Sunday, November 17, 2019

Kyle Busch Wins Championship with Homestead Victory

Originally written for CLNS Media.


Kyle Busch won the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday afternoon to win his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Busch came into the weekend as the underdog after going winless over the last 21 races.  The victory was Busch’s first since June 2 at Pocono Raceway.
Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Busch picked up his fifth win of the season at Homestead, and said his success was a testament to his team’s hard work as they struggled to find victory lane.

“We have a great race team and a great owner,” Busch said.  “I just can’t say enough and can’t thank everyone enough for this opportunity.  I may be the one who’s able to hoist the trophy or have a championship, but it wouldn’t be possible without [crew chief] Adam Stevens and Coach Joe Gibbs.”

Busch took the lead late in the race after his teammates suffered pit miscues.  Denny Hamlin had to make an unscheduled stop when his car started overheating after the team put too much tape on the nose, and Martin Truex Jr. was caught too far behind the leader without enough time to make up the difference after he pitted later than the rest of the leaders.

Hamlin said he was disappointed he couldn’t celebrate his first title.

“It’s disappointing, but all you can ask for is a chance,” Hamlin said.  “Chris [Gabehart, Hamlin’s crew chief] is aggressive; he’s an aggressive crew chief.  He tried to get me all the speed he could there and it was just too much tape.  We were going to blow up.”

Truex had a dominant car and led 103 laps, but fell short to Busch over the final run.

Truex said he and his team lost control of the race in the third stage.

“Having to restart back where we did…and we started the third stage for sure too tight,” Truex said.  “We were faster the whole last run, we were just too far behind and it was too much to make up with traffic.”

Busch, who has always been a polarizing figure in the sport, said the victory and the championship was for his fans.

“There’s always your doubters; there’s always your haters,” Busch said.  “This one’s for Rowdy Nation, because you guys are the best.”

Unofficial results:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Erik Jones
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Joey Logano
6. Clint Bowyer
7. Ryan Newman
8. Austin Dillon
9. Alex Bowman
10. Denny Hamlin
11. Ryan Blaney
12. Daniel Hemric
13. Jimmie Johnson
14. Daniel Suarez
15. Chase Elliott
16. Chris Buescher
17. Paul Menard
18. Brad Keselowski
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
20. Matt DiBenedetto
21. Kurt Busch
22. Aric Almirola
23. John Hunter Nemechek
24. Ty Dillon
25. Ryan Preece
26. Michael McDowell
27. David Ragan
28. Landon Cassill
29. Drew Herring
30. JJ Yeley
31. Corey LaJoie
32. BJ McLeod
33. Timmy Hill
34. Bubba Wallace
35. Ross Chastain
36. Josh Bilicki
37. Reed Sorenson
38. Joe Nemechek
39. William Byron
40. Kyle Larson

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

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