2016 Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200

The 2016 Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 was the fourth stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 12th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would dominate the race to win his 79th career NASCAR Xfinity Series race and his third win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez, both driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish second and third, respectively.

2016 Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200
Race details
Race 4 of 33 in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date March 12, 2016
Official name 12th Annual Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200
Location Avondale, Arizona, Phoenix International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 200 laps, 200 mi (321.868 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 200 mi (321.868 km)
Average speed 114.087 miles per hour (183.605 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 26.318
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 175
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network FOX
Announcers Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, Joey Logano
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Phoenix International Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet JD Motorsports
1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet OneMain Financial
01 Ryan Preece (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet JD Motorsports
2 Austin Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Ruud
3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats
4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet JD Motorsports
6 Bubba Wallace Roush Fenway Racing Ford Cheez-It
7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet Brandt Professional Agriculture
07 Ray Black Jr. (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet ScubaLife
10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota TriStar Motorsports
11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection
13 D. J. Kennington MBM Motorsports Dodge Northern Provincial Pipelines
14 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota TriStar Motorsports
15 Ryan Ellis* Rick Ware Racing Ford X-treme pH Sports Water
16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford Lilly Diabetes
18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota NOS Energy
19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Juniper Networks
20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Reser's Fine Foods
21 Spencer Gallagher (i) GMS Racing Chevrolet Allegiant Air, Kingman Chevrolet
22 Brad Keselowski (i) Team Penske Ford Discount Tire
24 T. J. Bell JGL Racing Toyota JGL Racing Young Guns
25 Timmy Hill Team Kapusta Racing Chevrolet Wrap Nation
28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota JGL Racing
33 Brandon Jones (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet E-Z-GO
39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet RSS Racing
40 Josh Reaume MBM Motorsports Toyota MBM Motorsports
42 Justin Marks Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Katerra
43 Jeb Burton Richard Petty Motorsports Ford J. Streicher
44 David Starr TriStar Motorsports Toyota Zachry
48 Brennan Poole (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet DC Solar
51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet Jeremy Clements Racing
52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Donate Life Arizona
62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa
70 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet Ashurst American Honey, E-Hydrate
74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge Mike Harmon Racing
78 B. J. McLeod (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford X-treme pH Sports Water
88 Chase Elliott (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet TaxSlayer
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet Racing with Jesus
90 Mario Gosselin King Autosport Chevrolet BuckedUp Apparel
93 Dylan Lupton RSS Racing Chevrolet RSS Racing
97 Harrison Rhodes Obaika Racing Chevrolet Vroom! Brands
99 Todd Peck B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford X-treme pH Sports Water
Official entry list

*Driver changed to Todd Peck after Ellis wrecked in qualifying.[2]

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, March 11, at 9:30 AM MST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[3] Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 26.840 and an average speed of 134.128 miles per hour (215.858 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.840 134.128
2 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.881 133.924
3 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 26.988 133.393
Full first practice results

Second practice

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The second practice session was held on Friday, March 11, at 1:00 PM MST. The session would last for one hour and 25 minutes.[3] Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 26.855 and an average speed of 134.053 miles per hour (215.737 km/h).[5]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.855 134.053
2 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.888 133.889
3 18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.096 132.861
Full second practice results

Third and final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes known as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, March 11, at 3:30 PM MST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[3] Ty Dillon of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.050 and an average speed of 133.087 miles per hour (214.183 km/h).[6]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.050 133.087
2 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.111 132.787
3 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.125 132.719
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 12, at 9:45 AM MST.[3] Since Phoenix International Raceway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[7]

Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 26.318 and an average speed of 136.789 miles per hour (220.141 km/h).[8]

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Josh Reaume and Todd Peck.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time (R1) Speed (R1) Time (R2) Speed (R2) Time (R3) Speed (R3)
1 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.996 133.353 26.507 135.813 26.318 136.789
2 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.768 134.489 26.695 134.857 26.346 136.643
3 18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.217 132.270 26.637 135.150 26.390 136.415
4 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.083 132.925 26.866 133.998 26.588 135.399
5 88 Chase Elliott (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 27.022 133.225 26.876 133.949 26.622 135.227
6 2 Austin Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.318 131.781 26.838 134.138 26.631 135.181
7 22 Brad Keselowski (i) Team Penske Ford 27.043 133.121 26.819 134.233 26.637 135.150
8 33 Brandon Jones (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.229 132.212 26.845 134.103 26.674 134.963
9 6 Bubba Wallace Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.102 132.832 26.685 134.907 26.683 134.917
10 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 27.056 133.057 26.820 134.228 26.714 134.761
11 62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.209 132.309 26.943 133.615 26.797 134.343
12 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 27.239 132.163 26.938 133.640 26.850 134.078
Eliminated in Round 2
13 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.276 131.984 26.960 133.531 - -
14 42 Justin Marks Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.207 132.319 26.983 133.417 - -
15 43 Jeb Burton Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.238 132.168 27.001 133.328 - -
16 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 27.347 131.641 27.004 133.314 - -
17 48 Brennan Poole (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.313 131.805 27.030 133.185 - -
18 21 Spencer Gallagher (i) GMS Racing Chevrolet 27.059 133.043 27.120 132.743 - -
19 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 27.188 132.411 27.129 132.699 - -
20 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 27.361 131.574 27.239 132.163 - -
21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 27.294 131.897 27.309 131.825 - -
22 44 David Starr TriStar Motorsports Toyota 27.395 131.411 27.375 131.507 - -
23 14 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 27.382 131.473 27.449 131.152 - -
24 01 Ryan Preece (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 27.180 132.450 27.526 130.785 - -
Eliminated in Round 1
25 07 Ray Black Jr. (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 27.395 131.411 - - - -
26 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 27.440 131.195 - - - -
27 24 T. J. Bell JGL Racing Toyota 27.462 131.090 - - - -
28 93 Dylan Lupton RSS Racing Chevrolet 27.489 130.961 - - - -
29 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 27.496 130.928 - - - -
30 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 27.637 130.260 - - - -
31 25 Timmy Hill Team Kapusta Racing Chevrolet 27.648 130.208 - - - -
32 90 Mario Gosselin King Autosport Chevrolet 27.701 129.959 - - - -
33 13 D. J. Kennington MBM Motorsports Dodge 27.731 129.819 - - - -
Qualified by owner's points
34 0 Garrett Smithley (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 27.895 129.055 - - - -
35 78 B. J. McLeod (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 27.977 128.677 - - - -
36 52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 28.071 128.246 - - - -
37 70 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet 28.104 128.096 - - - -
38 97 Harrison Rhodes Obaika Racing Chevrolet 28.241 127.474 - - - -
39 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 28.460 126.493 - - - -
40 15 Ryan Ellis Rick Ware Racing Ford - - - - - -
Failed to qualify
41 40 Josh Reaume MBM Motorsports Toyota 28.414 126.698 - - - -
42 99 Todd Peck B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 28.426 126.645 - - - -
Official qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin[9] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 3 18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 175 running 0
2 1 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 5 running 40
3 2 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 0 running 38
4 10 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 37
5 5 88 Chase Elliott (i) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 0
6 4 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 11 running 36
7 6 2 Austin Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 0
8 16 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 33
9 7 22 Brad Keselowski (i) Team Penske Ford 200 9 running 0
10 17 48 Brennan Poole (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 31
11 8 33 Brandon Jones (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 30
12 9 6 Bubba Wallace Roush Fenway Racing Ford 199 0 running 29
13 11 62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 28
14 13 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 199 0 running 27
15 14 42 Justin Marks Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 26
16 12 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 25
17 15 43 Jeb Burton Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 199 0 running 24
18 26 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 198 0 running 23
19 28 93 Dylan Lupton RSS Racing Chevrolet 198 0 running 22
20 23 14 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 198 0 running 21
21 24 01 Ryan Preece (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 197 0 running 20
22 22 44 David Starr TriStar Motorsports Toyota 197 0 running 19
23 18 21 Spencer Gallagher (i) GMS Racing Chevrolet 196 0 running 0
24 19 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 196 0 running 17
25 25 07 Ray Black Jr. (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 196 0 running 16
26 27 24 T. J. Bell JGL Racing Toyota 196 0 running 15
27 21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 195 0 running 14
28 20 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 195 0 running 13
29 35 78 B. J. McLeod (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 194 0 running 12
30 38 97 Harrison Rhodes Obaika Racing Chevrolet 194 0 running 11
31 34 0 Garrett Smithley (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 194 0 running 10
32 31 25 Timmy Hill Team Kapusta Racing Chevrolet 193 0 running 9
33 36 52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 191 0 running 8
34 37 70 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet 191 0 running 7
35 32 90 Mario Gosselin King Autosport Chevrolet 190 0 running 6
36 33 13 D. J. Kennington MBM Motorsports Dodge 190 0 running 5
37 40 15 Todd Peck Rick Ware Racing Ford 188 0 running 4
38 39 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 182 0 running 3
39 30 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 11 0 overheating 2
40 29 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 5 0 vibration 1
Failed to qualify
41 40 Josh Reaume MBM Motorsports Toyota
42 99 Todd Peck B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "Kyle Busch takes 3rd straight Xfinity Series win". ESPN.com. 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  2. ^ Beard, Brock. "XFINITY: Jeff Green scores third-straight Phoenix last-place finish". Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - Phoenix XFINITY Race Info Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  4. ^ Hammack, Leon (2016-03-11). "Erik Jones Is The Fastest In The First NXS Practice Session". Working On My Redneck. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  5. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2016-03-11). "Joe Gibbs Racing sweeps top 3 spots in 2nd Xfinity practice at Phoenix". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  6. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2016-03-11). "Ty Dillon tops three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in final Xfinity practice at Phoenix". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  7. ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  8. ^ "Erik Jones captures first pole of year at Phoenix". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  9. ^ "2016 Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
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