Busch leads Gibbs trio, wins 2nd NASCAR championship

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Kyle Busch casually collected the championship flag from his team and did a slow, subdued celebratory lap. The most polarizing driver in NASCAR had just won his second Cup title and wanted to soak in the moment with his true fans.

He didn't do his customary bow to the crowd, asked NASCAR for permission to take his 4-year-old son along for the ride to victory lane, and when the duo finally got there it was then that Busch remembered he'd just won both Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and his second NASCAR title.

Busch emerged from the Joe Gibbs Racing juggernaut as NASCAR's latest champion, winning his second title Sunday after teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were slowed by pit-road gaffes. He snapped a 21-race losing streak and beat Hamlin, Truex and rival Kevin Harvick for the Cup.

Busch joined seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as the only active drivers with multiple titles. He's the 16th driver in NASCAR history to win multiple championships, and one of only five to win titles in both the Cup Series and the second-tier Xfinity Series.

The No. 18 crew climbed the pit wall and handed Busch the championship flag for his post-race celebration, and he was met on the frontstretch by son Brexton, who immediately asked: "Dad, are you going to throw me in the air again?" about their celebratory tradition. He also asked to join his father for the final ride into victory lane.

Busch had raced for a second championship in each of the last three seasons and fell short a year ago in part because of his crew's own pit error. This time, it was Truex and Hamlin bitten by silly mistakes. Truex dominated early but fell a lap back after his crew put tires on the wrong side of his Toyota.

Hamlin fell out of contention when an aggressive aerodynamic gamble backfired because a large piece of tape placed across the front of his car caused his engine to overheat. Hamlin had to make an unscheduled pit stop to remove the tape.

Truex recovered to finish second, but Hamlin didn't have enough time to overcome the miscue and was a disappointing 10th.

Harvick, the only Ford driver in the championship field, never had anything on long runs for the Gibbs cars and finished fourth.

The finale pitted a trio of Toyota drivers from Hall of Fame owner Gibbs against Harvick, the hand-picked driver of former Gibbs protege Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing. The Gibbs group had the edge based on its tremendous season - Busch's win was the 19th out of 36 races for the organization - and the trio insisted it would continue its note-sharing all weekend.

Las Vegas couldn't chose a title favorite and the four had essentially even odds at the start of the race, even though Busch was probably the least likely contender of the group. Although he won the regular season crown, his last Cup win was at Pocono in June, his playoffs leading into Homestead had been mediocre at best and his mood soured with every missed victory lane.

Hamlin, Harvick and Truex had all won playoff races, and Hamlin's win at Phoenix last week gave him all the momentum. But with friend and fan Michael Jordan in attendance, Hamlin failed to win his first championship in his third try. Hamlin is the only driver in the final four without a Cup title.

Busch gave Gibbs his fifth Cup title and bookended a season in which the Gibbs cars opened the year 1-2-3 at the Daytona 500. Gibbs this entire year has been mourning the death of his son, JGR co-chairman J.D. Gibbs, and the organization promoted a "Do it for J.D." theme the entire weekend.

The season ended with a 1-2-3 finish in the finale as it was Busch, Truex and Erik Jones across the finish line for Gibbs.

Busch also gave Toyota its third drivers' championship in five seasons.