AVONDALE, Ariz. — Recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
Three became the magic number for both Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing when the checkered flag flew over Saturday afternoon’s Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Busch led a sweep of the the top three finishing positions for JGR at the one-mile desert oval, as well as scored his third consecutive NASCAR XFINITY Series victory after leading 175 of the 200 laps en route to a post-race celebration in the desert.
The win for Busch was his 79th career series win and ninth at Phoenix. It also marked the fifth time in his career that he has won three straight XFINITY races, but the first time he had done so since the spring of 2013 (at Bristol, Fontana & Texas).
“I don’t know what makes us so good here — it’s just a knack for (driving) this place, I guess,” admitted Busch, who was out front for 83 of the final 92 laps, including the last 13 circuits. “We’ve been off a little bit (here) on the Cup side for the last couple years, but this time we’ve really improved things. I can’t say enough about (crew chief) Chris Gayle and all the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing for giving me a great car today.”
“We didn’t sit on the pole, our teammates did … and they made me run hard all day long. There’s nothing left in this car; it’s all used up. Instead of taking it back to the shop to freshen it, the crew’s going to have to rebuild it. It’s fun to come here to the XFINITY Series and participate and learn for Sundays — thankfully today we came away with the win.”
Erik Jones led the field of 40 to the green from pole position, but race conditions were out for less than a lap before David Starr smacked the wall and spun in turn three, after receiving a bump in the rear quarter panel from Ray Black Jr.
That set up a restart on lap six that gave Busch the advantage of momentum on the outside. Busch used the top lane to power around his young teammate and dominated the proceedings over the first green flag run of the event — leading all the way through the second caution of the race at lap 58, when Jeremy Clements popped the turn four wall after a right front tire issue with his No. 51 Chevrolet.
The ensuing run would allow Jones to move back by Suarez for second, but no one would have anything for Busch until the third and final yellow on the day five laps prior to halfway — where a host of frontrunners took two tires on strategy to try and unseat Busch atop the pile.
Ty Dillon was the first of that group off pit road at lap 98 and led the field back to full song four laps later, but it wasn’t long before Busch made his presence known again. He made a bonzai three-wide pass to go to third down the backstretch before picking off Justin Allgaier and Dillon to reassume command at lap 109.
From there, Busch was never seriously challenged again until just before his final pit stop at lap 177, when Jones caught and nearly passed his mentor three separate times before the duo got four tires and fuel for the final time.
Busch was able to gap Jones by over three seconds during the exchange on pit road, however, and regained the top spot for good with 13 laps to go — when Brad Keselowski finally gave up the lead he had inherited for nine laps to pit for two tires and fuel late in the going.
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR photo)
Fighting through traffic, Jones could do nothing as Busch drove off into the distance, forced to settle for a runner-up result at the checkered flag.
“I don’t think it comes down to much more than him being Kyle Busch and me being a rookie in the series,” the 19-year-old said. “He was really fast. We had a shot at him — on that long run we started to get to him and were able to work him. If … we hadn’t had to pit I think we could have got (around) him, but unfortunately we lost a lot of ground on the stop and just got too tight after that and he ran away.”
“Overall a good day for us, with a solid finish. We’re getting closer …. and it shows every week with these one-two-three finishes. Hopefully soon we can take one of those trophies home for this 20 team.”
Suarez finished third to complete the all-JGR podium, with JR Motorsports drivers Justin Allgaier and Chase Elliott trailing behind to round out the top five.
Ty and Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Brad Keselowski and Brennan Poole made up the balance of the top 10. Brandon Jones was close behind Poole in 11th, the final car on the lead lap.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series returns to action on March 19 with a 300-mile event at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Kevin Harvick is the defending winner of the race.
RESULTS: NASCAR XFINITY Series; Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200; Phoenix International Raceway; March 12, 2016
- Kyle Busch
- Erik Jones
- Daniel Suarez
- Justin Allgaier
- Chase Elliott
- Ty Dillon
- Austin Dillon
- Elliott Sadler
- Brad Keselowski
- Brennan Poole
- Brandon Jones
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Brendan Gaughan
- Ryan Reed
- Justin Marks
- Blake Koch
- Jeb Burton
- Dakoda Armstrong
- Dylan Lupton
- J.J. Yeley
- Ryan Preece
- David Starr
- Spencer Gallagher
- Ross Chastain
- Ray Black Jr.
- T.J. Bell
- Ryan Sieg
- Jeremy Clements
- B.J. McLeod
- Harrison Rhodes
- Garrett Smithley
- Timmy Hill
- Joey Gase
- Derrike Cope
- Mario Gosselin
- D.J. Kennington
- Todd Peck
- Mike Harmon
- Morgan Shepherd
- Jeff Green
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: [email protected]
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