Erik Jones a Winner at Iowa

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AMES, IA – RIS – Erik Jones took off at the green flag, and despite some problems in the pits, came back to score a decisive victory over Ty Dillon in the US Cellular 250 NASCAR XFINITY race at Iowa Speedway. Jones led 154 of the 250 laps and beat Dillon to the line by 3.533 seconds.  It was Jones’ third win of the season.

“It was a great day.  It was a great car,” Jones said.  “One that definitely deserved to win this race.  I feel like the fastest car won tonight.”

Jones qualified second, but made quick work of pole-sitter Daniel Suarez on the first lap.  While many teams flew their Sprint Cup pit crews for the race, car owner Joe Gibbs did not.  The result was pit stop mistakes that continually found Jones losing spots on pit road.  His car was so good that he was always able to pass cars and get back to the lead.

After a caution for Brandon McReynolds’ crash, Jones once again found himself back in the field.  Dillon was in first place and looked to be the winner, but in the later part of the race, Jones was able to run him down and deny Dillon from getting his first win of the season.

“I want to win so bad,” Dillon said.  “That was all I had.”

Dillion’s winless streak now stands at 66 races and counting.

There was only one Sprint Cup driver in the field.  Brad Keselowski flew to Iowa from Pocono, but had a rough night.  After running in the top five for a lot of the ninth, he finished eighth in the Team Penske Mustang.

Suarez started from the pole, and was running seventh when McReynolds had his misfortune.  When Josh Berry, driving the 88 for JR Motorsports, couldn’t get going.  Suarez plowed into him, damaging his car.  He finished 30th which allowed Elliott to extend his lead over Suarez to 14 points.

Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
1 2 20 Erik Jones # DeWalt Toyota 250 45 5 Running 4 154
2 15 3 Ty Dillon Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Chevrolet 250 40 1 Running 1 83
3 4 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Chevrolet 250 39 1 Running 1 9
4 25 48 Brennan Poole # DC Solar Chevrolet 250 37 Running
5 3 18 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Toyota 250 36 Running
6 7 2 Sam Hornish Jr. Rheem Chevrolet 250 35 Running
7 11 7 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet 250 34 Running
8 5 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Discount Tire Ford 250 0 Running
9 6 88 Josh Berry SunEnergy1 Chevrolet 250 32 Running
10 14 16 Ryan Reed Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford 250 31 Running
11 8 62 Brendan Gaughan U.S. Cellular Chevrolet 250 30 Running
12 9 28 Drew Herring JGL Young Guns Toyota 249 29 Running
13 13 11 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 249 28 Running
14 17 44 JJ Yeley Zachry Toyota 249 28 1 Running 1 4
15 16 39 Ryan Sieg Ritchie Chevrolet 249 26 Running
16 19 33 Brandon Jones # Macklanburg-Duncan/Menards Chevrolet 248 25 Running
17 23 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 248 24 Running
18 12 4 Ross Chastain Flex Seal Chevrolet 248 23 Running
19 26 42 Justin Marks Katerra Chevrolet 247 22 Running
20 22 07 Ray Black Jr. # Scuba Life Chevrolet 247 21 Running
21 28 93 David Starr Massimo Motors Chevrolet 247 20 Running
22 20 0 Garrett Smithley # Flex Shot Chevrolet 245 19 Running
23 32 78 BJ McLeod # MOMO Ford 245 18 Running
24 30 52 Joey Gase Iowa Donor Network Chevrolet 244 17 Running
25 34 90 Mario Gosselin BuckedUp Apparel Chevrolet 242 16 Running
26 31 15 Michael Lira Safecraft/MOMO Ford 239 15 Running
27 10 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. Fastenal Ford 239 14 Running
28 37 74 Mike Harmon Rubba Ducks Dodge 238 13 Running
29 40 25 Spencer Boyd(i) Wick Buildings Chevrolet 234 0 Running
30 1 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota 174 11 Engine
31 27 14 Jeff Green Toyota 152 10 Brakes
32 18 24 Brandon McReynolds JGL Young Guns Toyota 147 9 Accident
33 35 70 Derrike Cope E-hydrate/Ice-Frost.com Chevrolet 139 8 Brakes
34 21 01 Ryan Preece # Flex Seal Liquid Chevrolet 127 7 Accident
35 38 97 Matt Waltz Vroom Brands Chevrolet 95 6 Rear Gear
36 36 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 62 5 Handling
37 29 40 Timmy Hill(i) CrashClaimsR.us Toyota 61 0 Engine
38 33 77 TJ Bell Vroom Brands Chevrolet 55 3 Electrical
39 24 10 Mike Bliss(i) Toyota 4 0 Vibration
40 39 13 John Jackson TLC Resorts Chevrolet 2 1 Electrical


Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2016, Issue 6, Posted 12:24 AM, 07.31.2016