“Jeff, congratulations on an outstanding career”. Back in the day, Busch would melt down over the slightest mishap. Now? “I have no idea what else is going on in the world”. “He just seems to be more focused and thinking his way through things”, Gibbs continued. “And with all he’s been through this year, nobody is more deserving than him”. He’s got a attractive family, a reputation as one of the good guys and a popularity that transcends NASCAR.
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Busch returned for May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he finished 11th. But there will be no fifth championship as a send-off into the next phase of his career as a broadcaster and more frequent attendee of kids’ birthday parties and soccer games. He’s only 16. I think he was cheating on that, so they did kick him out’.
Gordon finished sixth in the race.
But Harvick fell one point shy of repeating as champion. Harvick had two straight seconds to open the season and ended the year the same way. He won the smiles, the tears, the respect and the thanks.
Harvick partied and hoisted that trophy high over his head last season. But one IndyCar driver had an additional motive for being there. His rivals saw the difference in him on the track.
He wants the back end of the Chase schedule on NBC next season.
The 44-year-old Gordon announced in January that this would be his last season. Petty gave each driver in that race, including Gordon, a “Petty blue” money clip. Gordon made sure his colleagues won’t forget it.
He settled Sunday for a more familiar position in his final snapshot from 2015: second. Gordon had managed to stay consistent throughout the whole day before he began to get a lot of breaks. Busch got the jump in the first turn and easily cleared Keselowski.
With 60 laps to go, Keselowski led Busch by 1.6 seconds and fourth-place Harvick by 3.9 seconds.
Busch was headed toward the title via a second or third-place finish in the race when NASCAR called a caution for debris with 11 laps remaining. Busch met both requirements then held steady in the Eliminator Round with three top-five finishes to advance on points to the Championship 4. Harvick led 46 laps, but also experienced issues that prevented him from taking the battle to Busch in the final laps.
Gordon has a chance to ride off into the sunset in the ultimate style. He capped off an incredible career that night in Miami. “This is so unbelievable, so awesome and it means so much to be right here, right now and probably will for a long, long time to come”, he said. “It would be the best one I ever did, I can tell you that”. “We just never could quite hit on anything to get the vehicle to do the things we needed it to”. During his early years at the raceway, road racing was not that popular and it was not as important as it was today.
Gordon will savor that, too, although he conceded he might need some help.
Busch captured his first series title by winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His hometown is Pittsboro, Indiana, which created a sense of homecoming whenever he was around.
His fifth win at the track in 2014 was a rather memorable one.
It’s just the end didn’t match the start. (11 behind): Wasn’t a factor, finishing 12th. “All the love from the fans and from everyone in the sport – there’s nothing better than that”.
From 2000-2005, Gordon had Robbie Loomis. What a great champion. Chad Knaus, crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, already has been rebuffed. Harvick wanted a picture of himself taken beside the No. 24 auto.
But there is no shame in Gordon not going out on top of the sport.
Other Gordon fans were also in the group and came with some vintage shirts and jackets. There will be races beginning with the Daytona 500 – in 89 days – as an analyst for Fox Sports, but that is different. Intensity all night for the most part in.
There was also some moments that weren’t so nice, but created a insane atmosphere for everyone watching. The fists that flew after the race resulted in a personal visit from Bowyer that occurred at Gordon’s hauler.
“She had never seen me like that”, he said. He led briefly late in the race, but dropped back after a pit stop.
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NASCAR National Football League: NBC made the decision to go beyond its 7 p.m. window and stick with the race through its conclusion.
