“It is something that only happens every so often. I just can’t believe it with everything that happened this year.” – 2015 Sprint Cup Champion Kyle Busch
“It is a happy good day. I wanted that win, but we are still going to celebrate.” – Jeff Gordon After His Final Race
“You always want to win but I have learned not to get greedy.” – Second place Championship Finisher Kevin Harvick
“We are a little disappointed in the weekend, obviously. We were really excited and optimistic coming here.” – Fourth Place Championship Finisher Martin Truex Jr.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Nov. 22, 2015 – NBC Sports presented the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship tonight under the lights of Homestead-Miami Speedway. After rain delayed the green flag for more than 90 minutes, the Ford EcoBoost 400 got underway and the Championship 4 drivers battled it out for 267 laps on NBC. The evening culminated with Kyle Busch capturing the checkered flag and his first Sprint Cup Championship. Post-race interviews and the trophy presentation were presented on NBCSN.
Inside the NASCAR on NBC broadcast booth, race announcer Rick Allen and analysts Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the action. Working the pits were reporters Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Mike Massaro and Dave Burns.
CHAMPIONSHIP 4 DRIVER FINISHES
| Position | Driver | Car # |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 24 |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | 78 |
FORD ECOBOOST 400 RACE RESULTS
| Position | Driver | Car # |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| 3 | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 22 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | 42 |
The following are highlights from this evening’s Sprint Cup Championship coverage on NBC and NBCSN.
Burton on Gordon’s position at the half-way mark: “You have to max out the potential of your race car every single lap. Which means you have to be constantly looking for places to put your race car…Things change as your car changes. Jeff Gordon’s lap times are not bad right now. They are about a fifth or sixth place car. So he has to find a way to take a car that he isn’t exactly happy with and put it in a good position.”
Letarte on Truex Jr.’s decision to pit under green before other Championship 4 drivers: “The gambles continue for (crew chief) Cole Pearn. I like his gutsy calls.”
Burton on Kyle Busch’s Championship lead with less than 50 laps to go: “Hit your marks and do everything perfect. Hope you and your team made the changes that are necessary so that the No. 4 can’t catch you. You are only 48 laps away from winning a Championship.”
Burton on Harvick running second with four laps to go: “The only way (Kevin Harvick) can catch Kyle Busch is to push the car to its maximum limit. That is all Kevin Harvick can do. It looks like Busch has a better car, but Harvick will not give up.”
Burton’s advice for Busch with under four laps to go: “Kyle Busch needs to focus on the front windshield and pay no attention to the rear view mirror. Your spotter will let you know what is going on behind you…Do not let the No. 4 car force you to make a mistake.”
Gordon to Burns after his final race and finishing third for the Championship: “I’m a little disappointed, I’ll be honest. I thought going into today’s race we had something for them…We showed what we are made of right there at the end by climbing our way up to sixth…It is a happy good day. I wanted that win, but we are still going to celebrate.”
Burton on Kyle’s wife, Samantha Busch: “She has been there through all the tough times and good times earlier this year.”
Second place Championship finisher Harvick to Burns: “You always want to win, but I have learned not to get greedy. After last year, I felt like we had everything go our way and tonight it didn’t go our way.”
2015 Sprint Cup Champion Kyle Busch to Marty Snider: “(It is) pretty unbelievable, a dream of a lifetime, a dream come true. It is something that only happens every so often. I just can’t believe it with everything that happened this year. All the turmoil that I went through, that my wife went through, that my family went through…this Championship is all for these guys.”
Samantha Busch to Voda on the Championship stage: “It is just a storybook year. I can’t tell you about all the emotions right now.”
Adam Stevens on winning a Championship his first year as Kyle’s crew chief: “I’m thrilled to be a part of Kyle Busch’s career. He is a future hall of famer.”
Fourth place Championship finisher Truex Jr. to Stavast: “We came a long way as a group…We have a lot to be proud of as a team…We are a little disappointed in the weekend, obviously. We were really excited and optimistic coming here.”
– NBC SPORTS GROUP –
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