Polesitter Ryan Blaney held a charging Kyle Busch as long as he could, but he couldn’t hold onto the lead as Busch’s No. 18 passed the No. 12 for the lead on Lap 296 with 17 laps to go at ISM Raceway on Sunday. Busch stretched his lead in the waning laps in the desert, notching his 199th NASCAR victory, one away from tying Richard Petty.
Busch, who paced the field for 177 laps, also won Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, marking a weekend sweep for the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
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Martin Truex Jr. passed Blaney’s Team Penske Ford in the final circuits to finish second in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Blaney notched a third-place finish after leading 94 laps, while Aric Almirola came up fourth in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Nine-time Phoenix winner and race favorite Kevin Harvick made slight contact with Jimmie Johnson at the Lap 232 restart, prompting him to lose ground as he headed to pit road for a four-tire stop. He emerged 21st and only made it up to ninth by the race’s end.
Outside polesitter Elliott was penalized for a restart violation on the opening lap and had to serve a pass-through penalty. He battled back through the field but spun out at Lap 218 after radioing in to his No. 9 crew about a vibration while running in the top 10. He finished 14th.
A string of incidents marked Stage 1 in the desert: Erik Jones, who was running 12th, smacked the wall after a right-rear tire went down on his No. 20 Toyota. Shortly after, Brad Keselowski began struggling with his No. 2 Ford, fading rapidly. He brushed the wall after something broke on his right front. Daniel Suarez had to get a push for his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford onto pit road, but was able to continue the race.
Blaney won Stage 1, while Kyle Busch won Stage 2, which ended under caution after Alex Bowman had a tire go down three laps before the end of the stage.
The Monster Energy Series is back on track next Sunday at Auto Club Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX/MRN), the final race of the West Coast Swing.
This story will be updated.
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