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2017 Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indy Results – William Byron Wins Thriller

By Alex Herbst

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: William Byron, driver of the #9 Liberty University Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on July 22, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: William Byron, driver of the #9 Liberty University Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on July 22, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images) /
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In what may have been the most exciting NASCAR Xfinity Series race at IMS, William Byron won for the third time this season with JR Motorsports.

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The history of the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Indianapolis is deep, but racing at the Brickyard itself is something relatively new for the junior division. Recent years have seen the Lilly Diabetes 250 at IMS added to the schedule, taking the Indy race from the nearby Lucas Oil Raceway. Many have panned the on-track action in the last two installments, but the same could not be said today. William Byron earned his third career series victory in dramatic fashion on Saturday.

Byron, who had already won twice in his rookie campaign at Iowa and Daytona, held off Paul Menard in the final sixteen laps in one of the most exciting stock car races in recent memories at the Brickyard. The driver of the #9 Chevrolet won the first stage of the race, then finished off his performance by charging ahead after the final restart.

Thanks to a new rules package specifically for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there was a lot more passing for position and the lead. There were sixteen lead changes during the 100-lap race, more than the past two Xfinity races at IMS combined. Perhaps also attracting fans to the race were the struggles of the Cup Series regulars, with Xfinity series regulars leading the most laps. The only Cup driver to lead laps on the day was Kyle Busch, who fell prey to late race strategy and finished 12th.

Paul Menard came home in 2nd on Saturday with Richard Childress Racing, while Joey Logano, Elliott Sadler and Cole Custer rounded out the top 5. It was another strong day for JR Motorsports with two cars in the top 5, and Justin Allgaier led laps before getting into two incidents on pit road.

Here are the full race results from the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis:

  1. William Byron, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
  2. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  3. Joey Logano, Ford, Team Penske
  4. Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
  5. Cole Custer, Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing
  6. Ryan Reed, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
  7. Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  8. Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  9. Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  10. Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  11. Matt Tifft, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  12. Kyle Busch, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  13. Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
  14. Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, RSS Racing
  15. JJ Yeley, Toyota, Tri-Star Motorsports
  16. Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
  17. Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing
  18. Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
  19. Jeb Burton, Toyota, JGL Racing
  20. Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, JGL Racing
  21. Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
  22. Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
  23. Erik Jones, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
  24. Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, SS-Green Light Racing
  25. Michael Annett, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
  26. Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, B.J. McLeod Motorsports
  27. Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, King Autosport
  28. Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
  29. David Starr, Chevrolet, SS-Green Light Racing
  30. Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Means Racing
  31. Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Jeremy Clements Racing
  32. Chad Finchum, Dodge, MBM Racing
  33. B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, B.J. McLeod Motorsports
  34. Mike Harmon, Dodge, Harmon Racing
  35. Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
  36. Timmy Hill, Toyota, MBM Racing
  37. Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
  38. Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, JD Motorsports
  39. Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Shepherd Racing Ventures
  40. Jeff Green, Chevrolet, RSS Racing

Next: In NASCAR, Every Week is a Silly Week

The next race for the Xfinity Series sees the young guns return to the Iowa Speedway. The first standalone race of the NBC Sports section of the schedule comes on Saturday, July 29 at 3:30 PM eastern. See the race live on your local NBC affiliate.

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