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Kyle Busch was scheduled for a long road to recovery.

Busch, who missed the 2015 Sprint Cup season's opening 11 races, was granted an exemption to compete for Chase eligibility by NASCAR following his return. The stipulations require Busch to win a race and maintain a top 30 position in NASCAR's points standings.

Kyle Busch took a major step towards Chase eligibility by holding off his older brother Kurt Busch and taking the checkered flag in Sunday's Toyota/SaveMart 350 from Sonoma Raceway.

"It was a fun race today," Kyle Busch said. "I actually had a lot of fun racing out there at Sonoma. Normally, it's kind of a nightmare sometimes for us and this No. 18 team but we had a great day today. Coming down pit road and the cautions flying as we were on pit road twice that's certainly so beneficial at this race track. That gives you such great track position and gets you out front. That was a huge benefit being able to come down when we did and being able to have that strategy work out for us is awesome."

The Sprint Cup win for Kyle Busch is his first since March 2014 at Auto Club Speedway and first at Sonoma Raceway since 2008 when he swept the series' road course races.

With Kyle's older brother Kurt finishing in second place, it marked the first time the brothers have finished one-two in Sprint Cup competition. Kyle Busch believes the road course finish is a testament to their father and their upbringing.

"It's the racer in the both of us, and how we were raised by our dad," Busch explained. "But really cool to come home one-two today, especially on a road course.  We grew up racing on ovals, but to do that here on a road course, I think that's just a true testament to our father and everything he's done for us over the years to get us to the point which we're at, and to have both Busch brothers be as good as we are and to be winning drivers on the Sprint Cup tour each year is certainly a true testament to our family."

The runner-up finish for Kurt Busch serves as the eighth top-ten finish on his 2015 campaign. It also marks the seventh time the elder Busch brother has finished in the top-ten at Sonoma Raceway.

Kurt Busch believes this will serve as a defining moment in his 2015 campaign.

" I don't think it's one of my greatest races, but it is a statement weekend for everything that's gone on in 2015," Kurt Busch explained. "Here we are, we're halfway through the year.  We almost could have had as many race wins as we had races we were under suspension, and so there's so many things that have gone into place for us to be successful, and the number one thing is Tony Gibson, the crew chief at SHR.  He builds great race cars, and it's a pleasure to drive for him, and I love the team camaraderie.  

"I haven't had this type of team chemistry since my championship year. It feels good to have that."

Clint Bowyer took a major step in turning around what has been a tough 2015 season with a third place finish. Bowyer now has eight top-ten finishes in just ten starts at Sonoma Raceway.

Bowyer believes the line in which Kyle Busch used on the race's final restart made the difference between winning and losing.

"Everybody went high into my groove and opened it up for him and he drove right into it and went on," Bowyer explained. "He had the right line, and unfortunately I didn't.  It just didn't work out for me.  He beat me to the punchline, beat me to the lead and the rest was history."

Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick extended his points lead over Martin Truex, Jr, with a fourth place finish while Joey Logano finished in fifth place.

Jimmie Johnson led a race-high 45 laps but only managed a sixth place finish. Dale Earnhardt, Jr, backed up his 2014 third place finish with a seventh place finish while Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish, Jr, rounded out the top ten.

Jeff Gordon, who most likely made his final start at his home track, was forced to the back of the pack when his pit crew was penalized for uncontrolled equipment during a routine pit stop. A crewmember appeared to throw a spring rubber over the pit road wall to draw the penalty. Gordon finished in 16th place.

Despite starting the race from the top spot, pole sitter A.J. Allmendinger led just one lap and suffered from engine troubles throughout the race. Allmendinger, driving the No. 47 Kingsford Chevrolet, struggled for a 37th place finish.

Martin Truex, Jr, who has set a torrid pace in the 2015 Sprint Cup season, recorded his first DNF of the season after an accident left his No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet undrivable. Truex finished in 42nd place.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 16
Unofficial Race Results for the 27Th Annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 - Sunday, June 28, 2015
Sonoma Raceway - Sonoma, CA - 1.99 Mile Road
Total Race Length - 110 Laps - 218.9 Miles - Purse: $5,735,702

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    11    18    Kyle Busch    M&M's Crispy Toyota    110    47    4    118.2    $315,481    Running    2    17
2    2    41    Kurt Busch    Haas Automation Chevrolet    110    43    1    137.7    $222,630    Running    3    43
3    6    15    Clint Bowyer    5-Hour Energy Toyota    110    42    1    112.3    $191,988    Running    1    4
4    17    4    Kevin Harvick    FoldsofHonor/OutbackStkhse/Budweiser Chev    110    40        109.7    $183,230    Running        
5    19    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    110    39        91.4    $166,638    Running        
6    13    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Pro Services Chevrolet    110    40    2    123.5    $162,406    Running    2    45
7    20    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Microsoft Chevrolet    110    37        106.9    $122,995    Running        
8    26    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    110    36        97.8    $118,895    Running        
9    16    31    Ryan Newman    WIX Filters Chevrolet    110    35        89.6    $135,420    Running        
10    24    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    Jacob Companies Ford    110    34        70.7    $132,065    Running        
11    18    1    Jamie McMurray    Cessna Chevrolet    110    33        80.9    $129,976    Running        
12    7    14    Tony Stewart    Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet    110    32        90.7    $126,674    Running        
13    32    27    Paul Menard    Richmond/Menards Chevrolet    110    31        69.7    $106,060    Running        
14    25    43    Aric Almirola    Nathan's Famous Ford    110    30        73.0    $133,846    Running        
15    4    42    Kyle Larson    Viva Vantage Chevrolet    110    29        98.3    $124,618    Running        
16    5    24    Jeff Gordon    AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet    110    28        82.3    $139,846    Running        
17    37    3    Austin Dillon    Dow Chevrolet    110    27        66.6    $131,271    Running        
18    15    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Freight Toyota    110    26        63.2    $108,485    Running        
19    10    2    Brad Keselowski    Alliance Truck Parts Ford    110    25        70.4    $137,901    Running        
20    40    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fastenal Ford    110    24        58.9    $101,135    Running        
21    3    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    110    23        73.2    $129,421    Running        
22    29    35    Cole Whitt    Uponor Ford    110    22        59.5    $109,493    Running        
23    31    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    110    21        49.2    $131,885    Running        
24    21    10    Danica Patrick    GoDaddy Chevrolet    110    20        61.6    $98,160    Running        
25    36    33    Alex Kennedy #    MediaCast Chevrolet    110    19        46.7    $107,193    Running        
26    33    32    Boris Said(i)    Loss Prevention Group Ford    110    0        43.0    $99,868    Running        
27    22    16    Greg Biffle    Ortho Ford    110    17        67.5    $119,393    Running        
28    38    98    Josh Wise    Dogecoin Chevrolet    109    16        38.2    $87,685    Running        
29    30    83    Matt DiBenedetto #    Burger King Toyota    109    15        43.3    $99,118    Running        
30    35    34    Justin Marks(i)    Dockside Logistics Ford    109    0        35.2    $88,810    Running        
31    41    7    Alex Bowman    Golden Corral Chevrolet    109    13        35.5    $96,182    Running        
32    43    26    Jeb Burton #    Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota    109    12        29.4    $83,965    Running        
33    42    46    Michael Annett    Bene-fit Chevrolet    109    11        31.0    $83,855    Running        
34    23    95    Michael McDowell    KLOVE Radio Ford    109    10        46.9    $83,720    Running        
35    27    51    Justin Allgaier    Brandt Chevrolet    107    9        58.6    $91,555    Running        
36    39    40    Landon Cassill(i)    Chevrolet    99    0        28.8    $83,470    Running        
37    1    47    AJ Allmendinger    Kingsford Charcoal Chevrolet    98    8    1    100.0    $113,795    Running    1    1
38    8    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    97    6        68.4    $85,913    Rear Axle        
39    9    55    David Ragan    Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota    78    5        74.2    $101,064    Accident        
40    14    19    Carl Edwards    Stanley Toyota    78    4        70.5    $69,850    Accident        
41    34    23    JJ Yeley(i)    Dr Pepper Toyota    71    0        37.9    $65,850    Accident        
42    12    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    31    2        58.1    $88,195    Accident        
43    28    38    David Gilliland    Love's Travel Stops Ford    20    1        36.1    $66,350    Accident        
 Race Comments:    Kyle Busch won the Toyota/Save Mart 350, his 30th career NASCAR Sprint Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 27, 46 (engine change).
 Failed to Qualify:    (1) 62 Brendan Gaughan(i).
 Time of Race:    02 Hrs, 55 Mins, 39 Secs.    Average Speed:    74.774 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.532 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    5 for 21 laps: Laps: 23-26 (#38 accident turn 10 [7]); 30-33 (#78 accident turn 8 [Red Flag: Lap 32, 10:30] [40]); 75-78 (#23 accident turn 10 [95]); 80-84 (#19, 55 accident turn 8 [20]); 100-103 (Debris from #13 in turn 11 [6]).
 Lead Changes:    9 among 5 drivers: A. Allmendinger 0; Kurt Busch 1-22; A. Allmendinger 23; C. Bowyer 24-27; Kyle Busch 28-39; Kurt Busch 40-52; J. Johnson 53-66; Kurt Busch 67-74; J. Johnson 75-105; Kyle Busch 106-110.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.J. Johnson 546 (4 wins);2.K. Harvick 616 (2);3.Kurt Busch 469 (2);4.M. Truex Jr. 563 (1);5.J. Logano 559 (1);6.D. Earnhardt Jr. 545 (1);7.B. Keselowski 505 (1);8.M. Kenseth 479 (1);9.D. Hamlin 438 (1);10.C. Edwards 405 (1); 11. Kyle Busch 125 (1)*; 12.J. Mcmurray 497 (0);13.K. Kahne 483 (0);14.J. Gordon 462 (0);15.P. Menard 452 (0);16.R. Newman 435 (0). (Note: Kyle Busch is the only winner who is currently outside the top 30 in points.)
3M Lap Leader    : Jimmie Johnson, #48 45 Laps    American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Kyle Busch, #18
Coors Light Pole Award    : AJ Allmendinger, #47 96.31 mph    Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Kurt Busch, #41
Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Sam Hornish Jr, #9 8 positions    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Hendrick Engines, #41
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kyle Busch, #18     Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Joey Logano, #22 T Gordon, .570 sec
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : AJ Allmendinger, #47     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Alex Kennedy, #33
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Jul. 5, 2015 - Daytona International Speedway