‘Rowdy’ Kyle Busch crowned NASCAR champ as Homestead ends long run as title-race host | Opinion
Kyle Busch on Sunday became only the 16th man in NASCAR’s 71-year history to be a multiple season champion.
He did it because a colossal mistake by Martin Truex Jr.’s pit crew that could live in racing infamy may have denied him the same distinction.
Or maybe it was that Denny Hamlin’s car overheated while leading, losing water, spewing steam and forcing a costly pit stop.
You wanted a memorable end to your 18-year run hosting NASCAR’s season-crowning race, Homestead-Miami Speedway?
You got it.
Busch won his other main-circuit title in 2015 after missing much of the season and getting an injury waiver. He has always felt many attached an asterisk to that title since he’d missed so much of the season.
Sunday he caught a break or three but still earned what he got: a 56th career race win, eighth most all-time, and his second season championship.
“I had tears running down my eyes the last lap,” Busch admitted. “I’m like, ‘C’mon, man. It’s not over yet!’”
He celebrated by taking a victory lap with his 4 1/2-year-old son grinning in the cockpit’s passenger sea
“This means everything, because there were a lot of doubters from the first one,” Busch said of becoming NASCAR’s first multiple champ since Jimmie Johnson won his second crown in 2007. “This means everything just for my legacy.”
Later he kidded, “Hey I won a fulltime championship. Whaddya know!”
Busch, 34, won the season crown by winning the race, comfortably out front of runnerup Truex by 4.578 seconds. The other contenders for the season title, Kevin Harvick and Hamlin, finished fourth and 10th.
The second title knights someone many fans see as the sport’s most disliked driver for outspokenness, on-track incidents and feuds with other drivers, all befitting his nickname. Rowdy.
“There going to be doubters and haters,” Busch said Sunday night. “This one’s for Rowdy Nation.”
Truex seemed in control of the race with the fastest car, until a mid-race pit stop saw his crew put left-side tires on the right side of his car -- an embarrassing, nearly unheard of mistake on a championship stage.
“Never had that happen,” said Truex.
It required another pit stop to fix as Truex fell from first to 13th place, a lap back. He caught a huge break with the race’s only caution flag and made up ground, but it robbed his momentum and opened the door for Busch.
Homestead has hosted the sport’s Super Bowl Sunday every year since 2002 but in 2020 will downshift from the season-ending race to an early season March 20-22 spot on the calendar.
“It’s bittersweet, no question about it,” said track president Al Garcia.
Homestead did nothing to “lose” the final race.
“The racetrack is phenomenal,” said Hamlin.
“We all love Homestead,” said Harvick.
It’s just that NASCAR decided to rotate its annual championship weekend, like what the NFL does with its Super Bowl.
“I definitely think we should move it around,” said Truex.
The final race will be in Phoenix a year from now. Homestead hopes to be in the rotation and occasionally host the final weekend again someday.
But an era ended Sunday.
Homestead-Miami Speedway helped a community heal. It opened in 1995 and hosted its first NASCAR race that year, less than three years after Hurricane Andrew utterly ravaged the community 40 minutes southwest of Miami.
Homestead helped a sport heal, too. This racetrack and community hosted its first NASCAR championship weekend in 2002 -- the first season after the tragic death of icon Dale Earnhardt gutted the sport.
Homestead crowned every one of Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying seven championships, all three of Tony Stewart’s season titles and both of Kyle Busch’s as well as the only career championships for Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Truex Jr. and Joey Logano.
Jeff Gordon set the track speed record here in 2012.
Gordon, Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Danica Patrick -- Homestead was the major NASCAR farewell for each.
Ten Chevrolets, three Fords, three Toyotas, one Pontiac and a Dodge won the championship here.
It was called the Winston Cup when Homestead hosted its first championship and it was the Nextel Cup and the Sprint Cup before ending as the Monster Energy Cup.
Homestead crowned seven championships by Hendrick Motorsports, this fourth one by Joe Gibbs Racing, two each by Roush Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske, and one title by Furniture Row Racing.
Joe Gibbs Racing, fronted of course by the former champion Washington Redskins coach, had three of the four drivers in Sunday’s Championship 4.
It ended joyfully a season that began with heartache for JGR. J.D. Gibbs, the race team’s president and Joe’s son, died in January at 49 from a degenerative neurological disease.
“It’s been an emotional year for us and our family. Probably the biggest heartbreak in life,” said Joe Gibbs. “But I’ve gotten to enjoy so much. The football thing, and now the racing. I think the Lord sort of put his hands on things. I could feel J.D. all year. I know he was watching this.”
It lent one more memorable, heartstring note to the end of Homestead’s long run as NASCAR’s championship track.
I would call Homestead losing the championship race for a March date as bigger than the annual Miami Open tennis tournament moving from lush, tropical Key Biscayne to what used to be a parking lot at Hard Rock Stadium.
Homestead will take a hit in prestige, but at least is only moving on the calendar, not moving from Homestead.
The noise and NASCAR will be back at Homestead in only four months.
It won’t be the same, though.
The racing goes on here, but the long championship run is over.
It ended memorably.
This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 8:01 PM.
