Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Sieg of RSS Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):
● Started fifth and finished second.
● A caution on lap one resulted in a quick stop in the action. Busch was in sixth place. Green-flag racing resumed a few laps later and Busch settled into a comfortable pace.
● The iK9 driver got up to third place by lap 15 and was in second by the end of Stage 1.
● Busch was pleased with the handling of his No. 18 iK9 Toyota Supra, so the team elected to only change four tires and add fuel. Quick pit work allowed Busch to exit pit road in first place to begin the second stage.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):
● Started first and finished fourth.
● Stage 2 started off with a handful of cautions. Busch maintained the lead until green-flag racing resumed in earnest. He lost the lead on lap 71 to Tyler Reddick and then settled into the third position.
● The caution flag waved on lap 81 and Busch reported that his iK9 Toyota was too tight getting into the turns, but would then get loose in the center of the corner. The team used the opportunity to pit, making air pressure adjustments, changing four tires and adding fuel. Busch exited pit road first, but a handful of cars stayed out, placing Busch fourth for the lap-88 restart.
● Busch battled during the final laps of Stage 2, but settled for fourth place to complete the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):
● Started second and finished first.
● When the stage began, Busch worked to regain control of the lead, but eventually found a steady pace in third place. He quietly logged laps until the caution flag waved on lap 127. He reported that his car lacked the grip it needed.
● The iK9 team made a slight chassis adjustment, a minor air pressure adjustment, changed four tires and added fuel during the caution. Busch came to pit road in third place and maintained the position through the round of pit stops.
● Green-flag racing resumed on lap 132 and was quickly followed by a caution on lap 134 for an accident that unfolded directly behind the iK9 Toyota Supra. Crew chief Ben Beshore implored Busch to save fuel.
● The race restated on lap 140. A suddenly ill-handling iK9 Toyota Supra sent Busch back to ninth by lap 143. Despite this, Busch dug in and worked his way back through the field, cracking the top-five by lap 160 and grabbing third by lap 165. Busch reported that his car was still a little tight in the turns.
● Caution was displayed for a stalled car on pit road on lap 190. Busch was in third place.
● Needing a little more fuel to make it to the end of the race, Busch made a trip to pit road for a splash of gas. He was able to win the race off pit road and lined up in second place for the lap-195 restart.
● Busch jumped out to the lead during the final restart and held onto the top spot to score his third Xfinity Series win of 2019.
Notes:
● This was Busch’s 95th career Xfinity Series victory, his third of the season and his ninth at Texas. His margin of victory over second-place Tyler Reddick was .861 of a second.
● Busch has won three out of the four Xfinity Series races he has entered this season. His lone, non-winning finish was a second-place result March 16 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Busch’s average Xfinity Series finish this year is 1.25.
● Busch led three times for 33 laps in the My Bariatric Solutions 300.
● The No. 18 iK9 team remained first in the owners’ championship with 292 points. It holds a 24-point advantage over the No. 2 team of Richard Childress Racing.
● There were nine caution periods for a total of 50 laps in the My Bariatric Solutions 300.
● Only 14 of the 38 drivers finished on the lead lap.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 iK9 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing:
“This iK9, 1st Foundation Toyota Supra was awesome today. They gave me a really good piece on the long run. We worked on that in practice and it worked. Once you all get rolling and start running a rhythm, it was hard to catch the 20 (Christopher Bell) and the 2 (Tyler Reddick) there at the end. I could gain on them some, but then lapped cars would mess with you and take you backward. I just could never get people away from me on the front side of the run to just settle into my rhythm and settle into my run and be able to go. Every time I got to the outside people would just drive by me on the bottom, and then I’d get to the inside and somebody would bust it on the outside on me and make me loose. We were just all over the place. Certainly, it was a fast race car once I could get rolling.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Alsco 300 on Saturday, April 6 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.
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