SONOMA, Calif. — Kyle Busch’s remarkable comeback from the serious injuries he suffered a day before the Sprint Cup season began now includes a victory.
Busch won Sunday on the road course at Sonoma Raceway, just his fifth race since he returned to the track after breaking his right leg and left foot in a Feb. 21 crash.
Busch was injured when he crashed into a concrete wall during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona. He missed 11 races but recovered far faster than anyone expected and returned to racing late last month.
His win at Sonoma was aided by a terrific restart with seven laps remaining. On fresh tires, he picked his way past five cars and set his sights on leader Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson, who did not pit during the final caution, was a sitting duck for drivers on new tires. Busch ran down Johnson and grabbed his first Sprint Cup win since March of 2014 — a streak of 35 races.
“This is awesome. Just unbelievable,” said Busch, who praised Joe Gibbs Racing and his medical team in victory lane.
Busch next has his sights set on earning a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He must rank among the top-30 in points to make the Chase. He started Sunday’s race 39th and the win moved him up to 37th. He has 10 races left to crack the top 30, and heads back to Daytona next week.
Kurt Busch finished second as the brothers notched their first 1-2 finish in Sprint Cup.
“I was trying to figure if we’d ever finished 1-2 before, and today we did it,” Kurt Busch said. “Now I wish I’d gone up there and moved him.”
Kyle Busch praised his older brother for pushing Clint Bowyer over the final seven laps.
“He certainly made it hard on Clint and gave me some ground,” Kyle Busch said.
Bowyer finished third and said once Kyle Busch got past him on the restart, his shot at the win was over.
Kevin Harvick was fourth and was followed by Joey Logano and finally Johnson, who dominated the race but faded to sixth after the final restart.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was seventh and was followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne. Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top 10.
Tony Stewart was in contention for his first top-five finish of the season but a poor pit stop during the final caution dropped him deep into the field. Furious with his crew on his radio, Stewart finished 12th.
Jeff Gordon, from nearby Vallejo, California, finished 16th in his final race at his home track. The four-time NASCAR champion, who is retiring at the end of the season, has a track-record five wins at Sonoma.
AJ Allmendinger, widely considered the favorite to win, started from the pole but was not as fast as expected early in the race and ultimately succumbed to an engine issue. He finished 37th.
For complete race results, see the Scoreboard on Page C4.
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