Kyle Busch continued his amazing comeback on Sunday at the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard winning his first Sprint Cup Series race at the track after also winning the NASCAR XFINITY race on Saturday and sweeping the weekend. Busch, driving the No. 18 Skittles Toyota, started in the ninth position and recorded his third consecutive victory in the Sprint Cup Series and fourth win in the last five races.
Busch has made only nine starts in the series this year following a leg injury at Daytona in February. NASCAR has waived the rule that a driver must attempt to qualify for all races in order to qualify for the Chase in the last 10 races of the season. A driver must also win a race and finish in the top 30 in points to qualify. Busch’s win puts him in 32nd position just 23 points out of the 30th position.
“It’s a testament to what this team’s all about. I knew we had a really good car when I was out there practicing Friday. I knew we’d have a good shot if we could get out front. I knew we had a good car. We had a lot of fun today. To come home with a victory at the Brickyard 400, there’s nothing else like it. It’s probably the biggest win of my career so far”, said Busch following his 32nd career win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford led 28 laps during the race and finished in second place after challenging Busch late in the race during a green-white-checkered finish.
“We’re going so fast and we don’t have much motor, so when I go to the gas, it just wasn’t going to accelerate underneath him. It wasn’t happening. That was my last-ditch effort. I tried one more time, and we got loose off of one and that was the end of it. Overall, it was a good day, but second hurts. It always does, but it’s always better than third,” said Logano following his second place run.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet, started sixth and led a race-high 75 out of 164 laps run in the event. Harvick continues to lead the championship standings after scoring his 14th top five finish in 20 starts this season.
“The 18 (Kyle Busch) and 22 (Joey Logano) got hooked up on the restart there and got by us in turn 1. The No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.) and I didn’t really get together and weren’t able to keep the lead,” said Harvick.
“All in all, a pretty good day for us. After the last four weeks we’ve had – we’ve had a lot of tough luck. We had tough luck today, but it was early enough in the race that we could overcome it,” said fourth place finisher, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet.
Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five in his No. 11, Joe Gibbs Racing, FedEx Express Toyota.
Jeff Gordon, winner of five NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, made his 22nd and final start at the famed speedway. Gordon started in the 19th position and finished a disappointing 42nd after spinning into the wall on lap 50 to avoid a spinning Clint Bowyer.
“My memories are always going to be spectacular. I am very upbeat bout Indianapolis. Some of the greatest memories of my life are here at Indianapolis, starting with the inaugural Brickyard 400. There were too many good ones that won’t get overshadowed by a race like today. The whole week and weekend has been incredible,” said Gordon after the race. The driver of the No. 24, 3M Chevrolet is still seeking his first win of the season and hoping to secure a spot in the Chase.
Kyle Busch’s win in a Toyota puts an end to a 12 race win streak for Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
