Xfinity: Erik Jones Stretches the Fuel to Win at Iowa
By Alex Herbst
While he led 154 of 250 laps on Saturday night, it was no easy cruise for Erik Jones to get to victory lane with Joe Gibbs Racing at Iowa Speedway.
The year 2016 in NASCAR has been all about Joe Gibbs Racing, especially in the Xfinity Series. All three of their cars have wins, with four different drivers, including the man who leads the first-ever Chase grid for the series, Erik Jones. On Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, he added another notch in his belt, winning the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa.
While the win marks a season sweep in the cornfields for JGR, with Sam Hornish Jr. winning there in June, it was not always smooth sailing for Jones on the way to victory lane. He battled hard with Richard Childress Racing driver Ty Dillon in the final hundred laps, fighting back after a less-than-stellar pit stop with a backup crew. Dillon, looking for his first win since Indy in 2014, would not be able to hold off Jones as the race neared it conclusion, losing the lead with fifteen laps to go and having to settle for a tough second place.
Fuel mileage would also come into play near the end of the race, with many gambling on trying to stretch their loads to the finish line, including leader Jones. Following Jones and Dillon across the line would be Elliott Sadler in third, who took the points lead from Daniel Suarez following a collision on a restart with Josh Berry in the #88 Chevy.
Like Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race, there would be little impact from Cup Series drivers, as only Brad Keselowski made the trip from Pocono out to Iowa. He would come home in eighth on the night, and never once took the lead in the event.
Here are the full results from the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa:
- Erik Jones, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
- Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
- Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Sam Hornish Jr., Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
- Brad Keselowski, Ford, Team Penske
- Josh Berry, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
- Ryan Reed, Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
- Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Drew Herring, Toyota, JGL Racing
- Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing
- JJ Yeley, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
- Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, RSS Racing
- Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
- Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Jeremy Clements Racing
- Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
- Justin Marks, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
- Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, SS Green Light Racing
- David Starr, Chevrolet, RSS Racing
- Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
- B.J. McLeod, Ford, B.J. McLeod Motorsports
- Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Means Racing
- Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, King Autosport
- Michael Lira, Ford, Rick Ware Racing
- Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing
- Mike Harmon, Dodge, Harmon Racing
- Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, Rick Ware Racing
- Daniel Suarez, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Jeff Green, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
- Brandon McReynolds, Toyota, JGL Racing
- Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Derrike Cope Racing
- Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
- Matt Waltz, Chevrolet, Obiaka Racing
- Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Shepherd Racing Ventures
- Timmy Hill, Toyota, MBM Racing
- T.J. Bell, Chevrolet, Obiaka Racing
- Mike Bliss, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
- John Jackson, Chevrolet, MBM Racing
Related Story: Four Predictions for the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono
The next race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series comes next Saturday from the twists and turns of upstate New York. Catch the Zippo 200 from the famed (and repaved) Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 6 live on your local NBC station.