Kyle Busch Pocono Pole1 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota 50.444 178.416
2 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet 50.514 178.168
3 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 50.608 177.837
4 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol Chevrolet 50.659 177.658
5 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 50.667 177.630
6 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 50.672 177.613
7 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 50.691 177.546
8 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 50.750 177.340

THE FINAL LAP WEEKLY NASCAR PODCAST #369 NBC’S KYLE PETTY / NASCAR POCONO PREVIEW

9 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford 50.764 177.291
10 24 Jeff Gordon AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet 50.787 177.211
11 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 50.833 177.050
12 48 Jimmie Johnson Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 50.948 176.651
13 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 51.007 176.446
14 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 51.030 176.367
15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Microsoft Chevrolet 51.038 176.339
16 5 Kasey Kahne Aquafina Chevrolet 51.060 176.263
17 1 Jamie McMurray Lexar Chevrolet 51.061 176.260
18 27 Paul Menard Sylvania/Menards Chevrolet 51.153 175.943
19 15 Clint Bowyer Maxwell House Toyota 51.202 175.774
20 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 51.262 175.569
21 43 Aric Almirola United States Air Force Ford 51.390 175.131
22 47 AJ Allmendinger Bush’s Grillin Beans Chevrolet 51.409 175.067
23 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 51.504 174.744
24 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 51.524 174.676
25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Performance Ford 51.510 174.723
26 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 51.614 174.371
27 42 Kyle Larson Suave Men Chevrolet 51.621 174.348
28 7 Alex Bowman FW1 Wash and Wax Chevrolet 51.723 174.004
29 40 Landon Cassill(i) Chevrolet 51.771 173.842
30 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford 51.803 173.735
31 51 Justin Allgaier FraternalOrderofEagles/SwitchHitch Chev 51.895 173.427
32 34 Brett Moffitt # A&W All American Food Ford 51.924 173.330
33 35 Cole Whitt MDS Transportation Ford 51.949 173.247
34 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford EcoBoost Ford 51.971 173.174
35 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper Toyota 52.125 172.662
36 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Burger King Toyota 52.137 172.622
37 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford Owner Points
38 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Toyota Owner Points
39 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Owner Points
40 32 Travis Kvapil(i) Skuttle Tight Ford Owner Points
41 98 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet Owner Points
42 33 Alex Kennedy # MediaCAST Chevrolet Owner Points
43 62 Timmy Hill(i) Ford Owner Points

NBCSNKyle Busch’s Victory at Indy Averages 4.7 Million Viewers and 3.0 HH Rating

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 27, 2015 – NBCSN’s live telecast of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway led the network to its most-watched telecast ever yesterday, averaging 4.7 million viewers. Viewership peaked from 6:30 – 6:45 p.m. ET as 5.6 million viewers watched Kyle Busch race to his third consecutive Sprint Cup victory, and his fourth win in five events.

NBCSN NASCAR Sprint Cup viewership highlights include:

With 4.7 million average viewers and a 3.0 national HH rating, Sunday’s Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race stands as NBCSN’s most-watched and highest-rated telecast ever.
– Viewership peaked from 6:30 – 6:45 p.m. ET with 5.6 million viewers.

Yesterday’s Sprint Cup race ranks as the most-watched NASCAR event on cable since last year’s season-ending championship race from Homestead (5.2 million on ESPN).
The Brickyard event marks consecutive weeks of growth for Sprint Cup racing on NBCSN. With 4.7 million average viewers, the Brickyard 400 is up +27% from New Hampshire (3.7 million) and up +47% from Kentucky (3.2 million).
Fans streamed 3.7 million minutes of live NASCAR coverage this past weekend via NBC Sports Live Extra.

during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Speedway, Indiana
Sunday, July 26, 2015

1. (9) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 164, $424191.
2. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 164, $367408.
3. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 164, $356825.
4. (13) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 164, $283170.
5. (17) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 164, $249875.
6. (7) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 164, $239498.
7. (23) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 164, $236326.
8. (14) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 164, $206615.
9. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 164, $217073.
10. (31) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 164, $233856.
11. (43) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 164, $211040.
12. (30) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 164, $168540.
13. (1) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 164, $179740.
14. (11) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 164, $174640.
15. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 164, $209976.
16. (10) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 164, $194531.
17. (18) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 164, $194660.
18. (28) Chase Elliott(i), Chevrolet, 164, $158515.
19. (20) Greg Biffle, Ford, 164, $192723.
20. (16) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 164, $186748.
21. (3) David Ragan, Toyota, 164, $188654.
22. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 164, $173840.
23. (26) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 164, $187523.
24. (27) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 164, $170365.
25. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 164, $191701.
26. (24) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 164, $153590.
27. (15) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 164, $160490.
28. (4) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 164, $179854.
29. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 163, $172948.
30. (34) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 162, $151740.
31. (32) Michael McDowell, Ford, 162, $146685.
32. (40) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 162, $161843.
33. (41) Cole Whitt, Ford, 162, $155482.
34. (39) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 162, $145635.
35. (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 161, $153385.
36. (36) Brian Scott(i), Chevrolet, 161, $145285.
37. (21) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 161, $153148.
38. (22) Aric Almirola, Ford, 161, $176386.
39. (38) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 160, $135450.
40. (33) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Accident, 155, $176025.
41. (42) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 111, $127450.
42. (19) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 110, $171986.
43. (35) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Engine, 78, $119950.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 131.656 mph.
Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 06 Mins, 51 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.332 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 36 laps.
Lead Changes: 16 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Edwards 0; J. Logano 1-11; C. Edwards 12-31; K. Harvick 32-45; J. Logano 46-61; K. Harvick 62-83; B. Keselowski 84; Kyle Busch 85-92; K. Harvick 93-120; D. Ragan 121-123; B. Keselowski 124; D. Ragan 125-126; B. Keselowski 127-141; K. Harvick 142-152; Kyle Busch 153-161; J. Logano 162; Kyle Busch 163-164.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 4 times for 75 laps; J. Logano 3 times for 28 laps; C. Edwards 1 time for 20 laps; Kyle Busch 3 times for 19 laps; B. Keselowski 3 times for 17 laps; D. Ragan 2 times for 5 laps.
Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 777; J. Logano – 708; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 677; J. Johnson – 675; M. Truex Jr. – 668; B. Keselowski – 638; M. Kenseth – 615; Kurt Busch – 612; J. Mcmurray – 602; D. Hamlin – 591; J. Gordon – 575; R. Newman – 563; P. Menard – 558; K. Kahne – 558; C. Bowyer – 538; C. Edwards – 519.

–30–

during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

July 26, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

INDIANAPOLIS—“This is awesome!” Kyle Busch screamed as he crossed the finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and continued a run that has grown from extraordinary to downright other-worldly.

Holding off Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano during three late-race restarts, Busch beat Logano to the finish line by .332 seconds to win Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at The Brickyard.

The victory was Busch’s fourth in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, all coming after an 11-event absence to start the season, the result of a broken right leg and left foot suffered in a crash during the Feb. 21 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

“I guess Kyle’s back,” a disappointed Logano said after he race, uttering perhaps the biggest understatement in the modern era of stock car racing.

Harvick finished third, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.

To the suggestion that the accident may have provided additional impetus to his comeback, Kyle Busch replied, “I just think that maybe I’ve found my happy place.

“Happy Gilmore (a movie character) – he found his happy place and he just dominated at the end, so maybe I’ve found that, too. Nothing better than being in Victory Lane. Nothing better than being in Victory Lane for one of the biggest wins of my career.

“I just want to celebrate with my team, my wife and my family.”

A quick inventory of Busch’s accomplishments shows that the driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota:

· is the first to sweep both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races at Indianapolis. Busch won the Lilly Diabetes 250 XFINITY race on Saturday with a last-lap pass of Ryan Blaney.

· gave Toyota its first victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, breaking a string of 12 straight wins by Chevrolet at the 2.5-mile track.

· won the 33rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career.

· continued his relentless advance toward the top 30 in the standings and consequent eligibility for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. In what now seems a foregone conclusion, Busch has six races to overcome a 23-point deficit to 30th-place Justin Allgaier.

“We’re a championship contending team,” Busch asserted. “We just have to be championship eligible. Thank the good Lord for bringing me back when he did. Obviously, thanking him for all the success I’ve had in my life, where I’m at and all my blessings.

“To get me back as quick as he did, to persevere through that and that deficit. We’re still continuing on. We can’t have bad days. I don’t know that any of that matters—we’re going to bask in this moment here.”

Perhaps most astounding is Busch’s ability to win three straight races at three different race tracks using three different competition packages: low-downforce at Kentucky with a 3.5-inch spoiler; standard 2015 rules at New Hampshire with a six-inch spoiler; and high-drag at Indianapolis with a nine-inch spoiler and one-inch wicker.

Logano fell just short of giving team owner Roger Penske, a 16-time Indianapolis 500 winner, his first Sprint Cup victory at The Brickyard.

“You come to Indy, and it’s all about the win,” said Logano, who took the checkered flag in the season-opening Daytona 500 this year. “You either win or finish last. It doesn’t really matter anywhere in-between. At least that’s the way I race when I come to a track like this. I feel like, at Daytona and Indy, it’s all about getting trophies and rings and making out with bricks.

“Overall, it was a good day, but second hurts. It always does.”

Jeff Gordon’s last race at The Brickyard as a full-time Cup driver—and his hopes for an unprecedented sixth victory at the 2.5-mile track—suffered an irreparable blow on Lap 50. Racing to the inside of Harvick, Bowyer’s Toyota got loose and spun.

Gordon checked up, trying to avoid Bowyer’s car, but the No. 24 Chevrolet swerved out of control into the outside wall in Turn 3. The resulting damage ended any hope of another Brickyard trophy for the four-time Sprint Cup champion.

“I was underneath Kasey Kahne and we were just racing for position,” Gordon said as his crew worked feverishly in the garage to repair the car. “I saw Bowyer get sideways. I don’t know what caused it. Me and Kasey were trying to check up to avoid it. I don’t know if he got loose or we just both got loose together. Then I just lost control and got in the wall.”

Gordon finished 42nd and lost one spot to 11th in the series standings. Without a win this season, Gordon is in jeopardy of missing the Chase and can ill-afford another day like Sunday.

IMS_NXS_Bricks_KyBusch_072515July 25, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

INDIANAPOLIS—With a relentless charge that forced Ryan Blaney into a mistake on the final lap, Kyle Busch grabbed the lead with a half-lap left at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and took the checkered flag in Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

Blaney missed his mark in Turn 2 as Busch closed in, and with his momentum broken, the driver of the No. 22 Ford couldn’t stave off Busch’s winning pass on the backstretch. The No. 54 pulled away to win by .421 seconds, as Busch continued his white-hot run with his second XFINITY victory of the season, his second at The Brickyard and the record 72nd of his career.

Since returning to competition in May after an injury absence, Busch has won three times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and twice on the XFINITY circuit.

Blaney led by more than .6 seconds when he crossed the stripe to complete Lap 97 of 100. But the lapped car of Derrike Cope slowed his progress on the following circuit, and Busch cut the advantage in half.

Busch had closed the gap to .279 seconds when he took the white flag, and constant pressure from the No. 54 Toyota finally forced Blaney into a mistake.

during the NASCAR XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 25, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“I just got close enough to make him mess up and made him get tight off (Turn) 2, and then I was able to capitalize underneath him with him losing his momentum off of 2 and being able to get under him,” Busch said. “It was the class of the field. We should have won this thing going away, but I guess we had to make it exciting.

With the XFINITY Series running a higher-drag package this weekend, Busch tried in vain—until the final circuit-to get around Blaney in the closing laps.

“I was trying to back up so I could get some clean air and keep my tires as fresh as possible, but I got too far back and got out of the draft and then I couldn’t make up any ground anymore, so I was kind of stuck back there about eight or 10 car lengths and not really going anywhere,” he explained.

“Fortunately, a couple of lapped cars messed up his momentum and didn’t mess up mine as much, and I was able to get through there. Once I got back close enough to him, I pushed him into a mistake and that was all that it took.”

A despondent Blaney took the blame for the loss.

“It’s my fault, obviously,” Blaney said. “You saw it. I screwed up. This team doesn’t deserve that. I dropped the ball for them today, and I take full responsibility. It’s all my fault… I got tight and I got too deep and didn’t get off the long corner.

“It’s a pretty bad feeling to throw one away here at the Brickyard. There was no pressure for 24 laps, and the last one I just made a mistake.”

Blaney had taken the lead from Busch on a restart on Lap 76, after Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Erik Jones, hit the wall on lap 70, and NASCAR called a caution because of fluid on the track.

Rookie Daniel Suarez ran third in his first visit to The Brickyard, collecting his third straight top-five of the season. Paul Menard finished fourth, followed by Elliott Sadler, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson.

Regan Smith came home eighth and claimed his second straight $100,000 bonus in the XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash program, keeping his hopes alive for a $1-million payday. If Smith is the highest-finishing eligible driver at Bristol (Aug. 21) and Darlington (Sept. 5), he’ll earn a total of $1 million.

Blaney, Suarez, Sadler and Smith are the eligible Dash 4 Cash drivers at Bristol, having secured their spots as the top four finishing series regulars at Indianapolis.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Lilly Diabetes 250
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Speedway, Indiana
Saturday, July 25, 2015

1. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 100, $77539.
2. (11) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 100, $61023.
3. (2) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 100, $52131.
4. (5) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 100, $39052.
5. (6) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 100, $42331.
6. (16) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 100, $31957.
7. (10) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 100, $30321.
8. (14) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 100, $35440.
9. (9) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 100, $34935.
10. (13) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 100, $35626.
11. (7) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 100, $33247.
12. (20) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 100, $32996.
13. (4) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 100, $32718.
14. (8) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, 100, $26365.
15. (26) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 100, $32564.
16. (12) Chris Buescher, Ford, 100, $32212.
17. (15) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 100, $25836.
18. (17) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 100, $31685.
19. (18) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 99, $31484.
20. (22) Ryan Reed, Ford, 99, $31857.
21. (25) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 98, $31207.
22. (30) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 98, $31075.
23. (23) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 98, $30924.
24. (36) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, 97, $30798.
25. (29) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, 97, $30898.
26. (37) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 97, $30673.
27. (24) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 97, $24521.
28. (31) Stanton Barrett, Ford, 97, $30445.
29. (32) Eric McClure, Toyota, 96, $30344.
30. (38) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 95, $30569.
31. (19) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 92, $30168.
32. (28) BJ McLeod(i), Dodge, 90, $30042.
33. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 87, $29982.
34. (3) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 80, $29946.
35. (34) Peyton Sellers #, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 77, $29875.
36. (27) David Starr, Toyota, Accident, 22, $27598.
37. (21) Blake Koch, Toyota, Accident, 22, $26598.
38. (33) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 18, $19598.
39. (39) Josh Reaume #, Dodge, Electrical, 8, $18598.
40. (35) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 2, $17598.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 136.529 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 49 Mins, 52 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.421 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 16 laps.
Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Busch(i) 1-10; D. Suarez # 11-13; K. Busch(i) 14-17; P. Menard(i) 18-26; T. Dillon 27-34; K. Larson(i) 35-37; K. Busch(i) 38-75; R. Blaney 76-99; K. Busch(i) 100;.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Busch(i) 4 times for 53 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 24 laps; P. Menard(i) 1 time for 9 laps; T. Dillon 1 time for 8 laps; K. Larson(i) 1 time for 3 laps; D. Suarez # 1 time for 3 laps.
Top 10 in Points: C. Buescher – 651; C. Elliott – 626; T. Dillon – 621; R. Smith – 600; E. Sadler – 594; D. Wallace Jr. # – 568; D. Suarez # – 558; B. Gaughan – 537; B. Scott – 527; R. Reed – 526.

–30–