Kyle Busch landed his second championship since the new elimination format started in 2014. This was following his victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which meant he became the first driver to reach this feat. Other winners since 2014 have been Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr and Joey Logano. Busch now appears to be the dominant force at present and punters have already been opening a new account with paddy power to support him to follow up next season and win his third title since 2015.
This final victory further cemented the driver as an all-time great. He now has 56 wins to his name and has been added to an exclusive list of 16 drivers who have won more than one title in their careers. This is all the more impressive, as this new elimination playoff format came into place, it has made winning a championship even harder. In previous formats, it was much more common to see repeat winners, such as when using the Bob Latford system between 1975 and 2003.
Busch finished top of the playoff standings with 46 points. From his 36 starts in the original season, he picked up five wins, that included 17 top five finishes. He also finished with 27 top 10 finishes and picked up a leading 12 stage wins. This was a very impressive season and he will now be the favourite to follow up next season.
Second placed finish went to Martin Truex, Jr, who picked up 42 points in the playoffs. From his original season of 36 starts, he picked up seven wins, 15 top five finishes and 24 top 10 finishes. This meant he finished with nine stage wins in total this season, which meant another very impressive showing. He will also be expected to be challenging for the title again next season.
In third was Kevin Harvick, who picked up 28 points in the playoffs and 5033 in total. From his 36 starts, he finished with four wins, 15 top five finishes and 25 top ten finishes. This meant he finished with six stage wins and just missing out on the title. Denny Hamlin was then fourth, despite a very impressive season and 37 points in the playoffs. From his 36 starts, he finished with six wins, 19 top five finishes, 24 top ten finishes and six stage wins in total. Both drivers will be hopeful they can again challenge next season and even possibly land the competition.
