AVONDALE, Ariz. – Brandon Jones motored past Kyle Busch late in Saturday’s LS Tractors 200 and pulled away to win his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season at Phoenix Raceway.
Busch started from the pole and led the most laps during Saturday’s race at the one-mile oval, but it was Jones who had the better car during long green flag runs.
The final restart of the race came with 47 to go and it was Busch who had the lead with Jones in tow. Busch got away during the restart, with Jones having to fend off Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson for second.
Busch would lead comfortably for more than 15 laps, but soon Jones began to close the gap and with 30 laps to go he was within striking distance of the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion.
For the next 10 laps Jones stayed glued to Busch’s back bumper, patiently looking for a way past. He found his moment coming to the start/finish line with 20 laps left. Using a run on the top in the traction compound, Jones dove to Busch’s inside as they raced towards turn one.
With momentum on his side, Jones was able to pull clear of Busch entering turn one to take the race lead. One out front Jones slowly pulled away, crossing the finish line more than three seconds ahead of his closest pursuer.
The victory, the second for Jones in the Xfinity Series, was Toyota’s 500th triumph in NASCAR national series competition.
“I could not believe he (Busch) left the bottom open,” Jones said. “We were so strong on that top lane. Toyota is the manufacturer to be with. I love these guys so much. It’s like a family working with them. Coach Gibbs is great.
“We’ve worked hard and we’re going to get big results this year because of it.”
Harrison Burton, who earned his first Xfinity Series victory one week ago at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., got by Busch 11 laps left and finished second. Busch ended up third at the checkered flag to give Joe Gibbs Racing a sweep of the top-three positions.
Brad Keselowski was fourth in his first Xfinity Series race of the season despite being involved in an incident that saw him bounce his No. 12 Ford off the outside wall in turns one and two. Justin Haley completed the top-five.
Chase Briscoe, Gragson, Cindric, Ross Chastain and Riley Herbst were sixth through 10th, respectively.
Justin Allgaier led 51 laps and won the opening stage and arguably had the best car in the field. His JR Motorsports team gambled on a late-race caution that never came, resulting in a 13th-place finish.
In the moments after the race there was a brief scuffle involving drivers Dillon Bassett, his brother Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Brandon Brown on pit road. The Dillon Bassett and Brown were involved in an on-track incident earlier in the race. The scrum was quickly broken up by NASCAR officials.
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