NASCAR at Miami 2015 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Rarely does a victory in an individual race take a back seat in the battle for most important storyline of a NASCAR showdown, but that is exactly what happened when Kyle Busch took home the checkered flag at the Ford EcoBoost 400 in Miami on Sunday.

The victory clinched Busch's first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the same season that he missed the first 11 points races because of a broken foot and leg following a crash in an early Xfinity Series competition at Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR shared its congratulations:     

Busch reflected on the championship and season as a whole in the immediate aftermath, per Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press: "I don't know if I quite understand life yet, but there's something to be said about this year."

Busch was in the chase for a championship because NASCAR granted him a waiver following the injury if he could climb into the top 30 in points before the end of the 26-race regular season, per NASCAR.com.

Here is a look at the top finishers in Miami as well as the standings on the season:

Place	Driver	Laps Led
1	Kyle Busch	41
2	Kevin Harvick	46
3	Brad Keselowski	86
4	Joey Logano	72
5	Kyle Larson	2
6	Jeff Gordon	9
7	Matt Kenseth	0
8	Kurt Busch	0
9	Jimmie Johnson	0
10	Denny Hamlin	0

Place	Driver	Points
1	Kyle Busch	5,043
2	Kevin Harvick	5,042
3	Jeff Gordon	5,038
4	Martin Truex Jr.	5,032
5	Carl Edwards	2,368
6	Joey Logano	2,360
7	Brad Keselowski	2,347
8	Kurt Busch	2,333
9	Denny Hamlin	2,327
10	Jimmie Johnson	2,315

The biggest story entering Sunday's race—other than the fact that the highest finisher between Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. took home the season's championship—was Gordon himself. He is one of the biggest legends in the history of the sport, and Sunday was his final race and an opportunity to go out on top.

NASCAR passed along the fans' reaction:

Right on cue, the superstar made an early pass and took the lead, per NASCAR:

However, that early advantage was short-lived near Lap 60, as Jeff Gluck of USA Today said: 

There was one clear problem for Gordon, though, as Dustin Long of NBC Sports highlighted:

Elsewhere, Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw his chances at following his victory in Phoenix with another win end early when Clint Bowyer made contact with Austin Dillon on Lap 46 and knocked Earnhardt's car into the wall. During the subsequent caution, Jimmie Johnson was penalized when a member of his crew dented the side of his car.

Following the drama, Harvick jumped to the lead and remained there past Lap 90. Jim Utter of Motorsport.com pointed out it was recent business as usual for the first-place car:

Joey Logano took over first place by Lap 100 and held the advantage beyond the halfway point. However, there was more interest in the battle for the title, and NASCAR Stats provided an update:

Truex was within striking distance but had some issues on pit row, as NASCAR on NBC shared:

Truex made it out, but Busch seized the lead on a restart. And Harvick took over second place, which put two championship leaders in first and second place. NASCAR had the highlight:

Jeff Owens of Sporting News noted Gordon was in serious trouble with 100 laps remaining:

Brad Keselowski took over the lead in the race and maintained it for a number of laps, but Harvick's late troubles were of more importance down the stretch, as Bob Pockrass of ESPN acknowledged:

Keselowski held the lead, but Kyle Larson made a strong push into second place. However, there was a caution with 10 laps remaining because of debris on the track, and the Orange Cone had a humorous response to the drama-filled situation: 

That put all the pressure on the restart, especially since all four championship contenders went to pit under the caution. 

Busch responded in a major way and jumped into the lead, while Harvick seized the second-place spot and Gordon took over sixth. Busch stretched the advantage in the final few laps and was well in control with fewer than three laps remaining. 

From there, Busch cruised to the finish line and won by a comfortable margin, despite the fact all four championship contenders had opportunities to win Sunday.

It was a major moment for the 30-year-old racer, and he will have plenty of momentum on his side next season following his first championship.

There was championship pressure on Busch for most of his 2015 campaign because he missed so much time due to injury and had to make the cut just to get a waiver to be included in the Chase. If he can take that urgency into next season, NASCAR fans could be looking at a repeat champion.

Busch (and the other top drivers) also won't have to worry about Gordon as a contender following the legendary driver's retirement.

Post-Race Reaction

Busch was clearly in a celebratory mood following the victory in the race and the championship, and he commented on his journey, per NASCAR on NBC, saying it was: “The dream of a lifetime. A dream come true.”

While Busch was the major winner Sunday, fellow championship contender Truex discussed his near-miss, per Furniture Row Racing: “I'm just proud to work with this group of guys. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.”

Gordon also experienced a near-miss Sunday with the chance to ride out with a fairy-tale ending. NBC Sports passed along his post-race interview:

Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, said “it’s real now,” after he hugged Gordon following the legend’s final race, per Pockrass.

Gordon's retirement is real now for all NASCAR fans as well.