NASCAR at Phoenix 2019 Results: Kyle Busch Holds Off Martin Truex Jr. for Win

Kyle Busch earned his first win of the 2019 Monster Energy Cup season with a first-place finish at the TicketGuardian 500 on Sunday.

The No. 18 car led 177 of 312 laps and made his final pass with 15 left to come away with the victory at ISM Raceway in Phoenix. Martin Truex Jr. ended up in second place, 1.259 seconds behind the leader.

Although the season is still less than a month old, Busch has put himself in great shape for the standings with his latest win.

Final Results

1. Kyle Busch (18)

2. Martin Truex Jr. (19)

3. Ryan Blaney (12)

4. Aric Almirola (10)

5. Denny Hamlin (11)

6. Kyle Larson (42)

7. Kurt Busch (1)

8. Jimmie Johnson (48)

9. Kevin Harvick (4)

10. Joey Logano (22)

Full results available at NASCAR.com.

Busch earned his 199th career victory with his performance, cruising to the checkered flag in the final lap:

The hard work came earlier when he went by Ryan Blaney to get into the first position:

While Blaney came in third, he and Busch were two of the best drivers on the track Sunday.

The No. 12 car won qualifying and began on the pole before controlling the early action in this race. He led the first 35 laps and stayed in the hunt until coming through with a Stage 1 victory, his second stage win of the season:

The second stage was then owned by Busch, who led every single lap before crossing the finish line for an extra playoff point.

There was little action during this stretch, but strategy was also important:

Busch's domination continued throughout the second half of the race, quickly taking back the lead from Jimmie Johnson after a pit stop.

More cautions led to a shake-up with about 90 laps left, with Aric Almirola moving toward the front and Daniel Hemric right behind him. Blaney then moved out in front with about 60 laps to go, but the big story was whether he could hold off Busch quickly climbing up the standings.

Though fuel was a bit of a concern, the No. 18 car flew past the competition before closing out an impressive win, continuing his incredible career across all levels of racing:

He will look to match Richard Petty with 200 wins next week. The schedule will keep the Monster Energy Cup series on the West Coast, with the Auto Club 400 set for Sunday in Fontana, California.