NASCAR Cup Series: Will Kyle Busch win his third consecutive Phoenix race?

Kyle Busch has won both of the last two NASCAR Cup Series races at ISM Raceway. Will he make it three in a row this Sunday?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch won the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season’s November round of 8 playoff race at ISM Raceway, and he won the March race at the track this season. As a result, he is set to go for his third consecutive victory at the track in this Sunday’s race, the Bluegreen Vacations 500.

The last race at the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona that was won by a driver other than Busch was the March race at the track in the 2018 season, which was won by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick. Busch, meanwhile, finished it in second place in his #18 Toyota.

In the November race at ISM Raceway in the 2018 season, the Can-Am 500, Busch qualified in sixth place. He led 117 of the race’s 312 laps and took the checkered flag by 0.501 seconds over Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, who finished in second in his #2 Ford.

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This race featured a total of 15 lead changes, and seven drivers aside of Busch led at least one lap of the race. Busch’s laps led total was the highest among all drivers. Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones, Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney led 73, 52, 32, 16, 11, eight and three laps, respectively.

In the April race at ISM Raceway earlier this season, the TicketGuardian 500, Busch qualified in fourth place. He led 177 of the race’s 312 laps and took the checkered flag by 1.259 seconds over teammate Martin Truex Jr., who finished in second in his #19 Toyota.

This race featured a total of 17 lead changes, and five drivers aside of Busch led at least one lap of the race. Busch’s laps led total was by far the highest among all drivers. Blaney, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson and Richard Childress Racing rookie Daniel Hemric led 94, 26, seven, four and four laps, respectively.

Will Busch earn his third consecutive victory at ISM Raceway in this Sunday afternoon’s race, or will a driver other than Busch find victory lane at the track for the first time since Harvick did so in March of 2018?

In the last three races at ISM Raceway, Busch has led 422 of the 936 laps, and he has never led fewer than 117 laps in any of these races. In fact, in only one of the last five races at the track has he led fewer than 114 laps.

Also, in the last eight races at ISM Raceway, Busch has finished outside of the top four just once, and his lone non-top four finish in these eight races is a seventh place finish, which he recorded in November of 2017. His average finish in these eight races is an impressive 3.00.

However, Busch’s two victories in the last two races at ISM Raceway are his only two Cup Series victories at the track as a Joe Gibbs Racing driver, and he has driven for the team in a total of 22 races now. He earned his only other victory at the track back in November of 2005 in his rookie season driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

While he will almost certainly be a contender to win this Sunday afternoon’s race, don’t expect to see Busch in victory lane for the third consecutive race at ISM Raceway after coming off of a 24-race win drought at the track that lasted nearly 13 years.

Will Kyle Busch earn his third consecutive victory in a NASCAR Cup Series race at ISM Raceway by winning the race at the track this Sunday? The Bluegreen Vacations 500 is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, so be sure to tune in to it.