“To do a sweep of the weekend two years in a row, that’s something that doesn’t come along very often”, Busch said.
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He stunk up the show.
Jeff Gordon, center left, hugs Tony Stewart following the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, July 24, 2016. There were three restarts with less than 10 laps to go and each time, Busch managed to pull away and hold on for the win.
“I hoped it (the car) would be that good and it was just so fast, ” Busch said from victory lane, “To get out front and stay out front where not even our own teammates could get us, this vehicle was on rails”. “He wants it bad and I think he is going to win it”. Denny Hamlin (fourth) and Kyle Larson (fifth) rounded out the top five.
The NASCAR gods did their best to make this race close, triggered by a piece of debris that NASCAR confiscated in wondering what vehicle would litter the track to bunch the field with 10 laps to go.
The only real challenge for Busch was a series of late crashes.
“I got a penalty on the last stop and that was a green flag stop and that got us a lap down but we fought and got our lap back and got something respectable, ” Stewart said after competing in his final Brickyard 400, “When we got the checkered flag I didn’t want to come in just yet”.
Busch’s great restarts probably dismayed many in what appeared to be a meager crowd with an estimate of 50,000 being generous on a sweltering in summer day.
In 2015, it was Jeff Gordon’s turn. only to have him make an unplanned re-appearance on Sunday in place of concussed Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Series on Friday, won the poles, captured the first of two heat races to establish the rest of the starting order and put himself in position second straight sweep of the two races in Indy. Jimmie Johnson was third to give the four-car team of Hendrick Motorsports its first top-10 finish in four races.
But it definitely was a parade for much of the race.
When Keselowski and Logano finally pitted, Busch returned to the lead.
Drivers not from JGR talked about being a “little bit off” Sunday afternoon. It’s fun to come out here and have such a dominant piece at Indy.
“I’ve been a Stewart fan since 2010 when I started watching NASCAR”, he said. “We’re still not happy, but we’re getting closer”.
It is the fourth Sprint Cup victory this season for Busch, and his 38th career win.
What inspires Busch? His desire to go fast each and every lap. There’s a kind of what you see is what you get vibe to it all.
“I felt like the more restarts we had, the tougher it would be on us”, team owner Joe Gibbs told NBCSN after the race. “I think it’s only fitting that all of us in this room, along with the millions of fans around the world, recognize what you’ve brought to this sport and congratulate you on all you’ve done, and say, ‘Thank you'”. Everyone else spent the day chasing Busch.
Kenseth, who finished second, said he never had a chance to catch Busch.
But unlike Newgarden, Busch did his whipping on a bigger stage.
“Just a great weekend for us and such a special weekend, too, being able to win a Brickyard 400 and have that opportunity come our way a year ago, and then to be able to back it up and win again here this weekend was special in its own right”, Busch said after winning the race.
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“You guys can ask me all about how I’m feeling, thinking, whatever but you’re wasting my time and your time”, he said before Friday’s practice began. “I hate that we finished seventh, but it’s probably where we deserved to finish from a speed point of view”.
