Kyle Busch continued his phenomenal NASCAR streak by winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2015.

Kyle Busch wins the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2015 (Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Kyle Busch (Rainier Ehrhardt/NASCAR via Getty Images)
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"This is awesome!" Kyle Busch screamed as he crossed the finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and continued a run that has grown from extraordinary to downright other-worldly.

Holding off Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano during three late-race restarts, Busch beat Logano to the finish line by .332 seconds to win Sunday's Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at The Brickyard.

The victory was Busch’s fourth in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, all coming after an 11-event absence to start the season, the result of a broken right leg and left foot suffered in a crash during the Feb. 21 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

"I guess Kyle’s back," a disappointed Logano said after he race, uttering perhaps the biggest understatement in the modern era of stock car racing.

Harvick finished third, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.

To the suggestion that the accident may have provided additional impetus to his comeback, Kyle Busch replied, "I just think that maybe I’ve found my happy place.

"Happy Gilmore (a movie character) – he found his happy place and he just dominated at the end, so maybe I’ve found that, too. Nothing better than being in Victory Lane. Nothing better than being in Victory Lane for one of the biggest wins of my career.

"I just want to celebrate with my team, my wife and my family."

A quick inventory of Busch’s accomplishments shows that the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota:

  • is the first to sweep both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races at Indianapolis. Busch won the Lilly Diabetes 250 XFINITY race on Saturday with a last-lap pass of Ryan Blaney.
  • gave Toyota its first victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, breaking a string of 12 straight wins by Chevrolet at the 2.5-mile track.
  • won the 33rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career.
  • continued his relentless advance toward the top 30 in the standings and consequent eligibility for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. In what now seems a foregone conclusion, Busch has six races to overcome a 23-point deficit to 30th-place Justin Allgaier.

"We’re a championship contending team," Busch asserted. "We just have to be championship eligible. Thank the good Lord for bringing me back when he did. Obviously, thanking him for all the success I’ve had in my life, where I’m at and all my blessings.

The highest finishing Iowa driver was Landon Cassill (Fairfax, IA) crossing the finish line in 26th place. Michael Annett (Des Moines, IA) ended the day at 30th, and Brett Moffit (Grimes, IA) was 34th.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY RESULTS
SPEEDWAY, IN
JULY 26, 2015

1. (9) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 164, $424191.
2. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 164, $367408.
3. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 164, $356825.
4. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 164, $283170.
5. (17) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 164, $249875.
6. (7) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 164, $239498.
7. (23) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 164, $236326.
8. (14) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 164, $206615.
9. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 164, $217073.
10. (31) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 164, $233856.
11. (43) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 164, $211040.
12. (30) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 164, $168540.
13. (1) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 164, $179740.
14. (11) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 164, $174640.
15. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 164, $209976.
16. (10) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 164, $194531.
17. (18) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 164, $194660.
18. (28) Chase Elliott(i), Chevrolet, 164, $158515.
19. (20) Greg Biffle, Ford, 164, $192723.
20. (16) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 164, $186748.
21. (3) David Ragan, Toyota, 164, $188654.
22. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 164, $173840.
23. (26) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 164, $187523.
24. (27) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 164, $170365.
25. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 164, $191701.
26. (24) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 164, $153590.
27. (15) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 164, $160490.
28. (4) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 164, $179854.
29. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 163, $172948.
30. (34) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 162, $151740.
31. (32) Michael McDowell, Ford, 162, $146685.
32. (40) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 162, $161843.
33. (41) Cole Whitt, Ford, 162, $155482.
34. (39) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 162, $145635.
35. (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 161, $153385.
36. (36) Brian Scott(i), Chevrolet, 161, $145285.
37. (21) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 161, $153148.
38. (22) Aric Almirola, Ford, 161, $176386.
39. (38) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 160, $135450.
40. (33) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Accident, 155, $176025.
41. (42) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 111, $127450.
42. (19) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 110, $171986.
43. (35) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Engine, 78, $119950.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 131.656 mph.
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 06 Mins, 51 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.332 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 36 laps.
Lead Changes: 16 among 6 drivers.

 

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