NXS: Erik Jones Victorious at Iowa Speedway

Erik Jones scored his fifth career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Jones, who started the night in second, stayed upfront all throughout the 250-lap event at the 0.875-mile oval. The Michigan native will leave Iowa with his third win of the season.

“Well, we didn’t have a fuel issue – a fuel pickup issue – which was nice,” Jones said after the race. “Just a really great race car, DEWALT FLEXVOLT Camry, so cool to get these guys to victory lane and just a great day for us. It was a great race car. Felt really good about it yesterday – what we had in practice – and it carried over in the race today, so just really happy to be here, really happy to get another win for these guys and we deserve many more and we were long overdue for one and just feels good to get it for them.”

Jones finished 27th after suffering a fuel pickup issue very early in the American Ethanol E15 250 at Iowa Speedway last month. The young driver started that race on the pole and did not lead any laps. His teammate Sam Hornish Jr. scored the win by leading 183 laps.

Ty Dillon ended the night in the runner-up position in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Dillon led 83 laps before eventual race winner Erik Jones passed him for the lead with 15 laps to go. The North Carolina native now holds six top five and 12 top 10 finishes through 19 races in 2016.

Elliott Sadler rounded out the top three finishers in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Sadler started the night in fourth and took his No. 1 OneMain Financial Chevrolet to a third-place finish. The Virginia native leaves Iowa with six top five and 16 top 10 finishes through 19 races.

Brennan Poole had some work to do when the U.S. Cellular 250 got underway. Poole started 25th and finished fourth in his No. 48 DC Solar Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing. The 25-year old now has two top five and nine top 10 finishes in 2016. The last time he finished inside the top five? At Talladega Superspeedway in May where he took home third.

Dakota Armstrong had a career night as he’ll leave Iowa Speedway with his best career finish. Armstrong, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 18 Toyota, started third and took his ride to a fifth-place run. His previous best finish came last July at Daytona International Speedway in a car owned by Richard Petty Motorsports.

Sam Hornish Jr. stepped back into a NASCAR XFINITY Series car for the second time of the year. Last June at Iowa, in a Joe Gibbs Racing car, Hornish took the No. 18 Toyota to victory lane. Driving the No. 2 Chevrolet, after starting the night in seventh, Hornish took his ride to a sixth-place finish when the checkers fell.

Brad Keselowski was the only driver who traveled to Iowa Speedway from Pocono Raceway. Keselowski stayed in the upper top 10 all throughout the night but was unable to lead the field. The former Sprint Cup Series champion has three top five and eight top 10 finishes through nine starts in 2016.

Darrell Wallace Jr. had a rough night in his No. 6 Fastenal Ford with Roush Fenway Racing. Wallace started the night in 10th and was running there until lap 26 when he spun over in turn two. The night would not go very well from there as he would also bring out the fourth caution of the night on lap 121. He would finish 27th and 11 laps down.

The next race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series will be next weekend at Watkins Glen International. Coverage of the race will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET. on CNBC. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM Channel 90 will have the live radio broadcast.

Brett Winningham
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