2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Kyle Busch's Title After a Slow Start

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 67th season of stock car racing in the United States, and it ended with Kyle Busch taking the championship at Homestead. He had missed the first 11 races after breaking a leg in an Xfinity Series crash at Daytona.

What was the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series?

The 2015 season was NASCAR's 67th campaign and its 44th in the modern Cup era. It began with the Sprint Unlimited, the Budweiser Duels and the Daytona 500, and it ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the season's final race.

There were 43 full-time teams that year, and the calendar had 36 races plus two exhibition races. The final calendar had been released on August 26, 2014, and it brought some notable changes from the year before.

It was also the first season of a new television contract. Races were carried by Fox, Fox Sports 1, NBC and NBCSN, and ESPN and Turner Sports ended a 31-year relationship with NASCAR when they chose not to renew after 2014.

Fox had the first half of the season and the Daytona 500, while NBC had the second half, the Chase and the Coke Zero 400. The split kept the familiar rhythm of the two networks sharing the year.

A broken leg cost Kyle Busch the first 11 races, and he still won the title at Homestead.

Who won the 2015 championship?

Kyle Busch won the 2015 Drivers' Championship at Homestead, and he became the first Toyota driver to win a Cup title. He had missed the first 11 races after a broken leg suffered in an Xfinity Series crash at Daytona.

The crash came the day before the Daytona 500. Busch hit a wall that had no SAFER barrier, and Matt Crafton made his Cup debut in his place for the 500.

David Ragan was tapped as the team's interim driver from Atlanta until Talladega, and Erik Jones took over that car at Kansas. Busch returned to the car later in the year and then drove his way to the title.

At Homestead, Brad Keselowski led the most laps and held the lead until a debris caution. On the restart Busch and Kevin Harvick got around him, and Busch held off Harvick to win both the race and the title.

Brett Moffitt was named Rookie of the Year even though he did not run a full season. He took over the car and declared his candidacy for the award.

Which teams and drivers changed in 2015?

Joe Gibbs Racing expanded to four cars with Carl Edwards in the No. 19, and Sam Hornish Jr. replaced Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9. Trevor Bayne drove full-time for Roush Fenway Racing, although NASCAR ruled him ineligible for Rookie of the Year.

In January 2015, Jeff Gordon announced that the season would be his final one as a full-time driver. Chase Elliott replaced him in the No. 24 car for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016.

Phil Parsons sold his team to Premium Motorsports after Talladega, and Premium ran the No. 62 and No. 66 cars for several drivers. The No. 66 was shut down after four races because of sponsorship and qualifying problems.

Alex Bowman replaced Michael Annett at Tommy Baldwin Racing, and J. J. Yeley and Jeb Burton swapped the BK Racing No. 23 and No. 26 cars after Bristol in August. Chase Elliott ran five races for Hendrick, with the No. 25 car.

Which drivers were suspended or missed races?

Kurt Busch was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR over a domestic incident involving a former girlfriend, and Regan Smith replaced him for the Daytona 500 and two more races. Matt Kenseth was suspended for two races after intentionally wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville.

Kurt Busch was reinstated and returned to his car at Phoenix. Kyle Larson fainted at an autograph session the day before the March Martinsville race and missed the event, and Regan Smith replaced him in the car.

Erik Jones drove the No. 20 at Texas and Phoenix while Kenseth sat out, and Kenseth returned to the car at Homestead.

What changed in the rules?

Private testing was banned from the end of the 2014 season, and tapered spacers reduced horsepower from 850 to 725. Rear spoiler height and the minimum car weight were both cut, and qualifying sessions were shortened at short tracks and intermediates.

Qualifying at short tracks and intermediates ran in three sessions of 15, 10 and 5 minutes. Road courses had a 25-minute and a 10-minute session, while restrictor-plate tracks used three 5-minute sessions.

NASCAR introduced single-car qualifying for restrictor-plate races after the crashes at Daytona. Each car ran one warm-up, one timed and one cool-down lap, with the next car released before the previous one had finished.

Kentucky and Darlington ran a lower downforce package, while Indianapolis and the August Michigan race ran a high drag package. Digital dashboards were allowed from Watkins Glen and mandated for 2016, and the green-white-checkered attempts were cut from three to one at Daytona and Talladega.

How did Speedweeks go?

Matt Kenseth won the Sprint Unlimited, a crash-filled race in which only 12 of 25 cars finished. Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 pole for his 23rd and final Daytona 500, and Joey Logano won the race itself on a two-lap dash to the finish.

After the Sprint Unlimited, tension arose between Kevin Harvick and Logano over the way Logano had raced him. The Budweiser Duels were won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, with Johnson winning from the pole in the second.

Kurt Busch was suspended the Friday before the Daytona 500, and Regan Smith replaced him. The day before the race Kyle Busch broke his leg in the Xfinity Series accident, and Crafton, in his first Cup start, took the seat for the 500.

In the Daytona 500, Gordon led the most laps but was caught in a late wreck. Brad Keselowski's engine failed with 40 laps to go, which set up a collision between McMurray and Newman, and Logano won on the two-lap dash.

What happened in the early races?

Jimmie Johnson won at Atlanta, and Kevin Harvick won at Las Vegas after Dale Earnhardt Jr. took two tyres on pit road while Harvick took four. Harvick then won at Phoenix, his second straight victory and his fourth straight win there.

At Fontana, Brad Keselowski passed Kurt Busch on the last lap of a green-white-checkered finish. Harvick finished second, which extended his run of top-two finishes to eight races.

At Martinsville, Denny Hamlin came back from a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tyre and won his fifth race there. At Texas, Johnson passed Jamie McMurray and Harvick on the final restart to win his fifth race at Texas.

At Bristol, rain brought a red flag, and Hamlin had to leave the race with neck spasms. Matt Kenseth won in a green-white-checkered finish after another red flag from more rain.

At Talladega, Earnhardt won his sixth race there. Fifteen cars were collected in a lap-47 wreck.

What happened in the middle of the season?

Johnson won at Kansas for his third win of the season, with Harvick and Earnhardt Jr. finishing second and third, the third time that season the three had finished 1-2-3. Johnson later won at Dover for his fourth win of the year and his tenth there.

At Charlotte, Denny Hamlin won the Sprint All-Star Race, and Danica Patrick won the fan vote to take part.

Carl Edwards won the Coca-Cola 600 by stretching his fuel mileage at the end, his first win with Joe Gibbs Racing. Johnson spun twice and hit the pit wall, which ended his race.

Martin Truex Jr. won at Pocono, his first win since 2013. Kurt Busch won at Michigan after four red flags, his second win of the year.

Kyle Busch won at Sonoma, his first win of the season, and the Busch brothers finished first and second. It was the first time both had finished in the top two of the same race.

At Daytona in the summer, Earnhardt won the Coke Zero 400 as the Big One erupted at the finish line. Austin Dillon was launched into the catchfence, but he was not badly hurt.

Kyle Busch then won at Kentucky and at Loudon in consecutive weeks. At Indianapolis he won the Brickyard 400 for his third straight victory, and he had won four of the last five races.

How did the late summer and fall races go?

Matt Kenseth won at Pocono for his second win of the season, and Joey Logano won at Watkins Glen after Kevin Harvick ran out of fuel on the final turn. Kenseth won again at Michigan, and Logano took the win at Bristol.

At Darlington, Carl Edwards came back from two laps down to win his second race of the season, despite a record number of cautions. Kenseth then won at Richmond for his fourth win of the year, with the four Joe Gibbs cars running at the front.

At Joliet, Denny Hamlin won for his second win of the season after Harvick hit the wall. Harvick then confronted Jimmie Johnson after the race, and the two had to be separated.

Kenseth won at Loudon after Harvick ran out of fuel with a few laps to go, and Harvick won at Dover for his third win of the season.

Logano won at Charlotte and advanced to the Eliminator Round. At Kansas he spun Kenseth to win his second straight race, which left Kenseth in a must-win situation at Talladega.

What decided the final rounds of the Chase?

Joey Logano won at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega, sweeping the Contender Round. Jeff Gordon won at Martinsville for his 93rd and final career victory, while Matt Kenseth was suspended for intentionally wrecking Logano.

At Martinsville, Gordon took the lead after Logano was wrecked, and he finished ahead of Jamie McMurray. Gordon became one of four drivers to race for the championship at Homestead, which was the final race of his full-time career.

At Texas, Brad Keselowski led 312 of 334 laps, but Johnson passed him with three laps to go and won his sixth race there. Joey Logano spun from a cut tyre early on and was forced into a must-win race at Phoenix.

At Phoenix, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was declared the winner after the race was red-flagged and never resumed. It was his 26th and final victory, and Gordon, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. advanced to Homestead.

Which races and titles were the headline results?