The No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch had been good all day, but with 10 laps to go in Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway a caution came out and the hopes for a championship rested in the arms of the pit crew. It was written in our earlier assessment of the final four pit crews that the No. 18 team had been the best in the clutch in the last five years — and they proved it again.
The No. 18 came in the pits in third place and left in second. Why is that such a big deal? Because it put him on the front row racing Brad Keselowski for the lead and in clean air as opposed to being in the second row with fellow Championship 4 driver Kevin Harvick right behind him.
When you get in traffic, anything can happen and Harvick could have used that traffic to try and maneuver past Busch. But by gaining the one spot on the last stop it helped Busch get on the front row and win his first championship in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
For the record, we timed that stop at 11.21 seconds. Congrats to all the No. 18 car personnel and especially the pit crew:
Pit Coaches: Mike Lepp and Paul Alepa
Front Changer: Josh Lesley
Front Carrier: Brad Donaghy
Jack Man: Jeff Fender
Rear Changer: Jake Seminara
Rear Carrier: Kenny Barber
Gas Man: Tom Lampe
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