Erik Jones re-took the lead from Ty Dillon with 16 laps to go and won the NASCAR Xfinity race Saturday night at Iowa Speedway. As a result, it was Jones’s third victory on the 2016 season and first that wasn’t a Dash 4 Cash event.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led a race high 154 of 250 laps turned. However, it took a crafty inside move for Jones to overcome Dillon late in the race. It was Jones’ first victory since he claimed victory at Dover in May.
“It’s a great day. We had a great car. One that definitely deserved to win the race,” Jones said in victory lane. “The fastest car I feel like won tonight, which is always a good feeling. It was an awesome day for us. “I feel like we deserved to win when we came here earlier this year, we had a really fast car. It was nice to get some redemption for that one.”
Ty Dillon was looking for his first trip to the Winners Circle since Indianapolis in 2014. For almost 83 circuits, it looked as though Ty Dillon’s win-less streak would finally come to an end. That was until Erik Jones displayed the talent that has NASCAR experts have been predicting out of the Joe Gibbs Racing prodigy.
Unfortunately, the young speedster finished second fiddle once again. As a result, the Sprint Cup Series part-timer is now win-less in 66 races. Dillon’s spirits were up after the race considering the outcome.
“I want the win so bad,” said Dillon, whose drought extended to 66 races. “That was all I had. They (Joe Gibbs Racing) are good right now. That was all I had. “I’m also proud of my guys. They gave us a great opportunity tonight. My heart’s been broken every race since Indy site of Dillon’s last win in 2014. I want to get in victory lane again. We’re close; we just have to get a little better.”
Elliott Sadler drove to a third place finish at Iowa Speedway on Saturday. The performance also helped the veteran climb to the Xfinity Series points lead over Daniel Suarez. He was followed to the checkered flag by Brennan Poole who notched an impressive fourth place finish.
Dakoda Armstrong proved he has what it takes to compete with the big boys and finished out in the fifth spot. Brad Keselowski turned out to be the only Sprint Cup regular to travel from Pocono Raceway and compete at Iowa Speedway. Pocono was the site of this Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race, that was rained out until Monday afternoon. The four-time 2016 Sprint Cup race winner, finished eighth in his #22 Discount Tire Ford.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez won the Coors Light Pole Award on Saturday afternoon before the race. The Mexican born speedster ran second to his teammate Erik Jones for the first half of the contest. Suarez was running seventh before Brandon McReynolds’ accident brought out another caution flag.
During the re-start at Iowa Speedway, Josh Berry’s #88 Sun Energy 1 Chevrolet refused to take off. As a result, Suarez’s # 19 ARRIS Toyota plowed into it. He suffered heavy damage to the front end of his hot-rod. Suarez would stay on the .875 mile paved oval for several laps before driving onto pit road. Unable to continue, Suarez tallied a 30th place finish and lost the lead in the championship standings to Elliott Sadler.
The Final Results for the US Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway:
1. (2) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 250
2. (15) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 250
3. (4) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 250
4. (25) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 250
5. (3) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 250
6. (7) Sam Hornish Jr., Chevrolet, 250
7. (11) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250
8. (5) Brad Keselowski(i), Ford, 250
9. (6) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 250
10. (14) Ryan Reed, Ford, 250
11. (8) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 250
12. (9) Drew Herring, Toyota, 249
13. (13) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 249
14. (17) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 249
15. (16) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 249
16. (19) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 248
17. (23) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 248
18. (12) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 248
19. (26) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, 247
20. (22) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, 247
21. (28) David Starr, Chevrolet, 247
22. (20) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 245
23. (32) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 245
24. (30) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 244
25. (34) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 242
26. (31) Michael Lira, Ford, 239
27. (10) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 239
28. (37) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 238
29. (40) Spencer Boyd(i), Chevrolet, 234
30. (1) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Engine, 174
31. (27) Jeff Green, Toyota, Brakes, 152
32. (18) Brandon McReynolds, Toyota, Accident, 147
33. (35) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Brakes, 139
34. (21) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, Accident, 127
35. (38) Matt Waltz, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 95
36. (36) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 62
37. (29) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Engine, 61
38. (33) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, Electrical, 55
39. (24) Mike Bliss(i), Toyota, Vibration, 4
40. (39) John Jackson, Chevrolet, Electrical, 2
Average Speed of Race Winner: 104.401 miles per hour
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 05 Mins, 43 Secs. Margin of Victory: 3.533 Seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 29 laps
Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers
