NASCAR
Rowdy Reigns Supreme in the Desert, as Kyle Busch Pulls off Phoenix Sweep
All weekend long at ISM Raceway, it was all about Kyle Busch. The Las Vegas native was in his prime on both Saturday and Sunday. Busch would take the Xfinity and Cup Series wins in dominating fashion. This Phoenix sweep puts him on the doorstep of history, as Kyle now has 199 overall NASCAR wins.
Xfinity Race Starts off on the Wrong Foot
Saturday’s 200-mile Xfinity Series race was setting up to be a thriller. Kyle Busch entered the day as the favorite, but some Xfinity regulars were also looking like contenders. Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick beat Busch in qualifying, and both were hoping to keep him from any hopes of a Phoenix sweep.
Early on, it was far from a simple race for Busch in the 18 Supra. Christopher Bell would dominate Stage 1 from the pole, but lost the lead late. After a caution, Austin Cindric took the win in the first Stage. This marks Cindric’s first Stage win of the season. Busch would finish Stage 1 in 3rd position.
Stage 2 was more of a familiar sight for Kyle, as he was up front and leading laps. However, Bell got by Busch on lap 70, and did not look back. Stage 2 at Phoenix marked Bell’s 3rd Stage win of the year. Kyle was locked out of Stage victories on Saturday, but the overall victory was another story.
Challengers Taken Out Late on Saturday
Early in the final Stage at Phoenix, there was a turning point in the race. With 70 laps to go, the 01 car of Stephen Leicht had an engine expire. The cloud of white smoke and fluids bellowing out of the 01 sent Bell and Justin Allgaier into the wall. The damage to the then-2nd and 3rd place cars took 2 of the fastest cars out of the race. Bell would finish 30th, as he did not return. Meanwhile, Allgaier would continue on to a 14th place result. This crash took out Busch’s toughest competition for the Xfinity victory.
Busch would only give up the lead in his last pit stop, and held on for a dominating Xfinity Series win at Phoenix. The first step in the Phoenix sweep was complete for Busch, with some additional significance. This win at Phoenix was Busch’s 11th Xfinity win at this track, which ties a series record. Also, this was Busch’s 94th Xfinity Series win, and gave him 198 overall NASCAR victories. After Saturday, Busch’s attention was put towards a potential Phoenix sweep on Sunday.
Trouble for Fan Favorite at the Start of Cup Race
For Sunday’s race at Phoenix, the front row was 2 of NASCAR’s young stars. Ryan Blaney won the pole on Friday, with Chase Elliott right alongside him. At the start, there was a bit of controversy among these 2 drivers. Chase Elliott, the 2nd place starter, beat Ryan Blaney to the line. This is an illegal start, and Chase Elliott was penalized for it. However Elliott’s losses were short term, as he was back into the top 10 by the end of Stage 1.
Tire Issues for Contenders in Stage 1
Stage 1 on Sunday was broken up by 2 cautions, each for a driver having a tire issue. On lap 39, Erik Jones had a flat right rear and went spinning in turn 1. Just over 20 laps later, Brad Keselowski had a similar problem. The 2 Mustang blew a rear tire in turn 1 and grazed the wall. This put him behind the 8-ball for the rest of the race.
By the end of Stage 1, polesitter Blaney had kept the top spot. Blaney was attempting to make it 3-straight wins for each of Team Penske’s 3 drivers. Not far behind Blaney, Busch finished Stage 1 in 5th, after leading 25 laps.
Rowdy Runs Away in Stage 2
For the entirety of Stage 2, Kyle Busch led the way in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch did not have to outlast any restarts for this Stage win, as there were no cautions in Stage 2. However, Stage 2 did finish under a yellow flag, when Alex Bowman hit the wall late. This Stage win marks Busch’s second of the year, and first since Daytona.
Scary Moment for McDowell
Just 2 laps into the final stage at ISM Raceway, an unusual problem unfolded for Michael McDowell. Coming out of turn 2, the 34’s throttle hung, causing McDowell to slam on the brakes. McDowell was piled into by teammate David Ragan, and the caution flew again. This incident would relegate McDowell to a 36th place effort.
Closing Laps Battle Between Busch and Blaney
Due to a jumbled running order after pit stops, Ryan Blaney leapfrogged Kyle Busch, and was up front late. Blaney took the lead with 60 to go, and was forced to drive on the defense, holding off a hard charging 18. Blaney did an admirable job of maintaining his lead, as Kyle couldn’t close in for several laps. With 17 laps left however, Kyle finally passed Blaney. But Kyle did have his work cut out for him during this run. When the leaders made their way by Bubba Wallace, the 43 was blocking the 18 in order to help out Blaney.
For the final 17 laps, Kyle Busch maintained his lead and went on to a dominating win. With 4 laps to go though, 2nd place did change hands as Martin Truex Jr. passed Blaney. This meant a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, which has happened twice in 4 races so far this year.
The top 10 finishers from Phoenix were Busch, Truex, Blaney, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano.
Significance of the win for Rowdy
Part 2 of the Phoenix sweep had a few bits of added weight for Kyle Busch. This was his 3rd Phoenix win, 1st victory of 2018, and the 52nd checkered flag of his Cup Series career. For 15 years now, Kyle has won at least 1 race, which leads all active drivers.
In Busch’s widely publicized quest for 200 overall NASCAR wins, the Phoenix sweep almost puts him at this historic feat. With both wins from this weekend, Kyle now has 199 wins across all 3 NASCAR national series. He needs just 1 more win to get the 200 victories mark. With Kyle entered in multiple races for each of the next 3 weeks, he will likely hit 200 sooner rather than later.
How to Watch the Next Race
Up next for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the last stop of the West Coast Swing, California’s Auto Club Speedway. The Auto Club 400 is next Sunday, March 17 at 3:30 PM EST on Fox, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Martin Truex Jr. won this race a year ago, but the new rules package on the 2 mile speedway should allow the field of potential winners to be wide open.
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter: @PeterStratta
