The 2019 TicketGuardian 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on March 10, 2019, at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the oval, it was the fourth race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report Background
ISM Raceway, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. 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.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Bayley Currey (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 77 Quin Houff (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
First practice Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 25.403 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 25.403 141.716 2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 25.590 140.680 3 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 25.640 140.406Official first practice results
Qualifying Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 25.480 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 26.073 25.641 25.480 29 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.943 25.718 25.683 311 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.207 25.663 25.713 418 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.055 25.685 25.741 52 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.045 25.673 25.742 688 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.181 25.669 25.757 724 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.086 25.813 25.794 84 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 25.903 25.754 25.823 919 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.168 25.811 25.861 1020 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.175 25.909 25.901 118 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.078 25.908 25.946 1222 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.046 25.819 25.962 133 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.058 25.924 — 1410 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.157 25.936 — 1548 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.205 25.936 — 161 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.166 25.943 — 1721 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 26.013 25.948 — 186 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.145 25.956 — 1917 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.002 25.989 — 2013 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 26.194 26.005 — 2147 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.126 26.025 — 2237 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.016 26.191 — 2343 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 26.288 26.289 — 2432 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 26.303 26.310 — 2595 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 26.315 — — 2614 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.362 — — 2734 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.371 — — 2841 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.379 — — 2938 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.382 — — 3036 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.411 — — 3142 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.709 — — 3200 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 26.777 — — 3315 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 26.989 — — 3451 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 27.770 — — 3577 Quin Houff (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 28.646 — — 3652 Bayley Currey (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 0.000 — —Official qualifying results
Practice (post-qualifying)
Second practice Chris Buescher was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.092 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.092 137.973 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 26.103 137.915 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.154 137.646Official second practice results
Final practice Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.126 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.126 137.794 2 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 26.235 137.221 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.338 136.685Official final practice results
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 75
During pre-race ceremonies, the Luke Air Force Base presented the nation's colors. Pastor Rick Derbyshire would give out the invocation.16-year old Chevel Shepherd, who had won Season 15 of The Voice, would sing the national anthem. The son of the CEO of TicketGuardian. Hudson Derbyshire, accompanied by his father and CEO, Brian and his mom, gave out the starting command.
At the race start, NASCAR judged that Chase Elliott jumped the restart against Ryan Blaney, and Elliott, while leading the first couple of laps, had to make a pass through penalty on pit road. Ryan Blaney would lead the first 35 laps before being passed by Kyle Busch on lap 36. Three laps later, Erik Jones would suffer a flat tire and spin in Turn 2, causing the first caution of the day. After cycling through pit stops, Denny Hamlin would lead the field to green on lap 46, before being passed for the lead by Busch just a lap later. Busch would lead until lap 65, when Brad Keselowski also suffering a flat tire and hitting the Turn 2 wall, almost collecting Ryan Preece. After more pit stops, Ryan Blaney would restart in the lead on lap 71 and would hang on to win the first stage.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 102 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 93 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 84 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 57 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 75
The field restarted on lap 84, with Kyle Busch leading the field to green. Busch, starting from lap 80 would go on to lead the next 73 laps. Alex Bowman would suffer a flat tire with just three laps to go in the stage, hitting the turn 1 wall. Kyle Busch would win the stage under caution.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 93 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 84 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 66 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 57 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 39 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 162
Kyle Busch would jump to the lead on the initial restart, but a lap later Michael McDowell after missing the exit of the turn 2 wall, got hit in the rear by David Ragan and hit the wall. His car would not steer and would then hit the turn 3 wall, causing McDowell to retire. Kyle Busch would once again lead the field to the restart on lap 166, and would stay in the lead until lap 195, when Alex Bowman had another flat tire and pounded the turn 3 wall. Alex Bowman would retire from the race. Busch restarted and held on to the lead until lap 219, when Elliott spun off of turn 4. Hemric would take the lead after pit stops cycled, and restarted in first. However, on the first lap of the restart, Preece would hit the wall and clip the right front end of Daniel Suarez's car, sending Preece into the inside backstretch wall. Blaney would take the lead again, however Preece would again cause another caution, causing him to retire. Almirola would restart and take the lead until lap 251 when Blaney took the lead. Blaney held on to the lead until Busch, after a few laps battling took the lead on lap 296. Busch would pull away from Blaney and win.
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 562 9 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 423 1 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 312 444 14 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 425 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 386 31 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 367 16 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 318 15 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 339 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 3710 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 312 3811 26 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 3512 18 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 3013 19 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 2414 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2715 20 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 312 2216 22 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 312 2117 17 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 311 2018 11 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 1919 5 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 311 1820 30 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 311 1721 13 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 2022 23 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 311 1523 28 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 311 1424 7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 310 1625 29 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 310 1226 24 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 310 1127 33 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 308 028 25 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 308 929 10 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 304 830 35 77 Quin Houff (R) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 302 731 36 52 Bayley Currey (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 301 032 34 51 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 300 533 32 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 267 434 21 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 229 335 6 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 191 936 27 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 157 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 17 among 6 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 9 for 57 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 4 minutes and 5 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox Sports covered their 15th race at the ISM Raceway. Mike Joy, two-time Phoenix winner Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the pit road duties for the television side.