2017 U.S. Cellular 250
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The 2017 U.S. Cellular 250 was the 19th stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the ninth iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 29, 2017, in Newton, Iowa, at Iowa Speedway, a 0.875 miles (1.408 km) permanent D-shaped low-banked racetrack. The race was extended from 150 laps to 154 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Ryan Preece, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, held off Kyle Benjamin in a close finish for his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Preece would beat Benjamin by 0.054 of a second. To fill out the podium, Brian Scott of Richard Childress Racing would finish third, respectively.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 4:00 PM CST. The session would last for 55 minutes. Sam Hornish Jr. of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.721 and an average speed of 127.422 mph (205.066 km/h).
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 24.721 | 127.422 |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.773 | 127.155 |
| 3 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 24.802 | 127.006 |
Final practice
The final practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 5:30 PM CST. The session would last for 55 minutes. Ben Kennedy of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.244 and an average speed of 129.929 mph (209.100 km/h).
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.244 | 129.929 |
| 2 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 24.423 | 128.977 |
| 3 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 24.442 | 128.877 |
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 29, at 11:00 AM CST. Since Iowa Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.
Ryan Preece of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 24.072 and an average speed of 130.857 miles per hour (210.594 km/h).
Bobby Dale Earnhardt would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Benjamin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Benjamin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 134
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 254 | 141 | Running | 59 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Benjamin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 254 | 5 | Running | 49 |
| 3 | 3 | Brian Scott | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 4 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 45 |
| 5 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 254 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 14 | J. J. Yeley | TriStar Motorsports | Toyota | 254 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 8 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 9 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 27 |
| 11 | 96 | Brett Moffitt (i) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 12 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 2 | Running | 42 |
| 13 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 24 |
| 14 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 01 | Harrison Rhodes | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 254 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 17 | 28 | Dakoda Armstrong | JGL Racing | Toyota | 254 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 4 | Ross Chastain | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 253 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 20 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 252 | 106 | Running | 32 |
| 21 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 252 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 8 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 252 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 251 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 24 | 52 | Joey Gase | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 24 | Dylan Lupton | JGL Racing | Toyota | 249 | 0 | RUnning | 12 |
| 26 | 99 | David Starr | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 78 | Tommy Joe Martins | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 10 |
| 28 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 90 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Dodge | 243 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 40 | Stan Mullis | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 241 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 233 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 229 | 0 | Accident | 13 |
| 35 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Accident | 2 |
| 36 | 42 | Tyler Reddick | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| 37 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 170 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Chevrolet | 46 | 0 | Handling | 1 |
| 39 | 15 | Reed Sorenson (i) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 | 0 | Transmission | 0 |
| 40 | 93 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | 0 | Vibration | 1 |
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Elliott Sadler 707 2 William Byron 653 (–54) 3 Justin Allgaier 564 (–143) 4 Brennan Poole 518 (–189) 5 Daniel Hemric 488 (–219) 6 Cole Custer 474 (–233) 7 Matt Tifft 436 (–271) 8 Ryan Reed 424 (–283) 9 Dakoda Armstrong 388 (–319) 10 Blake Koch 374 (–333) 11 Michael Annett 371 (–336) 12 Brendan Gaughan 353 (–354) Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings. | |||
| 1 | Elliott Sadler | 707 | |
| 2 | William Byron | 653 (–54) | |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | 564 (–143) | |
| 4 | Brennan Poole | 518 (–189) | |
| 5 | Daniel Hemric | 488 (–219) | |
| 6 | Cole Custer | 474 (–233) | |
| 7 | Matt Tifft | 436 (–271) | |
| 8 | Ryan Reed | 424 (–283) | |
| 9 | Dakoda Armstrong | 388 (–319) | |
| 10 | Blake Koch | 374 (–333) | |
| 11 | Michael Annett | 371 (–336) | |
| 12 | Brendan Gaughan | 353 (–354) | |
| Previous race: 2017 Lilly Diabetes 250 | NASCAR Xfinity Series 2017 season | Next race: 2017 Zippo 200 at The Glen |