2017 Virginia 529 College Savings 250
The 2017 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 was the 25th stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, September 8, 2017, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 250 laps to complete. In the final stages of the race, Brad Keselowski, driving for Team Penske, would pull away from the field to win his 36th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his second and final win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Ty Dillon, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 25 of 33 in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | September 8, 2017 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual Virginia 529 College Savings 250 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 187.5 mi (301.752 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 250 laps, 187.5 mi (301.752 km) | ||
| Average speed | 97.614 miles per hour (157.095 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 22.638 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 182 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Richmond Raceway (RR), formerly known as Richmond International Raceway (RIR), is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the IndyCar series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
The only one hour and 55-minute practice session was held on Friday, September 8, at 8:00 AM EST.[2] Blake Koch, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.967 and an average speed of 122.912 mph (197.808 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 21.967 | 122.912 |
| 2 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.106 | 122.139 |
| 3 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 22.159 | 121.847 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, September 8, at 4:15 PM EST.[2] Since Richmond Raceway is under 2 miles (3.2 km) 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.[4]
Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole after setting a time of 22.638 and an average speed of 119.268 mph (191.943 km/h) in the third round.[5]
Morgan Shepherd was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) | Time (R3) | Speed (R3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.638 | 119.268 |
| 2 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.722 | 118.828 |
| 3 | 22 | Brad Keselowski (i) | Team Penske | Ford | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.746 | 118.702 |
| 4 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.749 | 118.687 |
| 5 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.765 | 118.603 |
| 6 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.781 | 118.520 |
| 7 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.810 | 118.369 |
| 8 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.821 | 118.312 |
| 9 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.841 | 118.208 |
| 10 | 2 | Paul Menard (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.867 | 118.074 |
| 11 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | -* | -* | 22.881 | 118.002 |
| 12 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | -* | -* | -* | -* | 23.107 | 116.848 |
| Eliminated in Round 2 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | -* | -* | 22.784 | 118.504 | - | - |
| 14 | 20 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | -* | -* | 22.806 | 118.390 | - | - |
| 15 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 22.809 | 118.374 | - | - |
| 16 | 3 | Ty Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 22.845 | 118.188 | - | - |
| 17 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 22.867 | 118.074 | - | - |
| 18 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 22.965 | 117.570 | - | - |
| 19 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 23.018 | 117.300 | - | - |
| 20 | 24 | Dylan Lupton | JGL Racing | Toyota | -* | -* | 23.089 | 116.939 | - | - |
| 21 | 4 | Ross Chastain | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 23.111 | 116.827 | - | - |
| 22 | 98 | Casey Mears | Biagi-DenBeste Racing | Ford | -* | -* | 23.166 | 116.550 | - | - |
| 23 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 23.314 | 115.810 | - | - |
| 24 | 90 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* | 23.345 | 115.656 | - | - |
| Eliminated in Round 1 | ||||||||||
| 25 | 42 | Tyler Reddick | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 22.975 | 117.519 | - | - | - | - |
| 26 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 22.977 | 117.509 | - | - | - | - |
| 27 | 93 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 22.982 | 117.483 | - | - | - | - |
| 28 | 52 | Joey Gase | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 23.087 | 116.949 | - | - | - | - |
| 29 | 99 | David Starr | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 23.154 | 116.611 | - | - | - | - |
| 30 | 14 | J. J. Yeley | TriStar Motorsports | Toyota | 23.164 | 116.560 | - | - | - | - |
| 31 | 28 | Dakoda Armstrong | JGL Racing | Toyota | 23.169 | 116.535 | - | - | - | - |
| 32 | 13 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Dodge | 23.232 | 116.219 | - | - | - | - |
| 33 | 15 | Reed Sorenson (i) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.372 | 115.523 | - | - | - | - |
| Qualified by owner's points | ||||||||||
| 34 | 07 | Spencer Boyd | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 23.590 | 114.455 | - | - | - | - |
| 35 | 8 | Tommy Joe Martins | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.729 | 113.785 | - | - | - | - |
| 36 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Dodge | 23.902 | 112.961 | - | - | - | - |
| 37 | 78 | John Graham | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.445 | 110.452 | - | - | - | - |
| 38 | 01 | Harrison Rhodes | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.751 | 109.087 | - | - | - | - |
| 39 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.874 | 108.547 | - | - | - | - |
| 40 | 40 | Bobby Dale Earnhardt | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25.244 | 106.956 | - | - | - | - |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 41 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Chevrolet | 23.441 | 115.183 | - | - | - | - |
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||||
*Time not available.
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 75
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ty Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Brad Keselowski (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 7 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 2 | Paul Menard (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 75
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Brad Keselowski (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 3 | Ty Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | Paul Menard (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 100
Standings after the race
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References
- "Brad Keselowski perseveres in NASCAR XFINITY race at Richmond". ESPN.com. 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- "2017 NASCAR XFINITY Richmond Race Info". ESPN.com. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- Long, Dustin (2017-09-08). "Blake Koch leads final Xfinity practice at Richmond". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
- McFadin, Daniel (2017-09-08). "Kyle Busch wins pole for Richmond Xfinity race". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- "2017 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-07-04.