Kyle Busch Dominates at the Brickyard

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kyle Busch dominated the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Adam Niemeyer

Busch led a record 149 laps on Sunday, and showed his dominance throughout the weekend.

“This Toyota was awesome today, it was just so fast,” Busch said.  “We just had it hooked up, this thing was on rails.”

Busch swept the NASCAR weekend for the second-straight year following a win in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.  He also became the first driver to sweep the weekend by winning both races from the pole.

“I’ve been successful at a lot of things people haven’t been able to do before,” Busch said.  “When it’s helping you win on Sundays, it’s what makes it all worthwhile running those Saturday races.”

Tony Stewart finished 11th in his final race at Indianapolis, and said this was the most relaxing race weekend at Indy he’s ever had.

“For some reason, this weekend…everybody made my schedule as open as they could so I could enjoy it, and we did,” Stewart said.  “We had a lot of fun this weekend from start to finish.”

One of the biggest stories of the weekend centered around Jeff Gordon coming out of retirement to drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 88 car.  Gordon said the car was good all day, but that he was a little rusty on restarts.

Photo courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

“I got my butt kicked on restarts today,” Gordon said.  “I needed a fill-in on restarts.  Other than that, it went pretty well.”

After the race, Stewart and Gordon ran a final lap together and saluted the fans after what is most likely their final race at their home track.

“I knew when we got the checkered, I didn’t want to come in just yet, and I wanted to run one more lap,” Stewart said.  “Before that last green run, I told my spotter to go tell his spotter that after this thing’s over, we need to go a lap around here together.”

 “What a class act he is,” Gordon said.  “It meant a lot to me that he asked me to make that last lap with him.”

“It is most likely the last time we’ll get to do that, and I couldn’t think of a better guy to spend a moment like that with,” Stewart said.

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Matt Kenseth

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Kyle Larson

6. Kevin Harvick

7. Joey Logano

8. Martin Truex Jr.

9. Austin Dillon

10. Paul Menard

11. Tony Stewart

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Jeff Gordon

14. Chris Buescher

15. Chase Elliott

16. Kurt Busch

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Kasey Kahne

19. Jamie McMurray

20. Landon Cassill

21. Clint Bowyer

22. Danica Patrick

23. Michael McDowell

24. Casey Mears

25. Aric Almirola

26. Regan Smith

27. Brian Scott

28. Michael Annett

29. Cole Whitt

30. Trevor Bayne

31. Ryan Newman

32. Ryan Ellis

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Patrick Carpentier

35. Carl Edwards

36. Ryan Blaney

37. David Ragan

38. AJ Allmendinger

39. Greg Biffle

40. Matt DiBenedetto

Photo courtesy Robert Laberge/Getty Images

 Special thanks to Adam Niemeyer for a photo of Kyle Busch.  For more from Adam, check out his blog here.

Kyle Busch Wins at Homestead, Crowned Sprint Cup Champion

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kyle Busch won the Sprint Cup Championship following his victory in Sunday’s Ford Ecoboost 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Busch had to fight back from adversity all season.  After being injured in the first Xfinity Series race of the season, Busch missed the first 11 Sprint Cup Series races.  Upon his return, he was able to win four races over the summer to race his way back into the top 30 in points and fight his way into a Chase spot.

Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“The rehab and getting back…and getting focused was the hardest part and the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through,” Busch said in victory lane.  “I just can’t believe it with everything that’s happened this year.”

A caution with 11 laps to go set up an exciting finish, and Busch was able to get around Brad Keselowski on the final restart to take the lead.  Busch was able to run away from defending champion Kevin Harvick to win the race and his first Sprint Cup Championship.  Harvick said the handling on his car went away over the final run.

“We were just struggling all night to be honest with you,” Harvick said.  “After last year, I felt like we had everything going our way.  Congratulations to the 18 team and everything they did.”

The race also saw Jeff Gordon’s legendary career come to a close.  Gordon finished his career with 93 Sprint Cup Series victories and a record 797-consecutive starts, starting every race since his Sprint Cup debut on November 15, 1992.  

“Who would have ever thought coming from Indiana as a Sprint Car driver…come south to North Carolina to race for Bill Davis and then get the opportunity to work with the greatest owner in the Cup Series that there’s ever been,” Gordon said.  “It’s been a most amazing experience.  It’s a happy, good day.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Kevin Harvick

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Joey Logano

5. Kyle Larson

6. Jeff Gordon

7. Matt Kenseth

8. Kurt Busch

9. Jimmie Johnson

10. Denny Hamlin

11. Carl Edwards

12. Martin Truex Jr.

13. Jamie McMurray

14. Austin Dillon

15. Greg Biffle

16. Ryan Newman

17. Ryan Blaney

18. Trevor Bayne

19. Kasey Kahne

20. AJ Allmendinger

21. Paul Menard

22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

23. Ty Dillon

24. Danica Patrick

25. Sam Hornish Jr.

26. Alex Bowman

27. David Ragan

28. Cole Whitt

29. Tony Stewart

30. Michael Annett

31. Brett Moffitt

32. David Gilliland

33. Michael McDowell

34. J.J. Yeley

35. Landon Cassill

36. Justin Allgaier

37. Matt DiBenedetto

38. Ryan Preece

39. Josh Wise

40. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

41. Aric Almirola

42. Casey Mears

43. Clint Bowyer

Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Four Storylines Converge at Homestead for Championship Finale

This Sunday, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Ford EcoBoost 400, where the 2015 champion will be crowned.  Below are the four drivers who will be competing for the Sprint Cup Series trophy.

1. Jeff Gordon
Wins: 1
Top 5s: 5
Top 10s: 20
Average Finish: 13.9
Major Storyline:
Jeff Gordon's final race will come with the chance to pick up his fifth Sprint Cup Series championship.  Gordon announced that 2015 would be his last season in the Sprint Cup Series, and he will be the fan-favorite heading into Homestead.  All the focus will be on Gordon this weekend as he looks to close out his Sprint Cup career with a storybook ending.

2.Kevin Harvick
Wins: 3
Top 5s: 22
Top 10s: 27
Average Finish: 8.9
Major Storyline:
Kevin Harvick came into 2015 as the defending champion with crew chief Rodney Childers, and with a season already under their belt many expected them to be a force to be reckoned with.  Harvick got off to a fast start, winning at Phoenix in the second race of the season.  But a winless drought during the Chase put the team in jeopardy at Talladega, where a controversial finish helped keep his Chase alive.  Harvick will head to Homestead the defending winner, looking to repeat as race winner and NASCAR champion.

3. Kyle Busch
Wins: 4
Top 5s: 11
Top 10s: 15
Average Finish: 11.2
Major Storyline:
The idea of Kyle Busch in a Sprint Cup car this season following a scary wreck at Daytona in the season-opening Xfinity race is impressive enough.  The fact that Busch was able to win races and work his way into the top 30 in points to make the Chase after missing the first 11 races is incredible.  Busch will be looking to pick up one final victory at Homestead, and become an improbable champion who defied near insurmountable odds to get there.

4.Martin Truex Jr.
Wins: 1
Top 5s: 8
Top 10s: 22
Average Finish: 12.2
Major Storyline:
Martin Truex Jr. is the lone-wolf of NASCAR.  His team, Furniture Row Racing, is based out of Denver, Colorado, far away from the hub of NASCAR in Charlotte, NC.  After a rough year personally and professionally in 2014, Truex returned to victory lane in 2015 in one of the more popular victories in the NASCAR garage.  Now Truex finds himself heading to Homestead with a shot at winning his first championship for the single-car team.

The Championship Four at Media Day on Thursday afternoon. (Photo courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Jeff Gordon Wins at Martinsville, Clinches Spot in Championship Round

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Jeff Gordon won the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 from Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Gordon clinched a spot into the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway by winning on Sunday.  Gordon was emotional in victory lane after picking up his first victory of the season.

Photo courtesy Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

“Wow, we’re going to Homestead and I can’t believe it,” Gordon said.  “This is the sweetest, most amazing feeling.”

Gordon’s team came through under pressure late in the race after a late-race pit stop.  Gordon said a lot of this victory is due to his team.

“I am so proud of this team,” Gordon said.  “People don’t give this team enough credit and we seized this opportunity right there.”

The race did finish with some controversy for the second week in a row.  While leading, Joey Logano was spun by Matt Kenseth, ending the race for both drivers.  

Many people, including Logano, thought Kenseth’s actions were payback for a spin two weeks ago at Kansas that put Kenseth in a difficult spot heading into last weekend’s race in Talladega.

“It’s just a complete coward move, especially for a championship racecar driver,” Logano said.  “Just a chicken-you-know-what move to completely take out the leader when your race is over.  We just got to win.” 

Kenseth said his car was damaged from an earlier incident and he blew a tire down going into the corner.

“We had so much damage on the right front, I should have probably just put it in the garage,” Kenseth said.  “Just got into [Turn} 1 and couldn’t get it to turn and ran Joey over.”

Kenseth didn’t want to focus on the possibility that the wreck was payback for Kansas when he was asked following the race.

“I don’t have any comments for that.”

Unofficial results

1. Jeff Gordon

2. Jamie McMurray

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

5. Kyle Busch

6. Martin Truex Jr.

7. Ryan Newman

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Kasey Kahne

10. Tony Stewart

11. AJ Allmendinger

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Justin Allgaier

14. Carl Edwards

15. Paul Menard

16. Aric Almirola

17. Casey Mears

18. Austin Dillon

19. Kyle Larson

20. Cole Whitt

21. Landon Cassill

22. Alex Bowman

23. Michael Annett

24. David Gilliland

25. David Ragan

26. Greg Biffle

27. Jeb Burton

28. Sam Hornish Jr.

29. J.J. Yeley

30. Matt DiBenedetto

31. Trevor Bayne

32. Brad Keselowski

33. Alex Kennedy

34. Kurt Busch

35. Brett Moffitt

36. Timmy Hill

37. Joey Logano

38. Matt Kenseth

39. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

40. Danica Patrick

41. Kyle Fowler

42. Ryan Preece

43. Clint Bowyer

Photo courtesy Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images