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Kurt Busch won Sunday's Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway without even taking the checkered flag.

Busch was the leader on-track when the fourth and final weather related red flag was displayed on track, giving the 2004 Sprint Cup champion his second victory of the season. Busch took the lead when Kyle Larson's attempt to gamble on gas-mileage lost its momentum on lap 133 when Larson was forced to pit for fuel. Three laps after Busch took the lead; the rain came.

Busch, who was driving a backup car because of contact made with the wall in Friday's opening Sprint Cup practice session, believes it was a team effort to run up front with a backup car.

"It was a fantastic group effort," Busch explained.  "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 Tony Gibson leads rolled up their sleeves, jumped right on in it, and we made it a race-winning backup car.  That shows you the depth of Stewart-Haas Racing.  It gives every crew member that much more confidence to know that we're doing things right, and today the way the race unfolded for us, to come up from 24th and work our way through and have those restarts, everything unfolded perfectly for us with changes to the car, the restarts, to not break momentum, to end up on the outside lane most of the time, and then to have a shot up front, our car just kept getting better and better the closer we put it to the front, and that's what you set up for.  

"You set up for the wins, and you don't set up for the dirty air, you set up for running out front, and that's what Tony Gibson did."

The rain-shortened victory becomes Busch's third career victory at Michigan and the first since 2007. It also marks the first time in which Busch has won multiple races since the 2011 Sprint Cup season.

Busch already solidified his spot in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship with his win earlier this season at Richmond. The 36-year old Las Vegas native believes winning, no matter how achieved, brings more than just tangible benefits.

"Any time you win, it comes with a basket full of goodies, and the way that more of what is the unknown is what comes from this, and that is the pep in the step of the crew members, the genuine chemistry and the feel on the shop floor," Busch said. "There's so many tangibles that come up from a win, and bonus points for the Chase, we're not really thinking of that, but any time you win a second race, it really gives you that stamp on you're in the Chase, now let's work through these summer months to continue to make the team better.

"The best part about winning on a day like today, there's an off week next week, so everybody will take this win and enjoy it for an extra week, recharge, and that will give us the gas we're going to need because we're going to try to go all the way to Homestead."

Two-time Michigan winner Dale Ea
rnhardt, Jr, finished behind Busch in the second position. The finish is Earnhardt's ninth top-five finish of the 2015 season, just four shy of the 13 top-five finishes of his highly successful 2014 campaign.

NASCAR's reigning and defending most popular driver doesn't put much stock in any finish other than a win under NASCAR's new playoff format.

"Over the last several years we've been as good or better than anybody during the regular season and never -- just haven't showed up in the Chase," Earnhardt, Jr, said. "I told my guys after Pocono when we run 11th with about a third-place car that I wasn't going to worry about finishes and I wasn't going to worry about trying to get everything I can on finishes.  I was just going to go to the track, try to win, try to learn.  We need to make sure when we get to the Chase, we understand everything we can about the car and how to deliver the best car every week. Trying to be as consistent as you can and finish as well as you can - can kind of mask some of your weaknesses, I guess.  You can forget that you need to work.  Everybody is trying to catch you.

"I just ain't going to worry about it.  We've always done well during the first 26 races and never done well in the Chase, so I'm just concentrating on the Chase now that we're locked in.  We go to win these races, we don't win them, it doesn't really matter to me where we finish just as long as we've got fast cars, and we're understanding how to get better."

Martin Truex, Jr, made history by finishing in third place.  The finish marks the 14th time this season Truex has finished inside the top-ten, it's the first time since Richard Petty in 1969 that a driver has finished in the top-ten in 14 of 15 races.

Truex, Jr, also put a great effort into cutting into Kevin Harvick's stranglehold on the Sprint Cup points standings. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet only trails Harvick by 15 points.

Matt Kenseth finished in fourth place with Michigan-native Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.

Perennial frontrunner Kevin Harvick continued to flex his muscles by leading 63 laps in the race but just two laps after his lap 120 pit stop, the defending Sprint Cup series champion was back on pit road with a flat tire. Harvick couldn't recover from the tire troubles and was forced to settle for a 29th place finish, just the second time he's finished outside the top ten on the season.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 15
Unofficial Race Results for the 47Th Annual Quicken Loans 400 - Sunday, June 14, 2015
Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI - 2 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 138 Laps - 276 Miles - Purse: $5,263,885

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    24    41    Kurt Busch    Haas Automation Chevrolet    138    47    4    113.5    $186,125    Running    1    6
2    14    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    AMP Energy Chevrolet    138    43    1    116.9    $141,435    Running    1    1
3    9    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet    138    41        117.1    $137,580    Running        
4    12    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    138    41    1    117.6    $148,471    Running    2    3
5    11    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    138    40    1    93.2    $140,508    Running    1    7
6    3    2    Brad Keselowski    Miller Lite Ford    138    39    1    107.7    $141,031    Running    2    6
7    25    1    Jamie McMurray    McDonald's Chevrolet    138    37        79.9    $126,331    Running        
8    17    27    Paul Menard    Moen/Menards Chevrolet    138    36        82.1    $108,515    Running        
9    20    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    138    35        71.9    $132,940    Running        
10    32    15    Clint Bowyer    Chrry5HrEnrgy/SpecialOperationsWarriorFndtn Toyota    138    34        79.5    $126,523    Running        
11    13    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Express Toyota    138    33        81.7    $106,015    Running        
12    4    19    Carl Edwards    ARRIS Toyota    138    33    1    113.2    $107,140    Running    3    41
13    27    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    138    31        70.3    $116,448    Running        
14    22    33    Ty Dillon(i)    Nexium 24Hr Chevrolet    138    0        90.8    $105,823    Running        
15    1    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    138    30    1    100.0    $110,215    Running    1    1
16    19    10    Danica Patrick    GoDaddy Chevrolet    138    29    1    63.8    $97,065    Running    1    2
17    16    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    138    28    1    89.0    $116,073    Running    2    7
18    23    31    Ryan Newman    Quicken Loans Chevrolet    138    26        78.6    $119,840    Running        
19    8    48    Jimmie Johnson    Kobalt Tools Chevrolet    137    25        75.0    $131,801    Running        
20    7    3    Austin Dillon    American Ethanol Chevrolet    137    24        80.5    $124,471    Running        
21    6    24    Jeff Gordon    Panasonic Chevrolet    137    23        87.4    $131,771    Running        
22    26    43    Aric Almirola    Smithfield Ford    137    22        65.4    $123,346    Running        
23    31    47    AJ Allmendinger    Kroger/Hungry Jack Chevrolet    137    21        57.7    $114,918    Running        
24    5    21    Ryan Blaney(i)    Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford    137    0        78.9    $82,560    Running        
25    33    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fastenal Ford    137    19        50.9    $93,635    Running        
26    30    9    Sam Hornish Jr.    Medallion Bank Ford    137    18        53.2    $111,630    Running        
27    36    51    Justin Allgaier    Switch Hitch Chevrolet    137    17        50.0    $104,618    Running        
28    15    14    Tony Stewart    Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet    137    16        63.7    $111,924    Running        
29    2    4    Kevin Harvick    Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet    137    17    2    117.2    $141,035    Running    2    63
30    35    46    Michael Annett    Pilot Flying J Chevrolet    137    14        44.2    $85,935    Running        
31    29    40    Landon Cassill(i)    CarsForSale.com Chevrolet    137    0        50.7    $83,785    Running        
32    40    35    Cole Whitt    Speed Stick Ford    137    12        39.8    $90,732    Running        
33    37    34    Brett Moffitt #    Dockside Logistics Ford    137    11        40.6    $82,610    Running        
34    39    98    Josh Wise    Ford    137    11    1    38.7    $81,010    Running    1    1
35    18    55    David Ragan    Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota    136    9        50.4    $108,059    Running        
36    21    16    Greg Biffle    Safety-Kleen Ford    136    8        39.0    $111,823    Running        
37    38    26    Jeb Burton #    Maxim Toyota    136    7        33.5    $80,731    Running        
38    41    23    JJ Yeley(i)    Dr Pepper Toyota    136    0        28.4    $76,142    Running        
39    43    83    Matt DiBenedetto #    Burger King Toyota    136    5        28.5    $72,070    Running        
40    42    32    Mike Bliss(i)    Skuttle Tight/CorvetteParts.net Ford    136    0        28.4    $68,070    Running        
41    28    7    Alex Bowman    Racing-Rewards.com Chevrolet    84    3        24.3    $64,070    Running        
42    34    38    David Gilliland    Love's Travel Stops Ford    64    2        32.6    $68,070    Accident        
43    10    18    Kyle Busch    M&M's Crispy Toyota    52    1        71.0    $101,561    Accident        
 Race Comments:    Kurt Busch won the Quicken Loans 400, his 27th career NASCAR Sprint Series victory. The race was shortened due to inclement weather. Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: No. 23 (engine change).
 Failed to Qualify:    (1) 62 Brendan Gaughan(i).
 Time of Race:    02 Hrs, 21 Mins, 55 Secs.    Average Speed:    116.688 MPH    Margin of Victory:    Caution
 Caution Flags:    5 for 38 laps: Laps: 12-28 (Precipitation [Red Flag: Lap 14, 59:04; Lap 20, 34:09] [7]); 42-51 (Competition [Red Flag: Lap 46, 35:38] [None]); 54-59 (#18 accident turn 4 [None]); 126-129 (Debris turn 4 [13]); 138-138 (Precipitation [Red Flag: Lap 138] [31]).
 Lead Changes:    17 among 11 drivers: K. Kahne 0; C. Edwards 1; K. Kahne 2; C. Edwards 3-41; J. Wise 42; K. Harvick 43-82; M. Kenseth 83-84; B. Keselowski 85; K. Larson 86-87; J. Logano 88-94; D. Patrick 95-96; K. Harvick 97-119; D. Earnhardt Jr. 120; M. Kenseth 121; B. Keselowski 122-126; C. Edwards 127; K. Larson 128-132; Kurt Busch 133-138.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.J. Johnson 506 (4 wins);2.K. Harvick 576 (2);3.Kurt Busch 426 (2);4.M. Truex Jr. 561 (1);5.J. Logano 520 (1);6.D. Earnhardt Jr. 508 (1);7.B. Keselowski 480 (1);8.M. Kenseth 456 (1);9.D. Hamlin 412 (1);10.C. Edwards 401 (1);11.J. Mcmurray 464 (0);12.K. Kahne 447 (0);13.J. Gordon 434 (0);14.P. Menard 421 (0);15.A. Almirola 401 (0);16.R. Newman 400 (0).
3M Lap Leader    : Kevin Harvick, #4 63 Laps    American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Carl Edwards, #19
Coors Light Pole Award    : Kasey Kahne, #5 201.992 mph    Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Carl Edwards, #19
Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Kurt Busch, #41 11 positions    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Hendrick Engines, #41
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kurt Busch, #41     Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Paul Menard, #27 J. Alexander, 5.622 sec
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Carl Edwards, #19 Lap 30, 196.457 mph    Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Brett Moffitt, #34
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Jun. 28, 2015 - Sonoma Raceway
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