It was just another day at the races for Kyle Busch as he cruised to another Xfinity Series win on Saturday. But nothing else in the Ticket Galaxy 200 was at all ordinary. Busch led 190 of 200 laps on the way to his 10th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season.
Amazingly, the Ticket Galaxy 200 was his 10th victory at the one-mile oval. It was also the 86th of his racing career, extending his own series record. Kyle “Rowdy” Busch out-raced second placed finisher Austin Dillon to the finish line by 6.115 seconds. NASCAR Sprint Cup mainstay Ricky Stenhouse Jr., ran third in his first Xfinity Series start since 2013.
“It means a lot,” said Busch, who won his 170th race across NASCAR’s top three touring series. “That’s what we set out to do tonight, and we’ve been really fast here at Phoenix. We’ve had some great race cars and Chris Gayle (crew chief) and all these guys do such a great job each and every week preparing these things — and it’s fun to win here.”
JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez also secured spots in the Championship 4. Allgaier finished in the fourth spot and Suarez in fifth in the Ticket Galaxy 200. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones also found his way into the final next week in Miami. Luckily, the dominate driver recovered from a mistake on pit road on Lap 93 to round out the top 10 in tenth.
But the real drama of the Ticket Galaxy 200 waited until the event was over. JR Motorsport’s Elliott Sadler sat nervously on pit road as NASCAR officials decided whether loose lug nuts would cost the veteran his crew chief Kevin Meendering, in the season finale.
Officials found two loose lug nuts, which mean Kevin Meendering will have to serve a suspension at Homestead-Miami next week. Unfortunately, Elliott Sadler does not know who his crew chief will be at Homestead. Rumor has it, that Sadler is lobbying for team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take over the pit box for his attempt at a championship.
“The emotions of the last 30 minutes have been tough,” Sadler said. “We knew one was loose, and one was in question. Kevin’s pretty much become my best friend, and Kevin’s also made me a race car driver again this year.”
NASCAR Xfinity Series Managing Director Wayne Auton, said there was never a chance that Elliott Sadler would’ve lost his spot in the final four in Homestead-Miami. The results of that would have been to devastating for the nature of the offence.
“At the end of the race, we bring all the cars down to the entrance of pit road for inspection of the wheels and the lug nuts,” Auton said. “We also observed that the No. 1 car had two lug nuts not secured to the wheel. With that being said, all the teams were very much aware at the start of the Chase of the violations that could come about. We’ve advised the team that they’re going to be looking for a crew chief for next week and a monetary fine of about $10,000. It’s clearly in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Rule Book.”
Mathew Kaulig Racing’s Blake Koch finished eighth and lost his opportunity to compete in the final next Saturday. Consequently, he missed out on the chance for a championship by only four points to Elliott Sadler.
Joining Blake Koch on the Chase cut-list was sixth placer finisher Ryan Reed. He also will not be competing for a title next week in Miami. Finally, Brendan Gaughan and Darrell Wallace Jr., were wrecked and eliminated before the Ticket Galaxy 200 was even 150 laps old.
Darrell Wallace’s grandmother died the week before the Ticket Galaxy 200, and the his #6 Ford carried her name, “Granny Jan,” above the speedster’s door. On Lap 148, Blake Koch dashed to the inside of Turn 4 and crashed Wallace’s hot-rod into the inside barrier.
“My grandmother was giving me the ride of my life,” Wallace said, his voice breaking with emotion. “That was the most fun I have had all year. Just circumstances took us out. It’s just hard. Thanks, Granny, I love you. We will go on to Homestead and let her ride again.”
Final Results for the Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix International Speedway:
1. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200 laps, 0 rating, 0 points.
2. (8) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 0.
3. (13) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 200, 0, 0.
4. (9) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 38.
5. (6) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200, 0, 36.
6. (3) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200, 0, 35.
7. (22) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 35.
8. (4) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 33.
9. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 200, 0, 0.
10. (2) Erik Jones, Toyota, 200, 0, 32.
11. (14) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 30.
12. (17) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200, 0, 0.
13. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 28.
14. (15) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 27.
15. (19) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, 200, 0, 26.
16. (20) Cole Whitt, Toyota, 200, 0, 0.
17. (24) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 199, 0, 24.
18. (16) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 199, 0, 23.
19. (12) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 199, 0, 22.
20. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199, 0, 21.
21. (30) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 199, 0, 20.
22. (26) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 199, 0, 19.
23. (33) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 197, 0, 18.
24. (32) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 197, 0, 17.
25. (36) B J McLeod, Ford, 197, 0, 16.
26. (37) Brandon Hightower, Toyota, 196, 0, 15.
27. (35) Austin Theriault, Ford, 196, 0, 0.
28. (40) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 191, 0, 13.
29. (39) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 190, 0, 12.
30. (38) D.J. Kennington, Ford, engine, 165, 0, 11.
31. (23) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, accident, 150, 0, 10.
32. (5) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, accident, 148, 0, 9.
33. (18) Corey Lajoie, Toyota, accident, 148, 0, 8.
34. (34) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, accident, 145, 0, 7.
35. (25) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, accident, 136, 0, 6.
36. (27) Ray Black Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 103, 0, 5.
37. (28) Jeff Green, Ford, accident, 90, 0, 4.
38. (7) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, accident, 54, 0, 3.
39. (31) Timmy Hill, Dodge, brakes, 14, 0, 0.
40. (29) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, vibration, 3, 0, 0.
Race Statistics:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 97.329 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 19 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 6.115 seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 39 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers.
