Kyle Busch dominates Xfinity races for third consecutive week

Credit: Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

By Carol D’Agostino

If you tuned into the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday and thought you were watching a re-broadcast of last week’s race - or was it the week before? The answer is yes and no. It wasn’t a re-broadcast, but the results were identical. For the third consecutive week, Kyle Busch has won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in dominating fashion.

When the final statistics were tallied, Busch led 175 of 200 laps, scoring his ninth victory at Phoenix International Raceway, which sets the record of total wins by a single driver at an active Xfinity Series track. Mark Martin holds the all-time record with 11 wins at Rockingham.

This is Busch’s third victory and third top-10 finish in 2016 in the Xfinity Series. He is now tied with Kevin Harvick for second-most wins at Phoenix with 12. Busch is also the lap leader at the track, and became the first driver to lead over 2,500 laps at Phoenix. His total laps led at Phoenix now sits at 2,639.



Despite his day of dominance, Busch said it wasn’t easy.

“It’s not as easy as it looks, definitely not today with my teammates right behind me breathing down my neck all day. They were fast, and they made me drive as hard as I could all day long. I never could give up or take it easy out there in order to try to save my stuff. They were pushing me,” he added.

The official race results were:


1. Kyle Busch
2. Erik Jones
3. Daniel Suárez
4. Justin Allgaier
5. Chase Elliott(i)
6. Ty Dillon
7. Austin Dillon(i)
8. Elliott Sadler
9. Brad Keselowski(i)
10. Brennan Poole
11. Brandon Jones
12. Darrell Wallace Jr.
13. Brendan Gaughan
14. Ryan Reed
15. Justin Marks
16. Blake Koch
17. Jeb Burton
18. Dakoda Armstrong
19. Dylan Lupton
20. JJ Yeley
21. Ryan Preece
22. David Starr
23. Spencer Gallagher(i)
24. Ross Chastain
25. Ray Black Jr.
26. TJ Bell Jr.
27. Ryan Sieg
28. Jeremy Clements
29. BJ McLeod
30. Harrison Rhodes
31. Garrett Smithley
32. Timmy Hill(i)
33. Joey Gase
34. Derrike Cope
35. Mario Gosselin
36. DJ Kennington
37. Todd Peck
38. Mike Harmon
39. Morgan Shepherd
40. Jeff Green