| Type: | NASXFIN |
| Location: | Newton, Iowa, Iowa Speedway |
| Distance Mi: | 222.25 |
| Pole Time: | 24.072 |
| Scheduled Km: | 352.044 |
| Distance Km: | 357.676 |
| Distance Laps: | 254 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 250 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 218.75 |
| Pole Driver: | Ryan Preece |
| Most Laps: | 141 |
| Most Driver: | Ryan Preece |
| Most Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Car: | 20 |
| First Driver: | Ryan Preece |
| Pole Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| First Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Network: | NBC |
| Radio: | Motor Racing Network |
| Announcers: | Dave Burns, Kyle Petty |
| Course Mi: | 0.875 |
| Course Km: | 1.408 |
| Race No: | 19 |
| Season No: | 33 |
| Year: | 2017 |
| Race Name: | U.S. Cellular 250 |
| Official Name: | Ninth Annual U.S. Cellular 250 |
| Date: | July 29 |
| Avg: | 96.9mph |
The 2017 U.S. Cellular 250 was the 19th stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the ninth iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 29, 2017, in Newton, Iowa, at Iowa Speedway, a 0.875 miles (1.408 km) permanent D-shaped low-banked racetrack. The race was extended from 150 laps to 154 laps, due to a NASCAR overtime finish. Ryan Preece, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, held off Kyle Benjamin in a close finish for his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Preece would beat Benjamin by 0.054 of a second.[1] To fill out the podium, Brian Scott of Richard Childress Racing would finish third, respectively.
The race was held at Iowa Speedway, which is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately 30miles east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch.
The first practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 4:00 PM CST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Sam Hornish Jr. of Team Penske would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.721 and an average speed of 127.422mph.[3]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 24.721 | 127.422 | |
| 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.773 | 127.155 | |
| 3 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 24.802 | 127.006 | |
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The final practice session was held on Friday, July 28, at 5:30 PM CST. The session would last for 55 minutes. Ben Kennedy of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.244 and an average speed of 129.929mph.[4]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.244 | 129.929 | |
| 2 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 24.423 | 128.977 | |
| 3 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 24.442 | 128.877 | |
| Full final practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 29, at 11:00 AM CST. Since Iowa Speedway is under 2miles in length, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included three rounds. The first round was 15 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 15 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 24 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Round 3 consisted of the fastest 12 drivers from Round 2, and the drivers would have 5 minutes to set a time. Whoever was fastest in Round 3 would win the pole.[5]
Ryan Preece of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 24.072 and an average speed of 130.857mph.[6]
Bobby Dale Earnhardt would fail to qualify.
Stage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 | |
| 2 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 | |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Benjamin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 | |
| 4 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 7 | |
| 5 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 6 | |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | |
| 7 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 | |
| 8 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 | |
| 9 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 | |
| 10 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 | |
| 2 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 | |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 | |
| 4 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 | |
| 5 | 18 | Kyle Benjamin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 | |
| 6 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 | |
| 7 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 4 | |
| 8 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 | |
| 9 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 | |
| 10 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Fin | St | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 20 | Ryan Preece | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 254 | 141 | Running | 59 | |
| 2 | 2 | 18 | Kyle Benjamin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 254 | 5 | Running | 49 | |
| 3 | 11 | 3 | Brian Scott | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 34 | |
| 4 | 8 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 45 | |
| 5 | 5 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 254 | 0 | Running | 39 | |
| 6 | 28 | 14 | J. J. Yeley | TriStar Motorsports | Toyota | 254 | 0 | Running | 31 | |
| 7 | 3 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 30 | |
| 8 | 7 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 30 | |
| 9 | 17 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 28 | |
| 10 | 19 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 27 | |
| 11 | 21 | 96 | Brett Moffitt (i) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 12 | 6 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 2 | Running | 42 | |
| 13 | 16 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 24 | |
| 14 | 25 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 23 | |
| 15 | 26 | 01 | Harrison Rhodes | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 22 | |
| 16 | 9 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 254 | 0 | Running | 23 | |
| 17 | 20 | 28 | Dakoda Armstrong | JGL Racing | Toyota | 254 | 0 | Running | 20 | |
| 18 | 22 | 4 | Ross Chastain | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 254 | 0 | Running | 19 | |
| 19 | 10 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 253 | 0 | Running | 22 | |
| 20 | 14 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 252 | 106 | Running | 32 | |
| 21 | 18 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 252 | 0 | Running | 16 | |
| 22 | 31 | 8 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 252 | 0 | Running | 15 | |
| 23 | 13 | 2 | Ben Kennedy (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 251 | 0 | Running | 23 | |
| 24 | 30 | 52 | Joey Gase | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 13 | |
| 25 | 32 | 24 | Dylan Lupton | JGL Racing | Toyota | 249 | 0 | RUnning | 12 | |
| 26 | 36 | 99 | David Starr | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 11 | |
| 27 | 35 | 78 | Tommy Joe Martins | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 10 | |
| 28 | 27 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | Running | 9 | |
| 29 | 38 | 90 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 248 | 0 | Running | 8 | |
| 30 | 37 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | Running | 7 | |
| 31 | 40 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Dodge | 243 | 0 | Running | 6 | |
| 32 | 39 | 40 | Stan Mullis | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 241 | 0 | Running | 5 | |
| 33 | 23 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 233 | 0 | Running | 4 | |
| 34 | 4 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Team Penske | Ford | 229 | 0 | Accident | 13 | |
| 35 | 34 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Accident | 2 | |
| 36 | 15 | 42 | Tyler Reddick | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 218 | 0 | Running | 1 | |
| 37 | 12 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 170 | 0 | Accident | 1 | |
| 38 | 33 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Chevrolet | 46 | 0 | Handling | 1 | |
| 39 | 29 | 15 | Reed Sorenson (i) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 | 0 | Transmission | 0 | |
| 40 | 24 | 93 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | 0 | Vibration | 1 | |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elliott Sadler | 707 | |||||||
| 2 | William Byron | 653 (-54) | |||||||
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | 564 (–143) | |||||||
| 4 | Brennan Poole | 518 (–189) | |||||||
| 5 | Daniel Hemric | 488 (–219) | |||||||
| 6 | Cole Custer | 474 (-233) | |||||||
| 7 | Matt Tifft | 436 (-271) | |||||||
| 8 | Ryan Reed | 424 (-283) | |||||||
| 9 | Dakoda Armstrong | 388 (-319) | |||||||
| 10 | Blake Koch | 374 (-333) | |||||||
| 11 | Michael Annett | 371 (-336) | |||||||
| 12 | Brendan Gaughan | 353 (-354) | |||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||