Kyle Busch finds success out West

PHOENIX—Kyle Busch is NASCAR’s king of the wild west—at least on this swing.

 

The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made a clean sweep of the races at ISM Raceway. After Saturday’s Xfinity Series win, picked up his second-straight Cup victory and his third overall at the one-mile track on Sunday.

 

While several of his fellow competitors struggled with fuel mileage in the closing laps of the TicketGuardian 500, Busch was confident he could race to the finish. 

 

“I knew going back before we went green with however many to go that we were going to be right on the verge,” Busch said of his final pit stop on Lap 221 when he restarted eighth. “You got to go race hard first, then you have to worry about fuel afterward.

            

“Once I got there, once I got to (Ryan) Blaney, I was able to kind of save a little bit. Tried to take care of my tires again for the rest of the traffic we had to get through, make sure I had enough fuel to make it to the end.”

 

Busch led 177 laps and held off his teammate Martin Truex Jr. by 1.259-seconds at the finish. Blaney, who started from the pole and led 94 laps, finished third followed by Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano.

 

Blaney, Busch and Hamlin traded the lead during the first stage. When Brad Keselowski cut a tire to trigger the second caution on Lap 63. When the leaders pitted three laps later, Blaney remained on the track and regained the led on Lap 67. The Team Penske driver held onto the lead over the final eight laps for his second stage win of the season. 

 

Busch took the point before the start of Stage 2 and extended his lead to more than four seconds over the course of the next 70 laps until Alex Bowman wrecked in Turn 1. The stage ended under caution with Busch in the lead followed by Clint Bowyer and Harvick.

 

Busch held the lead for the restart and until he pitted 42 laps later after Bowman smacked the wall in Turn 3 on Lap 195. With a two-tire pit stop, Johnson took the lead out of the pits on Lap 197. Blaney, who was running seventh at the time of the caution, had a loose lug nut, was forced to return to the pits and restarted 18th on Lap 201. 

 

Johnson’s time in the lead was short-lived as Busch passed him before completing the first lap under green. Eighteen laps later, Chase Elliott ignited the seventh caution after spinning off of Turn 4. Following stops, Busch restarted eighth and forged his way forward. He was back up to fourth after Ryan Preece hit the wall on Lap 226. 

 

Almirola remained on the track to take the lead followed by Blaney when Preece spun for the ninth and final caution. Blaney regained the lead on Lap 252 but was forced to conserve fuel. 

 

“We were on two tires and I just held on,” said Blaney after his best finish in 2019. “Actually, ours held on a lot better than what I thought it was going to, but then when it got to 30 to go or 25 to go I got kind of tight and I couldn’t hit three and four anymore, and then I ran up on lap traffic and it absolutely killed me.  

 

“Once we got passed, we were kind of close on gas, so it was full fuel save mode when you know you’re not gonna win the race. It was a good call to take two tires. I don’t think we would have got to third on four because it was hard to pass out there. I’m proud of this team. We needed that. That’s where we’ve been running all year, it just hasn’t been where we’ve been finishing.”

 

Blaney led 44 laps before Busch hunted him down and took the lead for the sixth and final time on Lap 296. Truex, who restarted 13 on Lap 226, cut nine-seconds off of Busch’s lead over the final 22 laps to finish.

 

“The car was really fast there at the end,” Truex said. “Just a good day overall for our Bass Pro Camry. Everybody at JGR and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and everybody back at the shop is really doing a good job. Our boys in the pits did a good job today as well, so thanks to Cole (Pearn, crew chief). James (Small, engineer) and all the guys, we’re starting to click. 

 

“We’re a little bit off on Fridays and that’s getting us behind, but I feel like each weekend as the weekend goes, we’re getting a little strong and a little stronger. Two-second places are pretty decent. We’ll just keep chipping away at it. Had a fun day today and congrats to Kyle (Busch) and those guys.”

 

Busch vaulted from fourth to lead the Monster Energy Cup Series standings with his 52nd-career win. He’s one feature short of the 200-victory milestone across NASCAR’s top-three tours. 

 

“For myself and the career that I’ve had, I’ve been fortunate to be with a lot of great people, a lot of great sponsors, like Joe Gibbs, M&Ms, Interstate Batteries, that have always been behind me is what it’s all about for me,” Busch said. “To work with my guys, take them to Victory Lane is what it’s all about.”