NXS: Kyle Larson Victorious at Homestead, Chris Buescher Clams 2015 Championship

Kyle Larson wheeled his No. 42 Chevrolet to victory lane at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Larson fought with Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch for the top position all afternoon around the 1.5-mile oval in South Florida.

“This is definitely my favorite racetrack on the circuit by fashion, at least for the XFINITY Series goes,” said Larson after the race. “I was close to winning my rookie season here in 2013, about 50 foot short of winning it last year, and then this year once again we had a really fast car and was able to lead the most laps again and almost gave it away again on a late-race restart.  I was pretty frustrated with myself with 12 or so laps to go when Austin was about half a straightaway in front of me, and I didn’t even know if I could get to third, really.”

Larson capitalized on a mistake made by Kyle Busch’s pit crew late into the race. Busch was popped by NASCAR for an uncontrolled tire with 25 laps to go in the season finale. The Las Vegas native would experience more problems after bringing out the caution with 20 laps to go. The No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota will leave the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 30th-place finish after starting on the pole.

“Kyle was better than me, I thought, for probably eight to ten laps, and it was a matter of me just being able to beat him into Turn 1, clear him off Turn 2, and then just trying to hold him off and watch my mirror a lot to try and take his air away,” continued Larson after the race. “We were side drafting each other a few different restarts down the straightaways, and I was able to come out in front of him each time, which was good for our race because it made him drive really hard to make mistakes that you don’t hardly ever see.  He got into the wall a few times, and then their pit crew made an error there on the past pit stop.  I thought it was going to be a lot easier to get the win after my team said that the 54 had an uncontrolled tire.”

Larson started in 14 XFINITY Series races in 2015 under the HScott Motorsports banner. The California native finished those races with one victory, four top five and nine top 10 finishes. Larson wasn’t the only driver to pilot the car in 2015 as Brennan Poole and Justin Marks also jumped into the seat.

Austin Dillon came 0.935 seconds shy of scoring his fifth victory in the series in 2015. Dillon started the race in third after qualifying was cut short due to light rain falling around the track. The North Carolina native will finish the season with four wins, 13 top five and 16 top 10 finishes. The driver also started on the pole a total of six times.

Erik Jones will leave the Homestead-Miami Speedway with a third-place finish in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Jones entered the day with momentum after winning the 2015 Camping World Truck Series championship the night before. The Michigan native started the Ford EcoBoost 300 in seventh.

Daniel Suarez made NASCAR history by becoming the first Hispanic driver to capture a Sunoco Rookie of the Year title. Suarez came into the day with a 40-point lead over Darrell Wallace Jr. in the category. The Mexico native finished the year with nine top five, 19 top 10 finishes and started three races on the pole.

Chris Buescher will claim the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series championship by 15 points over defending champion Chase Elliott. Buescher came into the weekend needing a 13th-place finish or better without leading a lap to claim his very first NASCAR title. The Texas native will finish the championship run with two victories, 11 top five and 20 top 10 finishes throughout the year in his No. 60 Ford Mustang. Ty Dillon, Regan Smith and Daniel Suarez will all round out the top five in points.

Masking the nerves became key for Buescher coming into the championship deciding race.

“I did a good job masking it didn’t I? I was a little nervous,” said Buescher after the race. “All things considered that was exactly what we needed to do and we knew that and knew we were capable of doing it. I am glad we could pull it off for all the people that were on board all year, AdvoCare, Roush Performance, Cheez-It and all the fans. I know the weather wasn’t ideal today but they hung in there with us and we made it through this thing and get to celebrate”

The young driver thanked his parents for supporting him throughout his racing career.

“Well, I sure hoped so. I am glad she let me. I think she is okay with it now,” continued Buescher. “I have to thank my parents so much for the opportunity to be here and leave home and do this. That was such an amazing race, just being careful. Our Fastenal Mustang had good speed in it, we just had to be careful out there. I can’t say thank you enough to Fastenal coming on board the last race, Ford and Wiley X and XFINITY for their first year sponsoring the series and it is pretty amazing to be in this position.”

The NASCAR XFINITY Series will return to action at the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 20, 2016. Coverage of the PowerShares QQQ 300 will begin at 3:30 p.m. eastern.

Brett Winningham
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