Kyle Busch Sweeps Phoenix by Passing Ryan Blaney with 16 to Go

LAT Photo

AVONDALE, AZ – RIS – Kyle Busch completed a sweep of two races this weekend at ISM Raceway by winning both the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race on Sunday.  Busch also added to his total wins in all three series which now stands at 199.

Busch tracked down Ryan Blaney over a long green-flag run before passing his Team Penske rival for the lead with 16 laps to go, then made his fuel and tires last to the checkered flag to add a victory in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday to his triumph in the Xfinity Series race.

"We were going to be right on the verge,'' Busch said. "You have to go hard first and worry about fuel afterward. After I got Blaney, I was able to save a little bit and take care of my tires for the rest of the lapped traffic I had to get through.''

Busch's latest big weekend gives him 199 wins in NASCAR's top three series, including 52 at the Cup level. He will go for the 200-milestone next weekend at Auto Club Speedway in California.  This is not to be confused with MENC record of 200 wins won by Richard Petty.  This was totally in the Monster Energy Cup Series.

When asked when the 200th victory might come, Busch answered, "It's not for me to worry about. It's for everybody else to discuss and talk about and debate over,'' he said of its importance. "But for myself and the view I've had, I've been fortunate to be around a lot of great people and a lot of great sponsors.''

Busch’s crew chief had few worries about having enough fuel to finish the race on Sunday, but it didn’t seem to worry Busch at all.  Some drivers did run out of fuel as the laps came down to the finish.  Austin Dillon, driving the No.3 Chevrolet was one.

Busch won the Xfinity race last weekend but failed to get the Cup race.  If he had, it would have been two weekends in a row, but this weekend was good enough.

"This makes last weekend feel so much stupider,'' he said. "I wish we would have swept last weekend, too, with two weekend sweeps in a row. But we'll take what we got today.''

Martin Truex Jr. also got around Blaney to finish second, taking advantage of a No. 19 car that kept getting better on longer runs. Blaney wound up third after starting on the pole, and after having to make two stops during the final caution because of a lugnut that would have come loose.

"I was kind of riding, trying to save tires, trying to save gas,'' said Blaney, who opted for two tires and track position on his final stop. "I think [Busch] was kind of riding back there, too. He knew what situation I was in. I started to get tight and we got to lapped cars and I was done.''

Still, it was a momentum building result for Blaney, who had watched Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski reach Victory Lane the past two weeks. Blaney had been outside the top 20 in each of his first three races this season.

"It definitely was a good weekend after the start of the year we had,'' Blaney said. "A good day, the day we needed. We've been poised to have days like this and contend for wins and it just hasn't happened this year. This is what we deserve.''

Aric Almirola was fourth and Denny Hamlin was fifth, his car also performing better on long green-flag runs. Kyle Larsen drove to sixth from the back of the field after failing to get his money lap in during qualifying before time expired, while Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson also had strong runs.

"If you can't win, it's just about maximizing your day,'' Almirola said, "and we were really close on fuel. I didn't want to run out and finish 20th. I wanted to salvage a top-5 out of the day.''

Blaney has won the first stage from the pole by regaining the lead when Brad Keselowski brought out a caution, and Busch took the second stage under caution following Alex Bowman's tire problem.

The usual master of ISM Raceway, Kevin Harvick, was the odds-on favorite for Sunday’s race, but handling problems hindered his day.  His ninth-place finish was unusual for Harvick.

The Cup drivers head back to the west next week.  The next race is March 17th at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Race Results for the 15th Annual TicketGuardian 500 - ISM Raceway - March 10, 2019

Fin, St, Driver, Car, , Laps, St1, St2, Pts, Status, Tms, Laps, Playoff Pts
1) 4, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Toyota, 312, 5, 1, 56, Running, 6, 177, 6
2) 9, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 312, , 4, 42, Running, , , 
3) 1, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 MoneyLion Ford, 312, 1, , 44, Running, 5, 94, 1
4) 14, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 312, 2, , 42, Running, 1, 26, 
5) 3, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 312, , 5, 38, Running, 4, 7, 
6) 31, Kyle Larson, No. 42 McDonald's Chevrolet, 312, 6, , 36, Running, , , 
7) 16, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Global Poker Chevrolet, 312, , 10, 31, Running, , , 
8) 15, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 312, , 7, 33, Running, 1, 4, 
9) 8, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Jimmy John's Ford, 312, 10, 3, 37, Running, , , 
10) 12, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 312, 3, 8, 38, Running, , , 
11) 26, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 ITsavvy Ford, 312, , 2, 35, Running, , , 
12) 18, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Bacon Ford, 312, , 6, 30, Running, , , 
13) 19, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Sunny D Ford, 312, , , 24, Running, , , 
14) 2, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet, 312, 9, 9, 27, Running, , , 
15) 20, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 312, , , 22, Running, , , 
16) 22, Chris Buescher, No. 37 Kroger Flavor Fill Up Chevrolet, 312, , , 21, Running, , , 
17) 17, Paul Menard, No. 21 Menards/Quaker State Ford, 311, , , 20, Running, , , 
18) 11, Daniel Hemric #, No. 8 Okuma Chevrolet, 311, , , 19, Running, 1, 4, 
19) 5, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford, 311, , , 18, Running, , , 
20) 30, Matt Tifft #, No. 36 Surface Sunscreen/Tunity Ford, 311, , , 17, Running, , , 
21) 13, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Chevrolet, 311, 7, , 20, Running, , , 
22) 23, Bubba Wallace, No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet, 311, , , 15, Running, , , 
23) 28, Daniel Suarez, No. 41 Ruckus Ford, 311, , , 14, Running, , , 
24) 7, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 310, 8, , 16, Running, , , 
25) 29, David Ragan, No. 38 Select Blinds Ford, 310, , , 12, Running, , , 
26) 24, Corey LaJoie, No. 32 Schluter Systems Ford, 310, , , 11, Running, , , 
27) 33, Ross Chastain(i), No. 15 FitStrong Chevrolet, 308, , , 0, Running, , , 
28) 25, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 95 Procore Toyota, 308, , , 9, Running, , , 
29) 10, Erik Jones, No. 20 Reser's Fine Foods Toyota, 304, , , 8, Running, , , 
30) 35, Quin Houff, No. 77 Rim Ryderz Chevrolet, 302, , , 7, Running, , , 
31) 36, Bayley Currey(i), No. 52 Mtel-One Ford, 301, , , 0, Running, , , 
32) 34, Cody Ware #, No. 51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet, 300, , , 5, Running, , , 
33) 32, Landon Cassill, No. 00 Iron Mountain Data Centers Chevrolet, 267, , , 4, Running, , , 
34) 21, Ryan Preece #, No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 229, , , 3, Accident, , , 
35) 6, Alex Bowman, No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 191, 4, , 9, Accident, , , 
36) 27, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford, 157, , , 1, Accident, , ,  
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Time of Race: 3 hrs, 4 min, 5 sec.
Total Race Length - 312 Laps - 312 miles
Average Speed: 101.693 mph
Margin of Victory: 1.259 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 10, 22, 88, 18, 42, 3, 24, 9, 4
Stage 2 Top 10: 18, 14, 4, 19, 11, 6, 48, 22, 9, 1

Race Comments: Kyle Busch won the 15th running of the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, his 52nd victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, the following car(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: None.

Caution Flags: 9 for 57 laps; Laps: 39-44 (#20 Spin Turn 2 [37]); 65-70 (#2 Incident Turn 1 [52]); 77-83 (Stage 1 Conclusion [2]); 149-157 (#88 Incident Turn 1 [None]); 160-165 (#34 Incident Turn 3 [37]); 195-200 (#88 Incident Turn 3 [24]); 220-225 (#9 Spin Turn 4 [43]); 227-232 (#47 Incident Backstretch [2]); 234-238 (#47 Incident Turn 1 [36]).

Lead Changes: 17 among 6 drivers; R. Blaney 1-35; K. Busch 36-40; R. Blaney 41; D. Hamlin 42-45; K. Busch 46-65; D. Hamlin 66; R. Blaney 67-79; K. Busch 80-152; D. Hamlin 153; K. Busch 154-195; R. Blaney 196; J. Johnson 197-200; K. Busch 201-220; D. Hamlin 221; D. Hemric # 222-225; A. Almirola 226-251; R. Blaney 252-295; K. Busch 296-312.

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