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.

Background

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

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

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

Practice

First practice

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]

Second practice

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]

Third and final practice

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]

Qualifying

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

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Daniel Suárez 144 2 Elliott Sadler 136 (-8) 3 Ty Dillon 135 (–9) 4 Justin Allgaier 132 (–12) 5 Brandon Jones 129 (–15) 6 Erik Jones 126 (-18) 7 Brendan Gaughan 119 (-25) 8 Ryan Reed 106 (-38) 9 Brennan Poole 102 (-42) 10 Bubba Wallace 96 (-48) 11 Jeb Burton 96 (-48) 12 Blake Koch 93 (-51) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References