Kyle Busch wins first career NASCAR Sprint Cup championship

Kyle Busch won his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.

Kyle Busch won his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. 

Busch, 30, won a championship in NASCAR’s secondary competition, the Nationwide Series, in 2009. His older brother, Kurt, won the Cup Series in 2004. 

The win is the fourth for Joe Gibbs Racing and the team’s first championship since Tony Stewart won in 2005. Stewart won two championships for JGR and Bobby Labonte won in 2000. 

​Jeff Gordon, who announced earlier this year that this would be his last season as a driver, was in contention for the championship but ultimately fell short.

What a race, what a season, what a career.

Thank you, @JeffGordonWeb. #24ever https://t.co/t8SQCmevB6

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 23, 2015

Busch suffered a compound fracture of the right leg at Daytona in February. He returned to the track in June and was granted a waiver to enter the Chase for the Cup.

- Dan Gartland