NASCAR Xfinity Series at Michigan 2016 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Daniel Suarez won the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race of his career Saturday, passing Kyle Busch on the second-to-last lap to take the checkered flag in the Menards 250 at Michigan International Speedway. 

Busch led 88 of 125 laps and seemed destined for his fifth victory of the season, but he had to settle for a second-place finish following Suarez's strong move in the latter stages, as seen in this video courtesy of Fox Sports: NASCAR:

After getting chased down by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Busch had the following to say, per Motor Racing Network:

According to NASCAR Xfinity on Twitter, the Mexico-born driver made NASCAR history by entering victory lane at Michigan:

Following the win, Suarez could barely contain his excitement, as seen in this video from Fox Sports 1:

Here is a look at how the rest of the top 10 played out, with full results available at NASCAR.com:

Position	Driver	Car No.
1	Daniel Suarez	19
2	Kyle Busch	18
3	Paul Menard	2
4	Erik Jones	20
5	Elliott Sadler	1
6	Joey Logano	22
7	Alex Bowman	88
8	Justin Allgaier	7
9	Darrell Wallace Jr.	6
10	Brandon Jones	33

Suarez entered the race with an 11-point advantage over Elliott Sadler in the Xfinity Series standings, and that lead increased by virtue of his triumph. The following is a rundown of the top 10 after the season's 13th event:

Position	Driver	Points	Behind	Wins
1	Daniel Suarez	452	Leader	1
2	Elliott Sadler	434	-18	1
3	Ty Dillon	416	-36	0
4	Erik Jones	397	-55	2
5	Justin Allgaier	388	-64	0
6	Brandon Jones	388	-64	0
7	Brendan Gaughan	386	-66	0
8	Brennan Poole	373	-79	0
9	Darrell Wallace Jr.	340	-112	0
10	Ryan Reed	301	-151	0

Alex Bowman won the pole in just his third Xfinity Series race of the season and led the first 11 laps until Erik Jones overtook him.

The 20-year-old raced with a heavy heart after the death of his father Tuesday, but he led 18 laps and registered a strong fourth-place finish, which bolstered his already secure spot in the Chase. He had previously won two races.

Jones' 17-lap foray out front was interrupted by the day's first caution brought on by debris, and that led directly to Busch taking command of the race.

While the break in the action represented a huge positive for Busch, it nearly derailed Suarez's day. A pit-road penalty pushed him all the way back to 25th place, but the No. 19 team persevered.

As seen in this GIF courtesy of NASCAR Xfinity, the 24-year-old driver battled his way back through the field and put himself in position to contend for the win late in the face of adversity:

Suarez wasn't the only championship contender who ran into problems Saturday, as Ty Dillon also fought through a tough day.

With track temperatures at well over 100 degrees, Dillon didn't have the benefit of air conditioning in his car, according to Alan Cavanna of Fox Sports:

That made for an exhausting race, and as guest analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. pointed out via Fox Sports 1, it's unlikely that Dillon enjoyed his day at the office:

The AC situation may have contributed to a somewhat disappointing 15th-place finish, but Dillon still managed to maintain his third-place standing overall.

Once Busch took the lead on lap No. 31, he was in total control for nearly the remainder of the race.

The No. 18 car led 88 of the next 93 laps until Suarez and his superior car began to stalk Busch in the closing stages.

Suarez's daring move just prior to the final lap allowed him to pass Busch, and while the reigning Sprint Cup champion had a couple of runs at the lead on the final lap, Suarez managed to hold him off.

Following the impressive win, Suarez received congratulations from across the NASCAR world. That included a tip of the cap from Hall of Famer Mark Martin:

Current Sprint Cup star Martin Truex Jr. also gave props to the youngster for doing the unexpected:

Suarez was already a title contender entering the race since he was first in the standings, but the fact that he had yet to win a race created some doubt regarding whether he'd keep that top spot during the Chase.

He proved Saturday he can win races just like top competitors such as Sadler and Jones already have this season, and that fact makes the championship battle far more intriguing.

Winning the race by passing one of the all-time greats makes it even more special, and the confidence gained from taking the checkered flag in the Menards 250 could be what Suarez needed to establish himself as the title favorite. 

Post-Race Reaction

Following Suarez's groundbreaking victory, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France discussed its importance in a statement, according to NASCAR.com:

"

[Suarez] has competed in NASCAR for a relatively brief time, yet his impact on the sport has been immeasurable. Combining impressive talent and an incredible personality, Daniel has attracted fans throughout North America. His accomplishments already are too numerous to list, so I congratulate him on his latest, and so far greatest one—a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory. He has come close to victory on occasions, and clearly, today was worth the wait, as he had to pass [Busch], the series' all-time winningest driver, in the closing laps.

Today's victory proved what many already knew: Daniel has the skill, fortitude and passion for future NASCAR stardom. I look forward to watching his career grow, and accomplishments mount, as he battles for a championship this year in the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase.

"

Suarez was first in the standings entering the race and would have increased his lead had he simply settled for second, but he discussed his desire to go for the win rather than being content with a runner-up result, per NASCAR.com:

"

Honestly, I was trying as hard as possible—I was driving a little more on the edge. Honestly, I was maybe risking a little more than I should have. Everything was about the win so I was trying as hard as possible and it seemed like we were good in points, but not very good in wins. I was just very hungry and I know this team was at the same spot, we were very hungry to win races and finally we got the first one.

"

Busch was somewhat disappointed to lose the race after such a dominant performance, but he was still happy for his teammate in the aftermath, according to Joe Menzer of FoxSports.com:

"

You never want to get beat, but it's cool when you get beat fair and square. He did a really great job. He ran me down and had a really good car at the end there. He passed us clean and did everything he needed to do, so congratulations to [Suarez]. That's pretty awesome to get his first win here, and to beat us—a car like ours and a guy like me.

"

Suarez has been searching for a true breakout moment, and while winning in any way could have been categorized as such, doing it against Busch makes it even more significant.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.