2019 TicketGuardian 500

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 1 mi oval, it was the fourth race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

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.

First practice
Ryan Blaney was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 25.403 seconds and a speed of 141.716 mph.

Qualifying
Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 25.480 and a speed of 141.287 mph.

Second practice
Chris Buescher was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 26.092 seconds and a speed of 137.973 mph.

Final practice
Joey Logano was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.126 seconds and a speed of 137.794 mph.

Stage 1
Ryan Blaney started on the pole but immediately surrendered the lead to Chase Elliott. Unfortunately for Elliott, he started a little too fast as NASCAR deemed his restart illegal and the No. 9 had to serve a pass-through penalty immediately. When Elliott came down pit road, Ryan Blaney regained the top spot.

Kyle Busch rode behind Blaney for the first 35 laps, but once the lapped traffic came into play, Busch capitalized on an opportunity and passed Blaney for the lead. Not long after, Erik Jones complained of a rear vibration, blew a tire and went for a spin to bring out the first caution of the day.

Denny Hamlin emerged as the race leader after opting for two tires under yellow ahead of Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson, who also took two tires. Kyle Busch was the first of the drivers taking four tires to make it off pit road in fourth. Elliott flipped some track position during the caution too, bouncing back to the top 20 after the early setback. Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. were penalized for speeding on pit road and had to restart from the rear.

The two tire gamble didn't help any of the three drivers on the restart as it concerned holding off Kyle Busch, who immediately drove past them on the outside and reclaimed the lead. As Busch paced the field, Brad Keselowski fell to the back of the pack, complaining on the radio about his car.

Shortly after the complaint, Brad Keselowski blew a tire and hit the wall. The issue was bigger than just a tire however as Keselowski was forced to bring his No. 2 to the garage, though he did rejoin the race. It was almost a headache for Ryan Preece, too, but he continued his wizardry of eluding crashes by narrowly driving around Keselowski. Before the restart, Daniel Suarez's car shut down and he had to be pushed to pit road, although it didn't end his day.

Ryan Blaney reclaimed the lead on the restart, capitalizing on Aric Almirola spinning the tires. He would go on to finish the stage in the same position he started: first.

Stage 2
Kyle Busch restarted Stage 2 from the lead ahead of Kevin Harvick and had no troubles assuming his place out front. Clint Bowyer moved his way into second while Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

This remained the same throughout the entire stage as Busch led every single lap en route to the green-and-white checkered flag. Kyle Busch did run the final two laps under yellow however after Alex Bowman continued the theme of blown tires, running into the wall and ending the stage under caution.

Final Stage
Kyle Busch won the race off pit road between stages and restarted ahead of Bowyer in the lead. As Busch led the way, in the rear of the field, Michael McDowell got loose and hit the wall, taking out his teammate David Ragan in the process. That ended a rough week for Michael McDowell which included getting body-slammed by Daniel Suarez after qualifying.

Daniel Hemric stayed out and led the field to green in the No. 8 ahead of teammate Austin Dillon who took fuel only under yellow. With risky moves came a shaky restart, which proved to be too much for Ryan Preece, who got loose after touching Suarez's bumper and went spinning to bring out another caution. The No. 47 was able to make it back onto the track but not for long as he made contact and brought out the caution again shortly after the restart.

Ryan Preece's second caution brought Daniel Hemric, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer down pit road while the rest of the leaders stayed out. Aric Almirola assumed the race lead on the restart ahead of Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 took the lead away from Almirola with 60 to go with Busch following into second place not long after.

With less than 50 to go, Matt DiBenedetto brought his car onto pit road citing battery issues. This ruined another strong outing for the No. 95 and more importantly tanked the DFS lineups that used him as a value play similarly to McDowell earlier in the race. Blaney held the lead until 15 to go when Kyle Busch finally pounced and made his move. Once he made the pass, that was all she wrote as Busch drove onto his first win of the season.

Kyle Busch won his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, the TicketGuardian 500, on Sunday at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, clinching his 199th career victory in all three major series. Busch collected win No. 198 on Saturday when he took the checkered flag in the Xfinity Series race.

Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 75

Stage Two Laps: 75

Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 162

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: 101.693 mph

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.

Radio
MRN covered the radio action for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.