NSCS: Kyle Busch Captures Toyota / Save Mart 350 Victory

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Kyle Busch captured his 30th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory on Sunday at the Sonoma Raceway. Busch earned the win after using pit strategy in the closing laps that allowed him to catch and pass leader Jimmie Johnson with four laps remaining. The Las Vegas native shared some thoughts on the win in victory lane.

“I don’t know if they can all understand how it feels. There’s some sentimental fans out there for sure, the ones that are cheering that normally wouldn’t cheer for me,” Busch told FOX Sports 1. “It’s definitely special to be here in victory lane in a Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma. We broke this streak of 10 different winners – I won here in 2008.”

The win could not get any better for Kyle Busch as he missed the first 12 races of the year after his injury at the Daytona International Speedway. Busch made his return at Charlotte, a day before Samantha would give birth to their first son, Braxton. Now, one month later, Busch finds himself sitting in victory lane after a race.

“Yeah, we have our work cut out for us, we knew we did in the beginning and I knew we put us in the hole in points. It’s unfortunate that we’ve had a couple crashes. I hate it for my guys, they don’t deserve to be in that spot. They have certainly worked hard all year long,” said Busch. “As much as I can do, that’s what we’re going to do. Adam Stevens, this is his first win as a Cup crew chief, so this is pretty special. My wife is here, she flew in this morning. So it’s awesome to have her with us today. Brexton is at home though, he didn’t want to fly six hours, so we let him stay at home this time. This is so cool.”

Kurt Busch, who is Kyle’s older brother, finished the 218-mile event in the runner-up spot. The Las Vegas native started the afternoon right where he finished in the second starting spot after leading 43 total laps. He holds six top five and eight top 10 finishes in 13 starts.

Clint Bowyer, who came into the weekend looking to capture his first win in the series since 2012, did all he could to catch Kyle Busch in the closing laps before being passed by Kurt Busch. Bowyer will take home a third-place finishing position after leading four laps of the day. The Kansas native rolls into Daytona next week sitting 16th in points.

A.J. Allmendinger, who won the pole on Saturday, had a very tough afternoon at one of his good tracks. Despite starting on the pole and leading two laps, Allmendinger’s day was not anywhere near what he or the team expected. The team, trying to diagnose an engine or fuel issue, came down pit road twice before taking the No. 47 machine behind the wall. After spending a lot of time diagnosing the problem, Allmendinger returned to finish in the 37th position.

Martin Truex Jr. also did not have a great day at Sonoma. Truex, making contact with David Ragan, got sent into the tire barrier that brought out the second caution on lap 28. The team returned to the racing surface and went back to the garage shortly after. The New Jersey native will finish 42nd due to an accident.

Jeff Gordon will take home a 16th-place finish in his final start at Sonoma. The No. 24 team got hit with a pit road penalty after the team threw equipment (spring rubber) over the pit wall after removing it. The California native had to restart at the tail-end of the field.

The next race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at the Daytona International Speedway. Coverage of the Coke Zero 400 will begin at 7:45 on NBC and NBC Live Extra. The Motor Racing Network will carry the radio broadcast. 

Brett Winningham
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