Editor’s Note: NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary. SPEED SPORT was founded in 1934 and was already on its way to becoming America’s Motorsports Authority when NASCAR was formed. As a result, we will bring you Part 72 of a 75-part series on the history NASCAR.
Kyle Busch won four of the first 14 races and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim his second NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Busch won his previous title in 2015, with both championships coming with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.
After winning his fourth race of the season at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway on June 2, he endured a 21-race winless streak that included the first nine races of the playoffs.
However, consistent performances kept Busch, who earned the regular season championship, near the top of the standings and earned him a spot in the Championship 4 against fellow Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick.
Busch’s Toyota led a race-high 120 laps to win the final Championship Weekend event to be run at the 1.5-mile Homestead oval, beating Truex to the checkered flag by 4.78 seconds.
“We have a great race team and a great owner,” an emotional Busch said in victory lane. “Everybody always says you never give up and we’re no different. Sometimes we may not be the best, sometimes we may not have the right track position. Today we had a really good car and I could race around and move around.
“There’s always your doubters, there’s always your haters,” Busch said. “You know what? This one’s for the Rowdy Nation. You guys are the best. Thank you so much.”
Led by crew chief Adam Stevens, the 34-year-old Busch won five races and amassed 17 top-five finishes and 27 top-10 efforts during the 36-race campaign. Busch became the 16th driver to win more than one Cup Series title. It was the fifth Cup Series championship for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Truex, who joined the JGR operation during the offseason after Furniture Row Racing closed its doors, had a stellar season, winning seven races and picking up 24 top-10 finishes along the way.
Harvick earned four victories, including the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and had 26 top-10 finishes.
Hamlin started the season on a strong note, winning the Daytona 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, and went on to win six races and finish fourth in the standings. Defending champion Joey Logano won twice and was sixth in the standings.
Chase Elliott picked up three victories for Hendrick Motorsports and Brad Keselowski won three times for Hendrick Motorsports. Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Justin Haley and Erik Jones all earned a victory.
Daniel Hemric earned the rookie-of-the-year title and David Ragan and Paul Menard each retired from full-time racing.
Elliott earned another most-popular-driver award.