Kyle Busch makes it look easy as Joe Gibbs Racing sweeps Xfinity race at Phoenix

By Jerry BonkowskiMar 12, 2016, 4:43 PM EST

(Getty Images)

Winning his third consecutive Xfinity Series race this season, Kyle Busch led a Joe Gibbs Racing onslaught in Saturday’s Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Busch, who led 175 of the event’s 200 laps, took the checkered flag at PIR for the ninth time in his Xfinity Series career, while teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez finished second and third, respectively.

“I guess we just have a knack for this place,” Busch said on Fox after the race. “We didn’t sit on the pole, but our teammates did and were obviously very fast. They made me run hard all day long.”

Not only was it the third race in a row that JGR drivers qualified 1-2-3 (a NASCAR record), it was also the second consecutive week that the organization has finished 1-2-3.

NASCAR announced after the race that Jones’ car was cited for rear toe outside of tolerance when measured by the Laser Inspection Station. NASCAR will address possible sanctions this coming week.

Justin Allgaier finished fourth with Chase Elliott completing the top five.

MORE: Results from Saturday’s Axalta 200 at Phoenix

MORE: Daniel Suarez remains No. 1 in Xfinity Series standings

HOW BUSCH WON: Busch led three times for 175 laps, including the final 14 laps to take the checkered flag. Pole-sitter Erik Jones (five laps), Ty Dillon (11 laps) and Brad Keselowski (nine laps) were the only drivers to lead laps in the event. Busch had the best car in the field and went on to win his 79th career Xfinity Series race.

WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: As Busch ran, so did teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez, who finished second and third, respectively. Justin Allgaier finished fourth, one of three JR Motorsports drivers to finish in the top 10 (Chase Elliott was fifth and Elliott Sadler was eighth). … Ty Dillon (sixth) also had a strong showing.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Jeremy Clements was head for a likely top-20 finish until he wrecked on Lap 58. Clements finished 28th. JJ Yeley (20th) and David Starr (22nd) also had wrecks that impacted their finishes.

NOTABLE: Busch has won nine of the last 17 Xfinity races he’s started, including all three in 2016, having also won at Atlanta and last week at Las Vegas.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The Xfinity Series, it’s fun to come here and participate. I learn a lot and do that for a reason – to try and make myself better on Sundays.” – Kyle Busch on why he races so often in the Xfinity Series.

WHAT’S NEXT: NASCAR Xfinity Series 300, March 19 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

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Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Mike HembreeMay 29, 2023, 9:06 PM EDT

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CONCORD, N.C. — It was the longest wait for the longest race, and it ended on a very long day. And it marked the end of a long winless streak.

Ryan Blaney sprinted away from William Byron in the closing laps of Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and ended a 59-race winless streak.

Byron finished second and was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.

Blaney pushed through several late-race restarts and held on to finally write finish to a frustrating losing string.

“You start to feel like you can’t win any more when you don’t win for a while,” an emotional Blaney said after the race.

Following the lead of his Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden, who won Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 and went into the stands to celebrate with fans, Blaney ran into the CMS frontstretch grandstands after grabbing the checkered flag.

Contender Kyle Larson lost control of his car on a restart with 26 laps to go, starting a crash that also involved Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell.

The race was postponed by rain Sunday and was delayed by showers Monday. Rain had soaked the track most of the weekend, postponing the Cup and Xfinity Series races and cancelling Saturday night’s Cup practice and qualifying. Monday’s forecast was better, but the weather refused to cooperate. Rain interrupted the Xfinity race, which started at 11 a.m., and another shower stopped the Cup race during the second stage.

Charlotte Motor Speedway, which advertises itself as “America’s Home for Racing,” had become America’s home for raining.

A mid-race collision between Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin left their cars seriously damaged and their feelings hurt. They were racing in close quarters on lap 186 when extended contact between the two cars sent Hamlin hard into the wall, resulting in major front-end damage. Elliott’s car sustained serious rear damage.

Hamlin said Elliott had a “tantrum” and that he should be suspended for the next race for what Hamlin called “a right rear hook.” Elliott denied intentionally wrecking Hamlin.

A few laps earlier, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski crashed.

The third-stage win went to Blaney. Following were Reddick, Truex, Byron and Ty Gibbs.

Chris Buescher won the second stage, leading Kevin Harvick, Keselowski, Joey Logano and Gibbs.

Byron won the first stage, leading a three-way battle with Christopher Bell and Blaney on the 100th lap. Bell was second, Blaney third, Reddick fourth and Truex Jr. fifth.

A crash involving Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola resulted in the drivers having a tense red-flag discussion. Almirola shoved Wallace before the altercation was broken up.

Stage 1 winner: William Byron

Stage 2 winner: Chris Buescher

Stage 3 winner: Ryan Blaney

Who had a good race: Ryan Blaney had the day’s fastest car and held off a following herd over the final miles. … William Byron was strong throughout the race but couldn’t challenge Blaney at the end.

Who had a bad race: Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson had a tough day in his third race of the year. He lost control of his car in Turn 2 74 laps into the race and slapped the outside wall. He lost a lap in the pits and ultimately finished last. … Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin had top-10 cars but both left the race after a controversial collision near the halfway point.

Next: The series moves on to World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois for a June 4 race at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott involved in big crash at Charlotte

By Mike HembreeMay 29, 2023, 6:46 PM EDT

CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott were involved in a big crash midway through Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and each blamed the other.

Elliott’s car slapped the outside wall near the start-finish line, and his car made contact with Hamlin’s Toyota, sending Hamlin slamming into the wall. The front end of Hamlin’s car was smashed. Elliott’s Chevrolet also was damaged.

Both drivers parked for the evening, and neither was happy.

Hamlin said Elliott had a “tantrum” and said he should be suspended from next week’s race.

“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightway,” Hamlin said. “Yes, it was a tantrum. He shouldn’t be racing next week. Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. He shouldn’t be racing.”

Elliott had a different view.

“The 11 (Hamlin) put me in the fence, and once you take the right sides off these things it’s kind of over,” he said. “Once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them any more.”

Elliott denied intentionally hitting Hamlin, saying the crash was “unfortunate circumstances.”

Brad Keselowski hit the rear of Elliott’s car after the initial contact between Hamlin and Elliott.

After the crash, Hamlin tweeted data in support of his contention that Elliott drove into him.

Removing all doubt. His steering came back to the exact same position it had previously after we came off the wall.
The higher the line on steering the further LEFT it’s going. pic.twitter.com/DKo7mrLz28

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 29, 2023

Monday Charlotte Cup race: Start time, TV info, weather

By Mike HembreeMay 29, 2023, 10:50 AM EDT

After two days of soaking rains, the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is set for a 3 p.m. ET start Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 600-mile marathon was scheduled for a 6:21 p.m. start Sunday, but persistent rain forced a postponement to Memorial Day.

A look at the Monday Cup schedule:

Details for Monday’s Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

START: The command to start engines will be given at 3:12 p.m. by USO official Barry Morris and retired drivers Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte. … The green flag is scheduled to be waved at 3:23 p.m.

PRERACE: Driver introductions are scheduled at 2:30 p.m. … The invocation will be given by retired Air Force Master Sergeant Monty Self at 3 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Elizabeth Marino at 3:04 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 400 laps (600 miles) on the 1.5-mile track.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 100. Stage 2 ends at Lap 200. Stage 3 ends at Lap 300.

STARTING LINEUP: Charlotte Cup starting lineup

TV/RADIO: Fox will broadcast the race at 3 p.m. … Performance Racing Network coverage begins at 3 p.m. and can be heard on goprn.com. … SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the PRN broadcast.

STREAMING: Foxsports.com

FORECAST: Weather Underground — The forecast calls for overcast skies with a high of 71. There is a 15% chance of rain at the start of the race.

LAST TIME: Denny Hamlin won last year’s 600 as the race was extended to two overtimes, making it the longest race in distance in Cup history.

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Details for Monday’s Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

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