2018 Iowa 250
The 2018 Iowa 250 presented by Enogen was the 14th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 8th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 17, 2018, in Newton, Iowa at Iowa Speedway, a 7⁄8 mile (1.4 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 250 laps to complete. At race's end, JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier would dominate the race to win his seventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his second of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing and Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 33 in the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | June 17, 2018 | ||
| Official name | 8th Annual Iowa 250 presented by Enogen | ||
| Location | Newton, Iowa, Iowa Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.875 mi (1.408 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 218.75 mi (352.044 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 250 laps, 218.75 mi (352.044 km) | ||
| Average speed | 102.1 miles per hour (164.3 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 23.971 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 184 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, Regan Smith | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered Recreational Vehicle viewing area along the backstretch.
Entry list
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Saturday, June 16, at 2:05 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.[2] Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.270 and an average speed of 129.790 miles per hour (208.877 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 24.270 | 129.790 |
| 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.295 | 129.656 |
| 3 | 3 | Shane Lee | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.305 | 129.603 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, June 16, at 4:40 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.[2] Kaz Grala of Fury Race Cars would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.221 and an average speed of 130.052 miles per hour (209.298 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61 | Kaz Grala | Fury Race Cars | Ford | 24.221 | 130.052 |
| 2 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.334 | 129.449 |
| 3 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.369 | 129.263 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Sunday, June 17, at 1:35 PM CST.[2] Since Iowa Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), 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]
Austin Cindric of Team Penske would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 23.971 and an average speed of 131.409 miles per hour (211.482 km/h).[5]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Riley Herbst | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 10 | 3 | Shane Lee | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 18 | Riley Herbst | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 8 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 130
References
- McFadin, Daniel (2018-06-17). "Justin Allgaier dominates in Xfinity win at Iowa Speedway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- "2018 NASCAR XFINITY Iowa Race Page". ESPN.com. 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- Beaver, Dan (2018-06-16). "Xfinity practice report at Iowa Speedway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
- McFadin, Daniel (2018-06-17). "Austin Cindric wins pole for Xfinity race at Iowa Speedway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- "2018 Iowa 250 presented by Enogen - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.