For the third straight Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, it was Kyle Busch taking home the victory as he dominated the event, leading the most laps before the race was ended prematurely due to rain.
In the media center after the race, Kyle Busch attributed the success that he’s been able to have to crew chief Adam Stevens and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing.
“It starts right here with Adam Stevens and Joe Gibbs Racing,” he said. “They did a great job here for me today, once again, and proved why they’re the best in the series. Can’t say enough about what we unloaded here and were able to drive here this weekend.
“Overall, one of the most dominant races that I’ve had at Phoenix. Certainly days like this don’t happen a lot, but when they do come around, you take advantage of them.”
While the race came relatively easy to Busch, there were some tough moments in battling fellow Cup stars Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth on restarts. Â However, Busch has always been strong in the desert and felt confident going into the day and with how he’d be able to tackle the race.
“I’v always run well here and I love coming here,” he commented.
While Busch was quick to credit Stevens for the success, Stevens credited Busch for their success, saying the wins speak to the quality of driver that Busch is.
“Kyle (Busch) obviously is in a league of his own pretty much any time he gets behind the wheel and he’s got something special here,” Steven said. “He knows how to get around this place, I feel like probably better than anybody. He knows what he’s looking for, so it’s easy to tell when you’ve given it to him.”
Steve Desouza, vice presidents of Nationwide Series operations for Joe Gibbs Racing, says the success is attributed to the combination of Stevens and Busch working together as they have a unique chemistry together.
“Obviously anytime they get to the race track they are a threat and that’s a lot of fun,” he commented.
Busch runs multiple Nationwide Series races throughout the season and does it for the simple reason that he loves to race. He also likes doing it as he hopes that they can take some of the things they learned and translate that to success in the Sprint Cup Series. This weekend didn’t work out as well as Busch had hoped as he struggled with a loose racecar, coming home a solid ninth place finish.
People have continuously critiqued Busch and others for running a bunch of Nationwide Series races while being Sprint Cup Series regulars. Busch addressed these concerns after his Camping World Truck Series victory at Daytona, saying that people shouldn’t be quick to judge as having him in the series allows the younger drivers to grow racing tougher competition. Busch added that it helps keep people in employed with those who work around him, while sponsors are willing to allow a young driver to come in and run a couple races because of his connection.
For Joe Gibbs Racing, it probably helps them in having Busch and Kenseth run races as their feedback helps increase the Nationwide Series organization to help Elliott Sadler become stronger in his run towards the champioship. That same reason does with why JR Motorsports is probably bringing Kevin Harvick in this year, as well, to help Regan Smith and Chase Elliott.
NASCAR has also addressed the topic, saying that they are looking into possibly changing the rules in the future.
