2015 Championship Review

Well, after a long, dramatic season, the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season is officially over and a new champion is crowned: Kyle Busch!

Kyle Busch has had a roller-coaster season which started off in Daytona, where he was injured in a serious crash that resulted in a massive compound fracture in his right leg, forcing him to miss 11 races, eventually returning for the Coca-Cola 600.  Then, 2 bad finishes at Dover & Michigan questioned if he would return to form.  Then he won 4 of the next 5 races, the first being in Sonoma, but wins at Indianapolis, Kentucky & New Hampshire.  Strong finishes allowed him to be in the Top-30 in points just in time for Richmond to clinch a Chase spot.  There, solid finishes allowed him to advance, all the way to Homestead.

 Joining Busch for the Championship 4 were Jeff Gordon (who won at Martinsville), Kevin Harvick & Martin Truex, Jr. (advanced on points).  After a 90-minute delay due to rain, the race was underway.  Truex, Jr. had car issues all race, including an ill-fated 2-tire pit stop with less than 100 laps to go, put him out of contention, finishing 12th.  Gordon led early on, but had handling problems and was able to finish 6th.  Harvick was in the top-3 all race but wasn't able to get past Penske drivers Brad Keselowski & Joey Logano, nor the eventual winner in Kyle Busch.  The 18 had the best car all race, no problems on pit road and was able to take the checkered flag.  This was Kyle Busch's first Cup Championship and the first for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2005, when Tony Stewart won his 2nd title.


XFINITY SERIES
The NASCAR Xfinity Series wasn't as dramatic as the Cup event.  Chris Buescher won races early in the season, but solid finishes and good results was able to allow him to clinch the championship for him and Roush-Fenway Racing.  Buescher finished 15 points ahead of Chase Elliott for the title.


CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series also had drama throughout the season, with 3 drivers in contention all season: Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick & Matt Crafton.  With the win at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Jones' season turned around as he was able to finish in the top-10 at every race thereafter and also won at Texas 2 weeks ago.  Reddick also had solid finishes but a 15th place result in New Hampshire did hurt his chances.  Matt Crafton won the 2014 title, but disappointing results at Talladega & Phoenix took him out of contention.  Therefore, Erik Jones became the youngest person ever at 19 to win a championship in the Truck series.


FORMULA ONE
With 1 race remaining in the 2015 F1 season taking place next Sunday in Abu Dhabi, it should be a fun, exhibition race to watch as Lewis Hamilton has already been crowned champion and Mercedes won the Manufacturers title.  So another win by Nico Rosberg could solidify his 2nd place result.

The 2015 season is complete, but in 2 months time, racing will resume.