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The 2016 Xfinity series season has played out similarly to Groundhog Day -- different day, same result.

Kyle Busch proved why he is consistently the man to beat in Saturday afternoon's Axalta 200 from Phoenix International Raceway. Starting in third place behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez in first and second, Busch quickly grabbed the lead and held onto it for 175 of the race's 200 laps. 

Busch now has 79 career wins in Xfinity series competition and a staggering nine victories in just 20 starts in the series at Phoenix.

"It certainly never does get old," Busch said. "There was a lot of good things that come of this weekend. Just having the opportunity to work with (crew chief) Chris Gayle and to get out there on this race track with a different tire than we've run the past couple of times, which is the same tire we are going to run tomorrow on the Cup side. There were lots of things to learn and it felt like a good day just to have a good race car and be able to run up front."

Busch's win also made it the second consecutive week JGR finished first through third with Jones taking the runner-up spot and Suarez bringing home a third place finish.

Busch senses a winning culture within the JGR Xfinity series shop.

"The Xfinity shop shows a lot of comraderie between the guys," Busch explained. "The crew chiefs in general and the team guys as well. I think everyone is on a high right now and they feel good about what they are doing, the cars they are building and the preperation and things they are doing. As long as all that continues and we don't falter we will continue to shine and look good so I think it's just high marks for everybody right now at the Xfinity shop. Hopefully the Cup race goes the same way, we'll see."

Jones, who won the Camping World Truck Series championship last season while driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, says he wouldn't shy away from using the bumper on his former owner and current teammate but believes the presence of the defending Sprint Cup champion is paying dividends for JGR's Xfinity program.

"Had we been racing without a pit stop coming, yeah we definitely would have been more aggressive about it," Jones said. "I'm not afraid to rough the guy up and I don't think he'd be afraid to do the same either. He's been fast but overall he helps our program. I don't think we'd be as dominant as we are at this point in time without him running all these races but I think definitely we will race hard and aggressive when that time comes but it's just nice to be up there running with him. 

"It's not too often that you see that so it's nice to be the guy that can go up there and challenge him for a minute."

Justin Allgaier and Chase Elliott drove their JR Motorsports Chevrolet's to fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively. Ty Dillon, who led 11 laps, finished in sixth place with his brother Austin Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Brad Keselowski and Brennan Poole rounding out the top ten finishers.

Daniel Suarez holds onto the Xfinity series points lead over JR Motorsports' Elliott Sadler heading into next week's showdown at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Number 4
Unofficial Race Results for the 12Th Annual Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 
200 - Saturday, March 12, 2016
Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, AZ - 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 200 Miles
Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    3    18    Kyle Busch(i)    NOS Energy Drink Toyota    200    0        149.7    Running    3    175
2    1    20    Erik Jones #    Reser's Fine Foods Toyota    200    40    1    122.4    Running    1    5
3    2    19    Daniel Suarez    Juniper Networks Toyota    200    38        118.6    Running        
4    10    7    Justin Allgaier    BRANDT Chevrolet    200    37        114.0    Running        
5    5    88    Chase Elliott(i)    TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet    200    0        107.6    Running        
6    4    3    Ty Dillon    Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet    200    36    1    107.7    Running    1    11
7    6    2    Austin Dillon(i)    Ruud Chevrolet    200    0        100.6    Running        
8    16    1    Elliott Sadler    OneMain Chevrolet    200    33        93.4    Running        
9    7    22    Brad Keselowski(i)    Discount Tire Ford    200    0        101.6    Running    1    9
10    17    48    Brennan Poole #    DC Solar Chevrolet    200    31        86.8    Running        
11    8    33    Brandon Jones #    E-Z-GO Chevrolet    200    30        91.1    Running        
12    9    6    Darrell Wallace Jr.    Cheez-It Ford    199    29        91.5    Running        
13    11    62    Brendan Gaughan    South Point Chevrolet    199    28        85.0    Running        
14    13    16    Ryan Reed    Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford    199    27        81.0    Running        
15    14    42    Justin Marks    Katerra Chevrolet    199    26        78.8    Running        
16    12    11    Blake Koch    LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet    199    25        74.2    Running        
17    15    43    Jeb Burton    J. Streicher Ford    199    24        75.2    Running        
18    26    28    Dakoda Armstrong    JGL Racing Toyota    198    23        65.7    Running        
19    28    93    Dylan Lupton    RSS Racing Chevrolet    198    22        65.2    Running        
20    23    14    JJ Yeley    Toyota    198    21        66.5    Running        
21    24    01    Ryan Preece #    teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet    197    20        58.3    Running        
22    22    44    David Starr    Zachry Toyota    197    19        52.6    Running        
23    18    21    Spencer Gallagher(i)    Kingman Chevrolet/Allegiant Chevrolet    196    0        59.3    Running        
24    19    4    Ross Chastain    teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet    196    17        63.8    Running        
25    25    07    Ray Black Jr. #    Scuba Life Chevrolet    196    16        52.3    Running        
26    27    24    TJ Bell Jr.    Apex Contracting and Restoration Toyota    196    15        52.3    Running        
27    21    39    Ryan Sieg    RSS Racing Chevrolet    195    14        66.0    Running        
28    20    51    Jeremy Clements    RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet    195    13        58.4    Running        
29    35    78    BJ McLeod #    X-TREME PH Sports Water Ford    194    12        43.8    Running        
30    38    97    Harrison Rhodes    Vroom Brands Chevrolet    194    11        40.3    Running        
31    34    0    Garrett Smithley #    teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet    194    10        42.3    Running        
32    31    25    Timmy Hill(i)    Wrap Nation Chevrolet    193    9        45.8    Running        
33    36    52    Joey Gase    Donate Life Arizona Chevrolet    191    8        36.8    Running        
34    37    70    Derrike Cope    E-Hydrate/Ashurst Honey Chevrolet    191    7        32.6    Running        
35    32    90    Mario Gosselin    BuckedUp Apparel/CrashClaimsR.Us Chevrolet    190    6        40.0    Running        
36    33    13    DJ Kennington    Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge    190    5        33.0    Running        
37    40    15    Todd Peck    Ford    188    4        27.3    Running        
38    39    74    Mike Harmon    Dodge    182    3        28.3    Running        
39    30    89    Morgan Shepherd    Chevrolet    11    2        26.5    Overheating        
40    29    10    Jeff Green    Tri-Star Motorsports Toyota    5    1        23.2    Vibration        
 Race Comments:    Kyle Busch won the AXALTA Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, his 79th career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field: Nos. 28 and 78 (unapproved adjustment); No. 15 (backup car and driver change). 
 Failed to Qualify:    (2) 40 Josh Reaume, 99 Todd Peck.
 Time of Race:    1 Hrs, 45 Mins, 11 Secs.    Average Speed:    114.087 MPH    Margin of Victory:    2.285 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    3 for 16 laps: Laps: 2-5 (#44, 07 Accident Turn 4 [None]); 59-65 (#51 Accident Turn 3 [14]); 97-101 (#14 Accident Turn 2 [93]).
 Lead Changes:    5 among 4 drivers: E. Jones # 1-5; K. Busch(i) 6-97; T. Dillon 98-108; K. Busch(i) 109-177; B. Keselowski(i) 178-186; K. Busch(i) 187-200.
Top 10 Driver Points:     (1) D. Suarez 144;(2) E. Sadler 136;(3) T. Dillon 135;(4) J. Allgaier 132;(5) B. Jones # 129;(6) E. Jones # 126;(7) B. Gaughan 119;(8) R. Reed 106;(9) B. Poole # 102;(10) D. Wallace Jr. 96.
Coors Light Pole Award    : Erik Jones, #20 136.789 mph    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Joe Gibbs Racing Engines - Mark Cronquist, #18 
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kyle Busch, #18     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Erik Jones, #20 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Mar. 19, 2016 - Auto Club Speedway