FONTANA, Calif. — Recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jonathan Moore/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
In one of the most bizarre turns of events in NASCAR XFINITY Series history, Austin Dillon ended Kyle Busch’s winning streak at three by leading just one lap of Saturday’s TreatMyClot.com 300 — the final one.
With a 49-lap run to the finish putting the whole lead pack into fuel conservation mode, Busch appeared to be on his way easily to victory after saving gas to perfection over the course of the closing stretch; but instead, it was a piece of debris that proved to be Rowdy’s undoing in the end.
The Las Vegas native blew a left front tire going into turn one on the final lap, and tried to limp his way back around to the start-finish line as teammate Daniel Suarez hauled around the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota exiting turn two. At that point, Suarez thought he had his first career XFINITY win in hand … before he ran out of fuel halfway down the backstretch.
Busch was able to limp back around Suarez to reclaim the lead entering turn three, but behind him, Dillon’s No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet was rapidly closing. Halfway through turns three and four, the gap was 2.5 seconds and exiting the final corner, Dillon was all over the back bumper of Busch’s Toyota and looking to the inside for the win.
Though the all-time XFINITY wins leader and race-long dominator tried to give Dillon a shunt in the right rear quarter panel coming to the line, Dillon was able to maintain control of his car and cross the line 0.715 seconds ahead of Busch for his seventh career series win and first of the season.
“I just had to stay focused,” Dillon grinned in victory lane. “He (Busch) said he had a flat. I was worried about our fuel (situation) and just had to stay focused on that all the way home. He tried to screw me there at the end, but it didn’t work out too well for him, now did it?”
“That was fun. I didn’t think we had a car to do that, and we didn’t (have anything for the Gibbs cars), but we were able to do what we needed to do today and that’s win the race.”
Polesitter Daniel Suarez led the field to the green flag and paced the first four circuits around the two-mile oval, but a three-wide dice down the backstretch on lap five saw Kyle Busch storm around the outside to take the lead, bringing Kyle Larson with him through the middle.
Busch would lead through the first caution of the day, flying at lap 10 when Ryan Preece had a tire issue that sent him spinning in turn four as a result. Under pit stops, contact between Kevin Harvick and Todd Peck meant that the defending race winner had to make an extra pit stop and dropped outside the top 30 for the first restart of the day. On that restart, Larson was able to assume command for a lap on the 14th round, but no sooner had he taken the lead than Busch snatched it right back.
The move would allow Rowdy to begin bumping the needle, and the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota had a lead of over two seconds when the second caution of the race came out on lap 30 for David Starr’s blown motor. A second pit cycle would restack the field for a restart with Brendan Gaughan leading the way on old tires, but Larson would use the same three-wide gambit that Busch had at the start of the race to move to the top of the pylon and lead at lap 35.
Four laps later, Busch was back on top, however. The six-time Fontana XFINITY winner would lead again with a blistering pace, despite a crash by Ray Black Jr. on the frontstretch that drew the yellow for the third time on lap 46.
Following that incident, the race took on a green-flag feel, with live pit stops rolling right at the halfway point as Busch, Ryan Preece and Aric Almirola, among others, shuffling the lead. It wouldn’t be long, though, before the race-long dominator resumed control with 72 laps remaining and began to walk away from the field.
(Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR photo)
A caution with 51 laps to go that saw both Larson smack the wall after a blown tire and B.J. McLeod stall on track would bunch the field up and allow everyone a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles with which to challenge Busch for the win. Ryan Blaney would come the closest, nearly clearing Busch for the top spot with 44 laps to go, but the Las Vegas native would not be denied until that final, game-changing lap.
Busch limped across the line in second and was furious over his radio on the cool-down lap.
“Debris all over the race track and they (NASCAR) don’t throw the yellow,” Busch fumed after leading 133 of the 150 laps. “I am just so pleased with you, NASCAR. Thanks! Y’all are awesome!”
Darrell Wallace Jr. matched his career-best NXS result by crossing the line third, with Suarez coasting home in fourth. Elliott Sadler rounded out the top five.
Harvick rebounded from his early-race troubles to finish sixth, followed by Gaughan, Larson, Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier.
Erik Jones ran out of fuel with three laps to go and was scored 15th at the finish, one lap down.
After making contact with Jones while racing for second at the 40 to go mark, Blaney’s right rear quarter panel fragmented apart over the course of the final green flag run. Blaney lost the lead lap with 21 laps left and ultimately finished 20th, two laps in arrears.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series returns to action in three weeks, on April 8, with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
RESULTS: NASCAR XFINITY Series; TreatMyClot.com 300; Auto Club Speedway; March 19, 2016
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Busch
- Darrell Wallace Jr.
- Daniel Suarez
- Elliott Sadler
- Kevin Harvick
- Brendan Gaughan
- Kyle Larson
- Brandon Jones
- Justin Allgaier
- Aric Almirola
- Blake Koch
- Brennan Poole
- Ryan Reed
- Erik Jones
- Jeb Burton
- Ty Dillon
- Corey LaJoie
- Ross Chastain
- Ryan Blaney
- Jeremy Clements
- Dakoda Armstrong
- Garrett Smithley
- Spencer Gallagher
- Ryan Preece
- Mario Gosselin
- J.J. Yeley
- Joey Gase
- Ryan Sieg
- Todd Peck
- Cody Ware
- Mike Harmon
- B.J. McLeod
- Derrike Cope
- Harrison Rhodes
- Dylan Lupton
- Ray Black Jr.
- David Starr
- Josh Wise
- Matt DiBenedetto
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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