INDIANAPOLIS — There was no celebratory burnout — Kyle Busch has done plenty of those the past few weeks — just another big, fat kiss at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Busch's triumphant return from a horrible crash the day before the season-opening Daytona 500 continued Sunday with one of the biggest wins of his career. He grabbed an elusive victory at Indy, taking the Brickyard 400 to complete a weekend sweep at the historic track.
Busch missed the first 11 races after breaking his right leg and left foot. He returned in late May and has won three consecutive Sprint Cup races and four of the past five.
He kneeled to kiss the yard of bricks at the start-finish line, accompanied not only by his crew but his wife, Samantha, and their son, Brexton, who was born in May.
"Being away for 11 weeks, it was tough. It was pretty hard times," Busch said. "It was tough to fight through all those things that I had to go through, Samantha had to go through while she was pregnant. She was helping me. All the steps that we went through to get back into the race car were quite challenging.
"But once we've been back, I felt like I just continued right on my stride."
The prestigious Brickyard victory gives him one of NASCAR's elusive crown jewels. His Indianapolis victory ranks alongside his Southern 500 win at Darlington Raceway as the biggest of his career.
Busch, who also won the second-tier Xfinity series race Saturday at Indianapolis, is 23 points from cracking the top 30 in the Sprint Cup standings, which is where he needs to get to make the Chase for the Championship after NASCAR granted him a waiver.
That seems a foregone conclusion the way things are going for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs racing Toyota.
"We're a championship contending team, we just need to be championship eligible," Busch said.
Roger Penske, whose IndyCar team has won 16 Indianapolis 500s at IMS including this year with Juan Montoya, was denied his first Brickyard 400 win as Joey Logano finished second, 0.332 seconds behind Busch.
"Geez, I guess Kyle's back," Daytona 500 winner Logano said. "It's just so frustrating running second at the Brickyard. Second hurts."
Busch knows that all too well. He finished second in two of the previous three Brickyards.
Kevin Harvick was third in a Chevrolet, followed by Martin Truex, Busch teammate Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer. Tampa's Aric Almirola had a spin and finished 38th.
Jeff Gordon's final Brickyard 400, before his retirement at the end of the season, was a huge bust as an early spin caused considerable damage. The five-time Indy winner was 42nd.
"It was disappointing," Gordon said. "I have had an amazing career here in Indy. The fans have been spectacular."
Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene
Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter
You’re all signed up!
Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.
Explore all your optionsNASCAR tweaked its aerodynamic rules for Indy to improve the racing on a track at which passing has proven incredibly difficult. But drivers complained all weekend that the turbulence was too strong when they'd close in on another car. There were 16 lead changes among six drivers and Harvick, who called Sunday's race "a science project," led a race-high 75 laps.