By John Schutt –
NASCAR Monster Energy Series, Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif., Sunday, March 17.
Fittingly, the green car driven by Kyle Busch won the Auto Club 400 on St. Patrick’s Day! Following Kyle Busch was Joe Logano in second place, Brad Keselowski in third, Kevin Harvick in fourth, and Ryan Blaney in fifth.
Austin Dillon had fastest car in time trials and started at the pole position.
Ten laps into the race Gibbs teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were in the first and second positions, respectively. A few laps later Austin Dillon had a tire blowout and he clipped the wall along. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., and Eric Jones all received damage.
On the restart Hamlin got the lead, but Kyle Busch got around for the victory of the first stage with Logano in second place in the Penski Ford. Much of the second stage was led by Keselowski.
Kyle Busch was in the top three most of the time until a pit stop in which he was penalized for speeding while leaving the pits. Kyle Busch spent the rest of the stage driving through the field to get to the front to win the second stage.
Logano, Keselowski, and Kyle Busch all led parts of the third stage. Kyle Busch got back in front at the end to beat Logano for the victory.
Kyle Busch’s victory was his 200th total across the three nascar series, Truck, Xfinity, and Nascar Cup.
NASCAR Monster Energy Series, TicketGuardian 500, ISM Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., Sunday, March 10.
Ryan Blaney won the pole and the first stage. However, Kyle Busch took over and won the second stage and the third stage for the overall victory. Following was Kyle Busch’s teammate, Martin Truex, Jr., in second place, Ryan Blaney in third, Aric Almirola in fourth, and Hamlin in fifth.
Ryan Blaney was leading in the last segment with 20 laps to go, however, Kyle Busch, with better tires got past Blaney and stayed there for the victory.
Kyle Busch had the weekend trifecta by winning the truck race Friday, Xfinity race Saturday, and the monster Energy race Sunday.