Kyle Busch wins Chase for the Sprint Cup

This vehicle had fiery red flames on the front half and the word “DuPont” written across the hood. But they knew who Jeff Gordon was. “He won’t remember what this meant today, but maybe one day he’ll understand what it means”. “We thank you for all you’ve done for NASCAR and will do”, NASCAR vice chairman Mike Helton said.

The California native started his Cup career back in 1993, and won titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. And with all he’s been through this year, nobody is more deserving than him.

Jeff Gordon, in his last Cup race, finished sixth. The driver of the No. 4 auto won the 2014 race at Homestead to win the title. He would, however, still have to satisfy the other requirements of winning at least one race and finishing inside the top 30 in the points standings.

While Harvick blasted through to second, by the time he got there Busch was already out of reach.

Harvick was relaxed this week in Florida and publicly defused talk he was the favorite to defend his championship. And they did get their monies’ worth.

Gibbs formed his own race team in 1992, a year before he ended his first stint with the Washington Redskins. He returned and carved his way into the top 10.

For better and for worse, NASCAR’s truest stories have always been far stranger than fiction. He wasn’t sitting there just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to stay at home and have a margarita on the beach’.

Harvick led 46 laps Sunday night, but none after the 90th lap when the sun set on Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was a gift Gordon had planned to give the team owner he describes as NASCAR’s greatest for a while and wasn’t the only gift he handed out over the weekend. His rivals saw the difference in him on the track.

“Drivers are so competitive”, Gordon said.

He wants the back end of the Chase schedule on NBC next season.

Jeff Gordon, the NASCAR rookie of the year, left, poses with NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt in NY on December 2, 1993, before the annual awards banquet.

Rain is threatening the start of NASCAR’s season finale. Logano kept the lead and Busch restarted third, Harvick fifth, Truex 11th, Gordon 12th.

Busch won four. In a span of five.

He worked his way past leader Brad Keselowski to claim the lead, then Busch pulled away and handily beat Harvick to the finish line by 1.553 seconds.

But when the festivities were over, the hard truth was that Gordon did not have the handling or speed in his Chevrolet to keep pace with Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

“Gosh, I’m a little disappointed, I’ll be honest”, Gordon said. Gordon led nine laps early in the race but fell back. During his early years at the raceway, road racing was not that popular and it was not as important as it was today.

Kyle Busch won the race and his first Sprint Cup championship. His hometown is Pittsboro, Indiana, which created a sense of homecoming whenever he was around.

Keselowski led Larson by 25 yards when NASCAR slowed the race 11 laps from the finish for debris. None had a great deal of success. He had 3 wins, 11 top-5’s and 14 top-10’s to finish his time there. Gordon ending his career, on his terms, thriving and surviving in a very unsafe sport. From 2006-2010, Steve Letarte was Gordon’s crew chief.

“It felt so good to see Rick Hendrick”, Gordon said.

Finally from 2011-2015, Gordon had Alan Gustafson as his crew chief. All drivers will be adapting to the new rules package, which may benefit those who are not used to any other approach. He also earned three Daytona 500 victories in 1997, 1999 and 2005. Intensity all night for the most part in. Who can forget his feud with Clint Bowyer in 2012? The fists that flew after the race resulted in a personal visit from Bowyer that occurred at Gordon’s hauler. I don’t know if Brad spun his tyres or what.

The Race Team Alliance continues to negotiate with NASCAR over the issue of creating better financial stability for teams. Larson and Harvick resumed third and fourth, respectively. And the racing league says “so long” to a legend who ends his career.

Gordon will savor that, too, although he conceded he might need a few help.

“Well, we all know nothing would have been quite better than that and the win”, Gordon said later.

“It’s pretty unbelievable”, Busch said on the NBC telecast on Victory Lane. You know this night tonight is is certainly really really special.

Eventually, Gordon began to build on his fanbase and it skyrocketed the sport, giving it more fans than ever before. Truex was ninth and Gordon had dropped back to 14th. “We’re going to bask in a moment and enjoy it”.