Kyle Busch Wins First Sprint Cup Title

Moffitt, 23, finished 31st Sunday in his 31st race of the season.

(AP Photo/David Graham). Jeff Gordon, right, congratulates Kyle Busch after Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race and the season title, Sunday, November 22, 2015, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

Busch will undergo two surgeries in December: one on his left foot to have the plates and screws removed, and an additional surgery to remove the rod in his right leg.

Busch’s road to the championship has been a long and hard one.

It started with the broken right leg and left foot suffered at Daytona in the opening Xfinity Series race of the season.

Busch, who led 41 circuits and the all-important final seven, had been in contention throughout and forged into the lead as a result of the quickest pit stop seven from the end.

The race was delayed almost two hours by rain showers but ran uninterrupted once it began.

The first of the four drivers to the finish line won the Cup, and Busch claimed it by winning the race, the same way Harvick did a year ago.

The fairy tale ending for Jeff Gordon came up short, with Gordon experiencing handling issues throughout the race and ultimately finishing sixth.

The Villages Motor Racing Fan Club got together at Colony Cottage Regional Recreation Center, Sunday night to watch the final NASCAR race of the season on the big screen. And when Gordon passed eventual race victor Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 36, the enthusiastic din from the grandstand was audible above the roar of the engines. (“How about that?” Gordon said of his guest wheelmen.) He got to feel the love from the grandstand, where fans flipped cards that spelled out “Thank You Jeff 24ever”. He worked his butt off. His physical therapist would leave and he’d be like, ‘Ok, get my (stretching) bands, we’re going to do more. I don’t think people outside of racing can truly understand what an accomplishment that is to make that kind of gain in one season. Temper tantrums and wrecked race cars led to his release before the 2008 season, and Busch has been chasing a Cup championship ever since. “I’m a little disappointed, I’ll be honest”, he said after the race ended, referring to not being able to win what would have been his fifth championship. But as the race wore on, Harvick’s grip on the championship loosened. The No. 18 vehicle should head into 2016 as a favorite, especially after Busch performed so brilliantly at less than 100 percent.

Busch was running third when NASCAR threw a final caution flag for debris. Harvick finished second while Keselowski was third, Joey Logano was fourth and Kyle Larson was fifth.

“This is pretty unbelievable”.

Kyle Busch has been called many names in his 13 year NASCAR Sprint Cup career: Brat, tempestuous, risk taker, talented, mean, cocky and lots of others not fit for a family newspaper.

Earlier this summer, there was serious doubt on whether Kyle Busch would even qualify for the Chase. Known as one of most talented drivers in the sport, his temperament often got in his own way. “This is just a dream come true”, Busch said from the championship stage at Homestead-Miami Speedway after out racing Sprint Cup defending champion Kevin Harvick to take the title.

Busch’s championship is the first in the Sprint Cup Series for Toyota, but the second in the Busch family.

“It is a thrill to win this championship”, Joe Gibbs said, complimenting everyone involved with the team. His older brother Kurt won the title for Jack Roush in 2004.

The bad of it, and in fairness to the critics a question that was asked before Sunday’s race, was whether a driver who competed in only 25 races instead of 36 should be in position to race for a championship.

Several drivers from other racing series were at Homestead to honor Gordon including reigning Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, past Indianapolis 500 champions Mario Andretti and Helio Castroneves.

The title is the fourth NASCAR crown for Joe Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl winning coach, but first since 2005.