NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kentucky 2017 Results: Kyle Busch Takes Checkered Flag – Bleacher Report

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Kyle Busch held off a hard charge from Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones to win the Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway Saturday afternoon after the action was postponed following severe storms Friday night. 

Busch now owns a record 88 Xfinity Series wins, per Catchfence’s Chris Knight. 

An overview of Saturday’s standings can be viewed below, with complete results available at NASCAR’s official website: 

• 1. Kyle Busch
• 2. Ryan Blaney
• 3. Erik Jones
• 4. Kevin Harvick
• 5. Ty Dillon
• 6. Joey Logano
• 7. William Byron
• 8. Justin Allgaier
• 9. Daniel Hemric
• 10. Tyler Reddick 

The pole-sitter Saturday afternoon, Busch was at the front of the pack when the green flag started to wave. However, a caution came out before drivers could complete even one-quarter of a lap after a stackup caused a multicar wreck in the middle of the pack. 

According to NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan, Busch got on the radio and told his team he didn’t maintain NASCAR’s ideal starting speed because the flag waved late. 

Busch, understandably, wasn’t pleased with that development, as NASCAR on NBC documented: 

The No. 18 proceeded to jockey with Blaney and Jones early, but it was Jones who proved in control during the opening stanza as he led 40 of the first 45 laps to capture a Stage 1 win.

Blaney bolted ahead and secured a Stage 2 victory, but his hopes of taking home a second Xfinity Series win this season took a major hit when he recorded an outside tire violation with 30 laps remaining that sent him to the back of the pack.

And while Blaney figured to be out of the picture entirely, his car was so strong that he was able to throttle past the majority of the field and wedge himself into second place to secure his seventh straight top-five Xfinity finish. 

Busch, though, was simply too far ahead for Blaney to complete what would have been an epic comeback. 

Although Blaney’s car ran more efficiently than any other driver’s Saturday, Busch held a four-second lead over Blaney with under 10 laps to go—and that gulf was simply too big for the No. 12 to make up. 

Busch will now turn his attention to Saturday night’s Monster Energy Series race—which he is also the pole-sitter for—and attempt to go two-for-two at Kentucky Speedway with a chance to put a bow on what’s already proved to be a successful weekend.