×

Kyle Busch leads Gibbs trio to title

AP Photo Kyle Busch celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series season championship Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch casually collected the championship flag from his team and did a slow, subdued celebratory lap. The most polarizing driver in NASCAR had just won his second Cup title and wanted to soak in the moment with his true fans.

He didn’t do his customary bow to the crowd, asked NASCAR for permission to take his 4-year-old son along for the ride to victory lane, and when the duo finally got there it was then that Busch remembered he’d just won both Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and his second NASCAR title.

“I do remember taking the white flag and crossing underneath that — I had some tears rolling down my eyes for the last lap and I was just like, ‘Come on, man, we’ve still got to finish this damn thing. Don’t be such a siss,'” Busch said. “Emotions were starting to set in. I probably didn’t know where the hell my mind was at. I knew we had won and won big and were being a big more subdued about it.”

Busch emerged from the Joe Gibbs Racing juggernaut as NASCAR’s latest champion, winning his second title Sunday after teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were slowed by pit-road gaffes. He snapped a 21-race losing streak and beat Hamlin, Truex and rival Kevin Harvick for the Cup.

Busch joined seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as the only active drivers with multiple titles. He’s the 16th driver in NASCAR history to win multiple championships, and one of only five to win titles in both the Cup Series and the second-tier Xfinity Series.

The No. 18 crew climbed the pit wall and handed Busch the championship flag for his post-race celebration, and he was met on the frontstretch by son Brexton, who immediately asked: “Dad, are you going to throw me in the air again?” about their celebratory tradition. He also asked to join his father for the final ride into victory lane.

Busch had raced for a second championship in each of the last three seasons and fell short a year ago in part because of his crew’s own pit error. 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.

“You’ve got to be perfect, one mistake probably cost us the championship,” Truex said. “I’ve never had that happen. I don’t even know what to say. It doesn’t drive good with the left front on the right front, though, I can tell you that. It’s very tight.”

Hamlin fell out of contention when an aggressive aerodynamic gamble backfired because a large piece of tape placed across the front of his car caused his engine to overheat. Hamlin had to make an unscheduled pit stop to remove the tape.

Truex recovered to finish second, but Hamlin didn’t have enough time to overcome the miscue and was a disappointing 10th.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today