[h=2]NASCAR: Busch earns historic Indianapolis sweep[/h] Sunday, 24 July 2016

RACER Staff
Kyle Busch dominated the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis to become the first driver to earn pole and win both the Xfinity and Cup races in a weekend.
In what was a relatively clean race until the closing stages, Busch set an event record by leading 149 of what became a 170-lap race once multiple attempts at overtime finishes were completed.
"This Toyota was awesome today," Busch said. "It was just so fast and able to get out front and stay out front. Not even some of my teammates could challenge. This was hooked up and on rails.
"Adam Stevens (crew chief) and these guys are a phenomenal group, and I'm proud to be with them. It's fun to come out here and have such a dominant piece at Indy. They don't come along often, so I was just hoping I didn't screw it up." Joe Gibbs Racing's strong form was emphasized as Busch's teammates Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin finished second and fourth, sandwiching Jimmie Johnson.
Four cautions in the closing laps of the race gave polesitter and 2015 winner Busch a lot to think about, and at one point a seven-car wreck after a clumsy restart from Carl Edwards triggered a red flag.
"It felt like I just got tight down there," Edwards said. "I had a little trouble there on the starts, and I got down there, we were fighting really hard for the bottom, and it felt like I got tight with whoever was on the outside of me.

"If indeed that is what happened, I apologize. That's pretty frustrating. ... It felt like I got in there and just scrubbed that right front."
Drivers then needed three attempts to make it to the overtime line as incidents continued, raising concerns about fuel economy.
But spotters stressed the importance of conservation under yellow and the front-runners all had just enough in the tank, with Busch showing his mastery of restarts every time to put the result beyond doubt.
Busch was honored to be the first in the sport to sweep a weekend after starting from both poles.
"It's so cool because it hasn't been done before," he said. "I've tried and been successful at being able to do a lot of things that others haven't been able to do before. I guess I give myself more chances than others because I run more of those [XFINITY] races.

"It helps you, and when it helps you win on Sunday, that's what makes everything so worthwhile on those Saturday races. The guys on Saturday do a good job, too, helping prepare me and being able to do this stuff on Sunday."
Hendrick Motorsports returned to the top 10 after a three-race drought with Johnson's third place, earned by capitalizing on the messy restarts, also giving the team its 1000th top-five finish in NASCAR.
The team's returning hero Jeff Gordon finished 13th in the unwell Dale Earnhardt Jr's car and then after the checkered flag joined fellow retiring legend Tony Stewart for one last lap of Indianapolis in a stock car.