Kyle Busch Wins XFINITY Race at Phoenix, As the Final Four is Determined

AP Photo / Ralph Freso

AVONDALE, AZ – RIS -Kyle Busch led all but 10 laps en route to winning the Galaxy 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, but the big news was the race determined the final four who will race for the XFINITY Series championship.  The final four was in doubt not only during the race, but after it.  Elliott Sadler’s Chevrolet had two loose lug nuts, and that placed everything in limbo until NASCAR determined the penalty.  Elliott’s car had a loose lug nut last week at Texas Motor Speedway, which made for more drama.

In the end, Sadler will only lose his crew chief for the final race, so he joins Daniel Suarez, Justin Allgaier, and Erik Jones in the final four at Homestead Miami Speedway next Saturday.  JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing both put two cars in the final four which will be a shootout between Chevrolet and Toyota teams.

Sadler, a longtime NASCAR veteran, is seeking his first title at the national level and has his best chance this year in this winner-take-all format.

“We’re pumped about it, we really put all our eggs in one basket, and that’s that Homestead car,” he said.

Allgaier had to stretch a drying gas tank over the closing laps to claim his spot and keep Blake Koch out of the field. Koch was keeping an eye post-race on Sadler’s situation, but immediately apologized for an earlier incident with Darrell Wallace Jr. that knocked Wallace out of title contention.

Busch, meanwhile, is racing Sunday for a spot in Cup’s final four. New rules will make him ineligible to race in any Chase races in a lower series next year, so this was his last victory in the fall race at Phoenix.

Busch noted he’d learned something about the tires by running the Xfinity race, and he planned to confer with his Cup team to get better prepared for Sunday’s main event. The reigning Sprint Cup champion had the fastest car in Saturday’s final practice.

“We got a lot better, I feel like we’re at least in the ballpark,” Busch said of Sunday. “We’ve got a top-five race car and we’ll go from there.”

Brendan Gaughan’s championship chances ended when he wrecked with 63 laps remaining. He was in a must-win situation and came to Phoenix last in the eight-driver standings.

Wallace, who was seventh in the standings, was wrecked when Koch ran into Wallace’s lane to cause the accident. Wallace was mourning his grandmother, who died earlier this week, and had trouble controlling his emotions after.

“My grandmother was giving me the ride of my life,” said Wallace, nearly sobbing. “That was the most fun I have had all year. Just circumstances took us out.”

Full finishing agate was as follows:

Unofficial Race Results: 18th Annual Ticket Galaxy 200, Phoenix International Raceway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, TLd, LLd, BPts, Status
1) 1, Kyle Busch(i), No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota, 200, 0, 3, 190, , Running
2) 8, Austin Dillon(i), No. 2 Rheem Chevrolet, 200, 0, , , , Running
3) 13, Ricky Stenhouse Jr(i), No. 60 SunnyD Ford, 200, 0, , , , Running
4) 9, Justin Allgaier (C), No. 7 Suave Men Chevrolet, 200, 38, 1, 2, 1, Running
5) 6, Daniel Suarez (C), No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 200, 36, , , , Running
6) 3, Ryan Reed (C), No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, 200, 35, , , , Running
7) 22, Ty Dillon, No. 3 Red Kap/Prudential Overall Supply Chevrolet, 200, 35, 1, 5, 1, Running
8) 4, Blake Koch (C), No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 200, 33, , , , Running
9) 11, Brad Keselowski(i), No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, 200, 0, , , , Running
10) 2, Erik Jones (C) #, No. 20 Hisense Toyota, 200, 32, 1, 3, 1, Running
11) 14, Brennan Poole #, No. 48 DC Solar Chevrolet, 200, 30, , , , Running
12) 17, Aric Almirola(i), No. 98 Carroll Shelby Engine Co Ford, 200, 0, , , , Running
13) 10, Elliott Sadler (C), No. 1 OneMain Chevrolet, 200, 28, , , , Running
14) 15, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Big Valley Towing Chevrolet, 200, 27, , , , Running
15) 19, Justin Marks, No. 42 Katerra Chevrolet, 200, 26, , , , Running
16) 20, Cole Whitt(i), No. 14 Rinnai Toyota, 200, 0, , , , Running
17) 24, JJ Yeley, No. 44 Zachry Toyota, 199, 24, , , , Running
18) 16, Brandon Jones #, No. 33 Okuma Chevrolet, 199, 23, , , , Running
19) 12, Dakoda Armstrong, No. 28 JGL Racing Toyota, 199, 22, , , , Running
20) 21, Ross Chastain, No. 4 CarShield.com Chevrolet, 199, 21, , , , Running
21) 30, Brandon Gdovic, No. 46 TCC Chevrolet, 199, 20, , , , Running
22) 26, Ryan Preece #, No. 01 GK Services Chevrolet, 199, 19, , , , Running
23) 33, Alex Labbe, No. 90 Can-Am Chevrolet, 197, 18, , , , Running
24) 32, Joey Gase, No. 52 Donate Life AZ Chevrolet, 197, 17, , , , Running
25) 36, BJ McLeod #, No. 78 BJ McLeod Motorsports Ford, 197, 16, , , , Running
26) 37, Brandon Hightower, No. 13 OprtnScndChnce/TmmnsTrckCntr Dodge, 196, 15, , , , Running
27) 35, Austin Theriault(i), No. 25 Cross Insurance Chevrolet, 196, 0, , , , Running
28) 40, Josh Bilicki, No. 97 VroomBrands Chevrolet, 191, 13, , , , Running
29) 39, Mike Harmon, No. 74 Jr Peters Roadside Auto Dodge, 190, 12, , , , Running
30) 38, DJ Kennington, No. 15 Wilride Transport LTD Ford, 165, 11, , , , Engine
31) 23, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 RprblVhcls.cm/AllSthElctrc.cm Chev, 150, 10, , , , Accident
32) 5, Darrell Wallace Jr (C), No. 6 Leidos Ford, 148, 9, , , , Accident
33) 18, Corey LaJoie, No. 24 Youtheory Toyota, 148, 8, , , , Accident
34) 34, Garrett Smithley #, No. 0 Rudy's Country Store & BBQ Chevrolet, 145, 7, , , , Accident
35) 25, Brendan Gaughan (C), No. 62 South Point Chevrolet, 136, 6, , , , Accident
36) 27, Ray Black Jr #, No. 07 Scuba Life Chevrolet, 103, 5, , , , Accident
37) 28, Jeff Green, No. 99 BJ McLeod Motorsports Ford, 90, 4, , , , Accident
38) 7, Alex Bowman, No. 88 Hughes General Contractors Chevrolet, 54, 3, , , , Accident
39) 31, Timmy Hill(i), No. 40 Phoenix Air/UTVINT.com Toyota, 14, 0, , , , Brakes
40) 29, Matt DiBenedetto(i), No. 10 Toyota, 3, 0, , , , Vibration

# = Rookie, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led.
Average Speed: 97.310 MPH
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 03 Mins, 19 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 6.115 Seconds
Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers
Cautions: 6 for 39 laps