UPDATED: The 2015 Sprint Cup season began with Kyle Busch in a Florida hospital and it ends with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver being crowned NASCAR’s 67th champion Sunday night after he drove to victory in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch mastered the final restart and then pulled away from Kevin Harvick in the closing laps to claim his first Cup Series crown.
Kyle Busch broke his lower right leg and left foot in an accident in the X-FINITY Series season opener at Daytona in February and missed 11 races while recovering from those injuries. Busch returned with a championship resolve that produced a 3-race winning streak at mid-year, paving the way for him to earn a post-season berth as the #2 seed behind Jimmie Johnson.
Busch controlled The Championship Four much of the way in Sunday’s race, leaving the three other title contenders in his wake. Harvick finished second, 1.5 seconds behind at the checkered flag. Jeff Gordon came home 6th in the final race of his storied career with Martin Truex, Jr. 12th.
Brad Keselowski was the highest-finishing non-title contender in Sunday’s race, taking 3rd place, with Joey Logano and Kyle Larson completing the top 5.
– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, NC
pre-race post:
Tune in for live coverage of today’s season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway as NASCAR crowns its 67th Cup Series champion.
The Championship Four – Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. – will vie for the title that goes to the highest-finishing driver among that group.
For Gordon, the weekend is sure to be an emotional ride. It’s his final season in the Sprint Cup Series and his final race before transitioning into the broadcast booth for FOX Sports. Gordon entered the post-season Chase as the #13 seed in the 16-driver field but has consistently worked his way through the last 9 races – winning earlier this month at Martinsville Speedway to secure a berth in this weekend’s Championship Round.
During qualifying on Friday, Denny Hamlin grabbed the pole for today’s race. Hamlin turned a lap of 176.655 mph to earn the top spot for the season finale. It was the 23rd career pole for Hamlin and his 3rd of 2015.
Kyle Busch was the fastest of the Championship 4 drivers with the third-best lap, followed by Newman and Gordon. Truex Jr. will start 11th.
– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, NC
