HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch emerged from the Joe Gibbs Racing juggernaut as NASCAR’s latest champion, winning his second title Sunday after two teammates were slowed by pit-road gaffes.
Busch won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to snap a 21-race losing streak and beat Gibbs teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., as well as rival Kevin Harvick, for the Cup. Busch won the 2015 title and joins seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as the only active drivers with multiple titles.
“Ol’ two-timer out there,” crew chief Adam Stevens radioed. “I’m proud of you buddy.”
The 34-year-old Busch, somewhat subdued, simply thanked his crew.
“Awesome job, guys,” he said. His crew climbed the pit wall and handed Busch the championship flag for his post-race celebration.
When he was met on the frontstretch by 4-year-old son Brexton, who immediately asked: “Dad are you going to throw me in the air again?” about their celebratory tradition.
Busch had raced for the championship in each of the last three seasons but fell short a year ago in part because of his crew’s own pit error.
"Damn, what a season Joe Gibbs Racing put together. We're the 2019 champions," Busch said immediately after climbing out of his car. "We have a great race team and a great owner and the best sponsor in sports. I may be the one to hoist the trophy or win the championship, but it wouldn't be possible without my crew chief Adam Stevens and Coach Joe Gibbs.
"It's so much fun to work with these guys and everyone who helped me put it all together this year."
This time, it was Truex and Hamlin bitten by silly mistakes. Truex dominated early but fell a lap back after his crew put tires on the wrong side of his Toyota. Hamlin fell out of contention when a crew member placed a large piece of tape across the front of his car that caused his engine to overheat and Hamlin had to make an unscheduled pit stop.
Truex recovered to finish second, but Hamlin didn’t have enough time to overcome the miscue and was a disappointing 10th.
Harvick, the only Ford driver in the championship field, never seemed to be a solid contender and finished fourth.
The finale pitted a trio of Toyota drivers from Hall of Fame owner Gibbs against Harvick, the hand-picked driver of former Gibbs protege Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing. The Gibbs group had the edge based on its tremendous season – Busch’s win was the 19th out of 36 races for the organization – and the trio insisted it would continue its note-sharing all weekend.
Las Vegas couldn’t chose a title favorite and the four had essentially even odds at the start of the race, even though Busch was probably the least likely contender of the group. Although he won the regular season crown, his last Cup win was at Pocono in June, his playoffs leading into Homestead had been mediocre at best and his mood soured with every missed victory lane.
"Today we had a really good car and I could race around and move around," Busch said. "And that's what so special about Homestead-Miami Speedway is the ability to put on a show. I felt like we did that racing those guys. It was a lot of fun to cap off such an amazing year."
Hamlin, Harvick and Truex had all won playoff races, and Hamlin’s win at Phoenix last week gave him all the momentum. But with friend and fan Michael Jordan in attendance, Hamlin failed to win his first championship in his third try. Hamlin is the only driver in the final four without a Cup title.
Busch, ironically, had one of his worst races in the pits in last year’s finale as his front-tire changer had hiccups on two stops.
But he was flawless Sunday night and gave Gibbs his fifth Cup title and bookended a season in which the Gibbs cars opened the year 1-2-3 at the Daytona 500. Gibbs this entire year has been mourning the death of his son, JGR co-chairman J.D. Gibbs, and the organization promoted a “Do it for J.D.” theme the entire weekend.
The season ended with a 1-2-3 finish in the finale as it was Busch, Truex and Erik Jones across the finish line.
Busch gave Toyota its third drivers’ championship in five seasons.
STAGE 2: Kyle Busch won the second segment, taking advantage of a mistake made by Truex's crew.
Busch moved to the front when Truex was forced to pit after his team mixed up the right- and left-side front tires on a pit stop at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Truex clearly had the dominant car early in the title bout.
Busch led 29 laps in the 80-lap second stage. Fellow title contender Harvick crossed the start-finish line second, followed by Truex and Hamlin.
Truex got back on the lead lap – and in the championship hunt – thanks to a fortuitous caution.
STAGE 1: Truex won the opening stage of the championship race, an indication he was the one to beat in the finale.
Truex, one of four title contenders in the 40-car field, led the final 59 laps of the 80-lap stage and took the checked flag more than 5 seconds ahead of Kyle Larson.
Fellow championship contenders Kyle Busch, Harvick and Hamlin followed Larson across the start-finish line. Harvick led the first 20 laps in the first stage.
RARE AIR: Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan brought some championship star power to Homestead.
Jordan, who owns the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, and Denny Hamlin are good friends – they met seven years ago – so Jordan will be rooting for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and cheering from his pit box.
“We go way back,” Jordan said during an interview with NBC Sports. “He’s a season-ticket holder at the Hornets. I spend a lot of time playing golf with him, and obviously I’m a big NASCAR fan, so I came out to support him.”
Jordan says he grew up watching NASCAR and sets “my clock every Sunday” to catch races.
Jordan says he has no plans to get more involved in racing.
“I’ve got a lot on my plate,” he said. “I love being a fan. I still understand the sport, but in terms of ownership, nah, I think I’m just going to sit back and watch it and support from afar.”
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November 18, 2019 at 06:28AM
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