The list of family and friends attending the Ford EcoBoost 400 approached 300, with about half of them getting garage or suite access.
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However, the team has not campaigned full-time in the Sprint Cup since 2008, although it won the sport’s premier race, the Daytona 500, in 2011 with rookie Trevor Bayne.
Busch won five of the 25 races in which he ran after coming back from his injuries.
Harvick mellowed after he had a child, and he thinks the birth of Busch’s son six months ago played a huge role in him winning a championship. Busch endured a long recovery from a frightening crash at the season-opening race at Daytona global Speedway yet took home the title at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But with Kyle matching his sibling’s achievement, the Busch boys have become the only the second pair of brothers in NASCAR history to become Cup champions since Bobby and Terry Labonte. Not in different sports it’s never happened to me.
Jeff Gordon, right, congratulates Kyle Busch on his Sprint Cup… “It’s something that only happens so often and I just can’t believe it with everything that happened this year”. “It’s really awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was also the first championship – in his first season as a Sprint Cup crew chief – for Adam Stevens. “My vehicle got loose and I just couldn’t catch it. Unfortunately, you hate to end it this way”.
“I said back then, I’ll say it again”, Busch said. “Unfortunately, it’s just one short”.
With his daughter by his side, Jeff Gordon took a final walk down the track at Homestead-Miami Speedway ahead of his last race. A three-win season in 2010 still only got him to eighth in points, and on and on the cycle went as Busch just couldn’t race smart or safe enough in the Chase. Busch didn’t “bask” for very long however. Harvick was right, and his second season at Stewart-Haas Racing ended in anguish.
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. Kevin Harvick pulled away after another restart nine laps later. Harvick the defending Sprint Cup champion, won the race last season to secure his first title. “He’s so special to me, more than just a vehicle owner driver relationship, and I was so happy to have that moment getting out of the auto with him”.
Truex was among those who stopped by to offer support, reaching over the top of his vehicle to shake Gordon’s hand.
On the restart, which came with seven laps to go saw Busch go past Keselowski for the lead. The race was the last for Gordon, a four-time champion.
Joplin driver Jamie McMurray was 13 in the race and finished in the same position in the last race of the year. He would miss the first 11 races of the season but did what he had to do once granted a waiver by NASCAR. Gordon made sure his colleagues will remember the day, too. Greg Kozlowski was a strong contender for his final run of the season leading 86 laps to finish third.
“I knew it was time to go”, Busch said. After previous year, I felt like we had everything go our way way and tonight, it didn’t go our way. I don’t know if Brad spun his tires or what.
But they kept learning about what Busch liked in these cars with the new rules package.
With 60 laps to go, Keselowski led Busch by 1.6 seconds and fourth-place Harvick by 3.9 seconds. Gordon, 44, said before the season started he would retire after this race. Gordon had managed to stay consistent throughout the whole day before he began to get a lot of breaks.
“I’m looking forward to carry this on for the next 365 days and hopefully do it again”. So, it’s fun to be able to run like this.
“The future is bright for Furniture Row Racing”, said Truex. “We just never could quite hit on anything to get the vehicle to do the things we needed it to”. “We just wanted to come back and get back into a rhythm of things and finish Top 20, finish Top 15, get a few Top 10s”. “We thank you for all you’ve done for NASCAR and will do”, NASCAR vice chairman Mike Helton said.
And, oh, yes, there was the small matter of King Richard Petty taking the green flag in a Cup race for the final time. “We couldn’t redeem ourselves after a couple mistakes tonight”.
“Gosh”, Gordon, a four-time champion, said afterward, “I’m a little disappointed. I gotta get back early”. “The 18 vehicle, he just had us beat for the most part”. It was a big deal for us and I wish we could have performed better today.
Jul 27, 2014; Speedway, IN, US; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon (24) kisses the brick after winning the Crown Royal Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne as well as fellow drivers Danica Patrick and Kyle Larson wore Gordon tribute hats before the finale. “What a great driver”.
