This Weekend in NASCAR – Iowa Storylines

Two of NASCAR’s three national series are in action this weekend, with the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series at Iowa Speedway. The Sprint Cup Series is off until June 26 at Sonoma Raceway. Weekend storylines follow…

Off until June 26 at Sonoma Raceway.

The Race: American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen
The Place: Iowa Speedway
The Date: Sunday, June 19
The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET (Canadian viewers should check TSN listings)
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 218.75 miles (250 laps)

Iowa Speedway: A Jewel In The Midwest
From one of the largest tracks on the circuit (Michigan) to one of the smaller tracks (Iowa), NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers will test their versatility in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen at Iowa Speedway. The .875-mile track has been home to some timeless racing through the years and this Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1) fans can expect more of the same great competition.

Iowa Speedway joined the NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule in 2009, and the inaugural race was won by former series champion Brad Keselowski back when he drove for JR Motorsports and owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This weekend, Keselowski returns to Iowa with Team Penske to add another Iowa Speedway ‘American Ethanol Pump’ trophy to his collection. Keselowski has made five starts at Iowa, posting three wins (2009, 2013, 2014) – tied for the most in the series with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – five top fives and an average finish of 2.0.

Iowa Speedway has hosted 12 NASCAR XFINITY Series races, producing seven different pole winners and eight different race winners. Many of the drivers attribute the great racing to the design of Iowa Speedway. The frontstretch has a slight 10 degree banking that works great for cars on entry into the progressive banking in the turns that vary from 12 to 14 degrees. This weekend’s event is slated to run 218.75 miles / 250 laps.

Of the 12 races only one has been won from the Coors Light Pole – Elliott Sadler in 2012. The second starting positon has produced the highest number of winners in the field with four. Sadler and Keselowski are the only two drivers entered this weekend with previous wins at Iowa. Sadler also leads the series in poles at Iowa with three.

Suárez’s Dream Comes True With Win
In the closing laps of last weekend’s race, the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suárez, showcased their high-level talents as their Toyotas fiercely battled during the final lap. Kyle Busch boasts 80 wins in the series, but this past weekend, it was Suárez claiming the victory for the first time. In doing so, the NASCAR Next and NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduate became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national series race.

“I’m still trying to believe and understand how it all happened, but the truth is that you can’t ask for anything else than a weekend like this,” said Suarez, from Monterrey, Mexico. “It could not have been better. Winning the way we did, beating one of the best drivers in NASCAR today. And not only that, but also having some issues at the beginning of the race. The truth is that the team worked very hard, they never gave up. I got the tools to be ahead and at the end of the race we were able to get in front to fight for the victory.”

Suárez’s win grew his points lead to 18 over both second-place Elliott Sadler and third-place Ty Dillon. Suárez’s win also all but locked him into the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase that begins at Kentucky Speedway in September. In addition to the victory, Suárez has one pole, five top fives and ranks tied with Elliott Sadler for a series leading 11 top-10 finishes.

Suárez has made two series starts at Iowa, posting one top 10 and an average finish of 12.0. He’ll pull double duty this weekend, also racing in Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event in the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

Ben Kennedy Makes Series Debut With Richard Childress Racing
Ben Kennedy will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut driving the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet under the guidance of crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. this weekend in Iowa. The No. 2 team has been strong of late with drivers Austin Dillon and Paul Menard behind the wheel. The two have combined to post one win (Dillon at Auto Club), eight top fives and 12 top 10s in 14 starts this season.

The 24-year-old great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., has 57 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, as well as 41 starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and seven starts in the K&N Pro Series West.

Kennedy will become the 28th driver to make his series debut at Iowa Speedway, joining active drivers Darrell Wallace Jr, Brandon Jones, BJ McLeod and Joey Gase. Kennedy has made three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Iowa, logging one top 10 and an average finish of 11.3.

Jones Can See The Standings Lead From Fourth
Cue the famous ‘Jaws’ movie music, because Joe Gibbs Racing driver Erik Jones is back in the top five waters and hunting the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings lead. Just 19 points separate Jones and standings leader Daniel Suárez as the series heads to Iowa Speedway this weekend.

Jones’ season has been like a roller coaster with ups and downs and twists and turns.  In 14 starts he has posted two wins, eight top fives, two DNFs and an average finish of 11.5. Jones posted his series leading eighth top five this past weekend at Michigan where he finished fourth.

Jones’ impressive season doesn’t stop there. The 20 year-old is also on pace to set a record for the most poles in the NASCAR XFINITY Series season during a rookie season. Jones currently has five poles in just 13 starts. The record is currently held by Denny Hamlin (2006) and Martin Truex Jr. (2004) with seven poles each.

In two starts at Iowa Jones has posted one top five, two top 10s and an average finish of 5.0.

A heavy-hearted Jones finished fourth at his home track – Michigan International Speedway – just days after his father, Dave Jones, passed away after a battle with cancer. Jones honored his father by displaying his name above the door of his No. 20 Toyota.

Looking For First Win
With Daniel Suárez being the latest driver to capture his first NASCAR XFINITY Series career win last weekend, the question now turns to – “Who’s next?”

Leading the contingent of those searching for their first taste of victory is Drive for Diversity and NASCAR Next program graduate, Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang.

Wallace is in his second full-time XFINITY Series season. In 13 starts in 2016, Wallace has posted two top fives and four top 10s including a runner-up finish at Dover a few weeks back. Iowa is one of Wallace’s better tracks. In four starts on the .875-mile oval, he has posted three top 10s and an average finish of 8.2.

Two other potential ‘first-win’ candidates are Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Brandon Jones and Brennan Poole. Jones has been working with crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. this season and the pair has produced seven top 10s and an average finish of 11.3 for Richard Childress Racing. In two starts at Iowa, Jones has posted one top 10.

Last but not least, Brennan Poole sits eighth in points after posting one top five and five top 10s in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro. Poole has made two starts at Iowa, posting a best finish of 14th last fall.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.

NASCAR In Iowa: NASCAR has hosted 22 national series events among two tracks (Iowa Speedway, 21 races and Davenport Speedway, one race) in the state of Iowa. All three of NASCAR national series have competed in the state of Iowa (NSCS, one; NXS, 12; NCWTS, nine). The first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Iowa was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Davenport Speedway on August 2, 1953 – the race was won by Herb Thomas (Hudson). The NASCAR XFINITY Series has held 12 races in the state of Iowa, all at Iowa Speedway. The first XFINITY Series races was held on August 1, 2009 and was won by Brad Keselowski (Chevrolet). The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has held nine races in the state of Iowa, all at Iowa Speedway. The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway was held on Sept. 9, 2009 and was won by Mike Skinner (Toyota). …

Iowa Drivers In NASCAR: A total of 30 drivers who have made at least one start in a NASCAR national series have their home state recorded as Iowa. Of the 30 Iowan drivers in NASCAR 25 have made at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. Of the 25, only two have visited Victory Lane in the Sprint Cup Series – Dick Hutcherson (Keokuk) with 14 wins and Johnny Beauchamp (Harlan) with two. Of the 30 Iowan NASCAR drivers only eight have competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series; led by Michael Annett (Des Moines) with 163 starts. Joey Gase (Cedar Rapids) is the only active Iowa native participating this weekend in the XFINITY Series event. No Iowan drivers have won in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Of the 30 drivers with their home state as Iowa, only seven have competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series; led by Chris Horn (Cedar Rapids) with 29 starts. No drivers from Iowa have won in the trucks.

The Race: Speediatrics 200
The Place: Iowa Speedway
The Date: Saturday, June 18
The Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 8 p.m. ET (Fox Sports Racing in Canada)
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 175 miles (200 laps)

Byron Blurs To Second Win At Texas
The record for youngest Texas winner fell for the second consecutive race after William Byron darted by Matt Crafton with five laps remaining to win the Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway last Friday.

Byron, 18 years, 6 months, 12 days old, surpassed last November’s winner Erik Jones (19 years, 5 months, 7 days) as the most youthful race winner at the 1.5-track.

The win marks Byron’s second of the season (tied with Matt Crafton for the series lead) and vaults him to third in the points standings (23 markers below Crafton).

In addition to his two victories, Byron has three top fives and four top 10s. The Charlotte native ranks second among full-time drivers in an abundance of loop data categories, including: average running position (8.2), driver rating (104.1), fastest laps (100) and laps led (133).

Byron and the rest of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series head next to Iowa Speedway for Saturday’s Speediatrics 200 (8 p.m. ET on FS1). Byron won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race there last May.

“We expected to run top 10 or top five early in the season while William adjusted to the trucks and new tracks, but holy cow, two wins in the first seven races is pretty amazing,” said Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle. “Kansas was a lot of speed and he had to do a good job. We almost lost it there on the last restart, but he got it back. At Texas he went out and earned it. We were decent and kept getting the truck a little better, but we weren’t perfect. He found the top groove, he decided to move around, he stood on the pedal there at the end and made it happen.”

Crafton Continues Intermediate Track Success
Nothing can slow down Matt Crafton on an intermediate track.

The No. 88 Toyota Racing driver placed runner-up in Friday’s Rattlesnake 500 for his 12th top-two showing (including seven wins) and 19th top-10 finish in 21 starts at 1.5-mile ovals since 2014.

Crafton tops the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings with a 2016 resume that boasts two wins, four top five and six top 10s. He claims an 18-point lead over second-place Timothy Peters.

Despite a fire at his ThorSport Racing team’s headquarters in Sandusky, Ohio, Crafton will race at Iowa where he’s logged one win, five top fives and nine top 10s in nine previous starts. He owns a 4.7 average finish at the 7/8-mile track.

Lone Star State Treats GMS Well
GMS Racing drivers Johnny Sauter and Ben Kennedy finished third and fourth, respectively, Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Sauter’s showing marked his third consecutive top-four performance and second straight top three.

Kennedy’s result was his first top-five finish of the season.

Sauter ranks seventh in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points standings on the strength of his one win and four top fives. Kennedy sits ninth.

GMS Racing’s Spencer Gallagher ranks eight in the series points standings due to his five top 10s.

Sauter is locked in to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase via his win at Daytona. Gallagher would make the Chase if the season ended today thanks to his points position.

Reddick On The Rise, Hemric Humming For Brad Keselowski Racing
Last season’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship runner-up Tyler Reddick continued his recent run of success with a fifth-place performance at Texas.

After failing to post a top 10 in the first four races of the season, Reddick has placed seventh or better in his last three starts. He now sits sixth in the standings and would make the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase if the season ended today. Reddick holds an 11-point advantage over Ben Kennedy, who is currently the “first driver out” of the playoffs.

Reddick’s Brad Keselowski Racing teammate Daniel Hemric has his Ford F-150 humming as well. He ranks tied with Matt Crafton for the series lead in top 10s with six and occupies the fourth spot in the points standings. Hemric would also have a Chase berth if the season ended today.

Abreu Flirts With First Win
Rico Abreu shot by second-place Matt Crafton on the final lap of Friday’s Rattlesnake 250, and looked like he could’ve caught race-winner William Byron, when he bumped the wall running the high line and faded back to a ninth-place finish.

A victory would’ve earned Abreu a berth in the eight-driver NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase. Right now, Abreu sits 17th in the series points standings, 36 markers behind Spencer Gallagher for the final Chase berth if he cannot pick up a win.

The ninth-place showing set a career high for Abreu, whose previous top finish was 10th at Martinsville.

“This was obviously not the finish we were hoping for,” Abreu said. “I got the top going in turns three and four there, and I kept following, and following, and you can only follow for so long. We came to the white (flag) and you have to push it with the way they’ve built this new Chase format, you have to win and he’s (William Byron) already won. I wasn’t going to do something too stupid, and wreck him, because I’ve done that before. I had to go for it, and I did. I know we have the speed in our Safelite Toyota Tundra’s, and I just have a lot of drive – I’m never giving up.”

Red Horse Wrangles In Strong Texas Finishes
Timothy Peters produced another solid finish, placing sixth at Texas. His Red Horse Racing teammate German Quiroga, who was making his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start since the 2014 season finale at Homestead, came in eighth.

Peters ranks second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, trailing Matt Crafton by 18 points.

He has finished in the top 10 of the series championship standings in each of his first seven full-time seasons with a career-high runner-up in 2010.

source – NASCAR communications