Larson had dominated much of the race only to see himself shuffled back to fifth on a late race restart.
Austin Dillon tried in the meantime to drive away, but Larson powered his way back to second, then charged back to the lead with four laps to go. Larson went on to score the victory, his first since May of last year.
Meanwhile, behind him, Chris Buescher ran a steady event, finishing 11th to clinch the 2015 series championship by 15 points over Dawsonville's Chase Elliott. Larson talked afterwards about the win, while Buescher talked about how it felt to win the title. We also heard from title runner-up Elliott.
Matt Crafton did all he could to win his third straight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title - but in the end, he came up short.
Crafton scored the win in the series season finale Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading 93 of the 134 laps en route to his sixth win of the season. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Erik Jones finished in sixth, clinching the series title and, in doing so, becoming the youngest ever truck series champion. Crafton said afterwards the domination on the night was all he could do.
Meanwhile, Jones followed the game plan to stay out of trouble and turned a solid finish into the championship. We also heard from third place points finisher Tyler Reddick.
To keep up with the latest motorsports news anytime, visit our Around The Track page.
