Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch earn stage wins at Phoenix

Kyle Busch dominated Stage 2 of the TicketGuardian 500 leading from Lap 80 to the end of the stage at Lap 150. The stage win is the second of the year for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. The stage finished under caution following Alex Bowman hitting the wall on Lap 147.

Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing made up the entire top five of Stage 2 with SHR’s Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick finishing second and third, while JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to join Busch in the top five. The front seven drivers in Stage 2 all stayed out following the end of Stage 1 caution because they had pitted following the Lap 63 caution in Stage 1.

The Final Stage will run from Lap 151 to the end of the race — scheduled to go 312 laps in total.

Stage 1 recap

Ryan Blaney stayed out under a late yellow in Stage 1 to score the win in the first stage of the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway. Blaney — the polesitter — stayed out after his teammate Brad Keselowski brought out a caution on Lap 63 following the No. 2 car hitting the wall in Turn 1. While the field split strategies — some pitted like then-leader Kyle Busch — others, like Blaney, stayed out. The stage win is his second of the 2019 season.

Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman and Busch finished second through fifth, respectively. Of that group only Busch pitted following the Lap 63 caution.

RELATED: Full Stage 1 results

Chase Elliott was penalized for jumping the leader at the start of the race and had to serve a pass-thru penalty. The Hendrick Motorsports driver started the race second and on the front row. He recovered to finish ninth in the stage.

A host of drivers had issues throughout the stage. Erik Jones went for a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 37 due to a right rear tire issue after voicing concerns on prior laps for a vibration. Daniel Suarez’s car stalled on track under caution and was pushed to pit road.