Event Recap: 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics from Phoenix (March 10, 2018)

Event statistics following the fourth race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the DC Solar 200 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

Brad Keselowski scored his second career victory at ISM Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, leading the final 22 laps. Polesitter Justin Allgaier earned a season-best finish of second, followed by Kyle Busch.

Race Statistics
DC Solar 200
ISM Raceway – Avondale, Arizona
- Winner (starting position): Brad Keselowski (2nd)
- Top Five: Brad Keselowski, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Jamie McMurray
- Full Results: Brad Keselowski, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Jamie McMurray, Daniel Hemric, Matt Tifft, Cole Custer, Elliott Sadler, Tyler Reddick, Brandon Jones, Kaz Grala, Ty Dillon, Spencer Gallagher, Ryan Truex, Austin Cindric, Michael Annett, Ryan Reed, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements, J.J. Yeley, Alex Labbe, Dylan Lupton, Joey Gase, Ryan Sieg, BJ McLeod, Tommy Joe Martins, Garrett Smithley, Josh Williams, Spencer Boyd, Stephen Leicht, Josh Bilicki, Vinnie Miller, Timmy Hill, Mike Harmon, Chad Finchum, Morgan Shepherd, Matt Mills, David Starr, Jeff Green
- Laps Completed: 200
- Race Leaders: 6
- Laps Led: Justin Allgaier (76), Brad Keselowski (66), Kyle Busch (39), Kaz Grala (8), Tyler Reddick (6), Christopher Bell (5)
- Pole Position: Justin Allgaier (133.849 mph; 26.896 seconds)
- Hard Charger: Tyler Reddick (+30; 40th to 10th)
- Margin of Victory: 0.530 seconds
- Car Count: 40
- Cars Entered: 40
- Cars Running at Finish: 35 (of 40; or 88 percent of the field)
- Drivers to Finish on Lead Lap: 8
- Cautions: 4 for 24 laps
- Average Speed: 103.019 mph
- Lead Changes: 10
- Stage Winners: Justin Allgaier (1), Kyle Busch (2)
- Weather at Start of Race: 74 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy, winds WSW 12 mph
- Weather at End of Race: 64 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy, winds SW 4 mph
- Manufacturer Breakdown: Chevrolet (28); Ford (6); Toyota (6)

Notes of Interest – Race/Weekend Recap
- This is Brad Keselowski’s first victory of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 37th of his career. It is his second at Phoenix, as he won the fall race in 2014.
- The victory came in Keselowski’s 250th NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
- Keselowski is the fifth driver to win multiple Xfinity Series races at ISM Raceway, joining Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano.

- Keselowski is the fourth driver in as many races this season to win a race, joining Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson.
- Keselowski has won at least one NASCAR Xfinity Series race in each of the last two seasons, and 10 of his 13 seasons in which he has competed. This was his first race of the 2018 season in the Xfinity Series.
- This is Keselowski’s 31st Xfinity Series victory with Team Penske – and 30th in car No. 22.
- This is Keselowski’s 17th Xfinity Series victory driving a Ford.
- Keselowski is the first Cup Series regular to win the Xfinity Series race at Phoenix since Kyle Busch won the fall race in 2016.
- This is Keselowski’s 10th Xfinity Series victory from the second-starting position – the position which he has won from the most – and 15th from the front row. The last time he won from the second starting position was at Texas Motor Speedway’s fall race in 2015.
- This also marked the second consecutive race a driver has won from the second-starting position, as Kyle Larson won the previous race, the Boyd Gaming 300, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada.
- Overall, this is the eighth time a driver has won an Xfinity Series race at Phoenix from the second-starting spot (and second consecutive time, as William Byron won from second in the 2017 fall race); 18th from the front row; and 27th time in the top four in 33 races.
- Four of Keselowski’s 37 Xfinity Series victories have come on one-mile tracks (two each at Phoenix and Loudon).
- Keselowski is looking to win the Xfinity Series and Cup Series races at the same track on the same weekend for the second time in his career. He won both races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the summer of 2014.
- This is Ford’s 13th Xfinity Series victory at ISM Raceway, extending its record for most series victories at the track. It marks the first win for Ford at the track since Joey Logano won the spring race in 2015.
- Keselowski led 66 laps of the race, the second fewest of an Xfinity Series race winner this season. Tyler Reddick led only 11 laps in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.
- This marks only the 10th time in 33 Xfinity Series races at ISM Raceway that the leader of the most laps did not win the race, and second time in succession.
- Defending race winner and this year’s polesitter Justin Allgaier finished second after leading a race-high 76 laps (the most of a non-race winner this season). It marked Allgaier’s best finish in four races this season, and his second consecutive top-three finish, after finishing third in the most previous race at Las Vegas.
- Allgaier’s pole position was the sixth of his career, his first at Phoenix (and first on a one-mile track) and first this season. He now has at least one pole in two consecutive seasons, and five seasons overall.
- Kyle Busch earned third place in his second race of the season. He led 39 laps, the third most of any driver in the field. Busch was the highest-finishing Toyota driver.
- After starting the season with a 39th-place finish at Daytona, Christopher Bell has recorded three consecutive top-four finishes – the best such streak among drivers this season – with a fourth-place effort. He has finished third, second and fourth in the three races. Bell has led each of the last three races, the only driver to do so.
- Jamie McMurray, competing in his first Xfinity Series race since 2013 at Richmond International Raceway (fall race), finished fifth. It marked his first top-five finish in the Xfinity Series since 2010, when he won the fall race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Between McMurray’s starts in 2013 and 2018, a total of 143 Xfinity Series races had been won (Kyle Busch had won 31 of those races).
- The next three drivers all earned or tied season-best finishes: Daniel Hemric was sixth for the second consecutive race; Matt Tifft recorded his first top-10 finish of 2018 in finishing seventh; and Cole Custer topped his previous best finish of ninth (Las Vegas) with an eighth-place result. Custer was the final driver to finish on the lead lap.
- Elliott Sadler continued his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes, extended to a series-best five, with a ninth-place finish, though it was his first finish outside the top five in 2018. Overall, Sadler has finished in the top 10 in 12 of the last 13 races, dating back to the fall race at Richmond last season. Sadler entered Phoenix as the only driver to complete every lap this season, but finished one lap down. He remains the driver with the most laps completed this season, with 705.
- Tyler Reddick rounded out the top 10 with a 10th-place effort, his third top-10 finish in four races this season. Reddick was Chevrolet’s sixth driver in the top 10. Reddick also made up 30 positions, coming from last (40th); that’s the most spots made up by a driver in a race this season. Reddick led six laps, joining Bell as the only driver to lead at least three races this season.
- Kaz Grala finished 12th after leading eight laps, the first time he’s led laps in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition.
- Three drivers tied their season-best finishes of the 2018 season: Ty Dillon (13th); BJ McLeod (26th); and Morgan Shepherd (37th).
- Keselowski and McMurray were the only two drivers making their season debuts at Phoenix.
- A total of 16 drivers improved on their starting position in the race. That’s the fewest number of drivers to improve on their starting position this season.
- A total of two red flag periods for rain forced two hours worth of delays (95 minutes during the first delay; 25 minutes during the second delay).

- The next race will be Saturday, March 17, with the Auto Club 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Event Recap: 2019 NASCAR Truck Series Statistics After Race 1 at Daytona (February 15, 2019)

Event statistics following the season-opening race of the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race, the Nextera Energy Resources 250 a...