Larson can’t weather wait, Busch can

Kyle Larson knew the rain was coming – and wanted it to arrive as soon as possible.

He didn’t get his wish. Instead, the downpour that ended this Sprint Cup race in Brooklyn, Michigan, gave the victory to Kurt Busch.

With his fuel running low, Larson had to make a pit stop, ceding the lead to Busch only a few laps before heavy rain arrived and ended Sunday’s race. It was Busch’s second Cup victory of the year. Larson remains winless, although he had tried to stay out on the track long enough to reach the rainstorm in first place.

“We could see weather coming there off of (Turn) 4 and just praying that it would get here in time for me to stay out and be in the lead when the rain did hit,” Larson said. “I applaud my guys for trying. We are pretty deep in points so we have to take risks like that to make the Chase. I’m happy with the call, just wish the rain would have come three laps sooner.”

The fourth weather-related red flag of the day came after lap 138 of a scheduled 200. Busch was leading at the time, and he was declared the winner after a downpour soaked the track. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second, followed by Martin Truex Jr.

Larson gave up the lead on lap 133.

Busch won in his backup car – he switched after an accident in practice Friday.

“It was a fantastic group effort,” he said. “To be able to pull the backup car out and to have it as prepared as it was and then to have the extra work that went into it, all the crew members that (crew chief) Tony Gibson leads rolled up their sleeves, jumped right on it, and we made it a race-winning backup car.”

Busch led for only six laps, but they were the last six of the race.

“I don’t know how Tony got the rain to come out, but he did that,” owner Gene Haas said. “That’s all it takes to win a race is you just need about 4,000 or 5,000 things to line up, and you’re there.”

Kevin Harvick led for 63 laps, but a tire problem knocked him well back. He finished 29th, only the second time all year he’s been out of the top 10. Harvick did stay atop the Cup standings, leading by 15 points over Truex.

Pole winner Kasey Kahne was 15th. The shortened race was a missed chance for several drivers with no wins, like Kahne, Larson and Jeff Gordon.

Busch’s victory in his No. 41 Chevrolet was part of a huge weekend for Chevy, which took the top three spots in this Cup race while also emerging victorious in a NASCAR Truck race, an IndyCar race and in the GTE Pro category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

IndyCar

Josef Newgarden took the lead on the 72nd lap and held on to capture the Honda Indy Toronto race.

Newgarden, a 24-year-old native of Henderson, Tennessee, completed the 85 laps around the 1.755-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street circuit first for his second IndyCar win this season.

Teammate Luca Filippi was second 1.4 seconds behind, followed by Helio Castroneves in third as drivers battled wet conditions early as well as in the latter stages of the race.

There were no Canadians in the field but James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ontario, recovering from a serious leg injury sustained in an accident last month, served as grand marshal.

The 1-2 effort was a first for CFH Racing, a team in its first year of operation.

“It was cool to get a 1-2,” Newgarden said. “This is a new team this year and so to already be able to get a 1-2 with this group is really incredible.”

NHRA

Greg Anderson won his third race of the season with a Pro Stock victory at the New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire. Other winners included Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel and John Force in Funny Car.