The NASCAR XFINITY Series travels to Iowa Speedway for the sixth annual American Ethanol E15 250 at the 0.75-mile oval located just outside of Newton, Iowa. The XFINITY Series will run their 14th race of the season as we get into the summer months of the schedule. Chris Buescher, not entered this weekend, is the defending race winner of the annual spring event.
Some interesting names across 41 drivers are on the entry list. Some of these include Ben Kennedy, Tyler Young, Harrison Rhodes, Timmy Hill, Sam Hornish Jr., Brad Keselowski, Drew Herring, Travis Kvapil, Justin Marks, Claire Decker, BJ McLeod, Mario Gosselin and Paige Decker.
Daniel Suarez fulfilled his dream of winning a NASCAR XFINITY Series race last weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Suarez became the first driver from Mexico to win in NASCAR’s top three national series after passing Sprint Cup veteran driver Kyle Busch in the waning laps.
“I’m still trying to believe and understand how it all happened, but the truth is that you can’t ask for anything else than a weekend like this,” said Suarez, from Monterrey, Mexico in a release. “It could not have been better. Winning the way we did, beating one of the best drivers in NASCAR today. And not only that, but also having some issues at the beginning of the race. The truth is that the team worked very hard, they never gave up. I got the tools to be ahead and at the end of the race we were able to get in front to fight for the victory.”
Suarez will run both Camping World Truck and XFINITY Series races at Iowa this weekend. The young driver enters the weekend looking to score his first Camping World Truck Series victory. He holds five top five and 11 top 10 finishes through 13 races.
Ben Kennedy will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut in the No. 2 Chevrolet with Richard Childress Racing. This is one of the three Childress entries with Ty Dillon and Brandon Jones behind the wheel of the No. 3 and 33 Chevrolet.
Kennedy is looking forward to practice the most as he prepares for the opportunity. “I’m really looking forward to practice on Friday. It’s been a little while since I’ve been behind the wheel of a car,” said Kennedy in a release. “I’m used to racing trucks, but I’ve spent some time with Danny (Stockman, crew chief) and the guys this week getting the car ready and it makes me confident we’ll roll off the truck fast. I can’t thank Richard Childress Racing and Ruud enough for this opportunity. I’m glad it’s at a track that I have some good experience at. It’ll just help with the learning curve all that much more.”
Danny Stockman Jr. will guide the 24-year old driver from the pit box.
With Suarez’s win last weekend at Michigan, other drivers enter Iowa looking to capture their first career win in the series. These include Darrell Wallace Jr., who like Suarez, came into the sport through the Drive for Diversity and NASCAR Next programs.
Brennan Poole and Brennan Jones are also potential candidates to receive their first career victories in the series. Poole holds one top five and seven top 10 finishes through 30 races with Chip Ganassi Racing. Jones, who runs full-time under the Richard Childress Racing banner, holds one top five and nine top 10s through 18 career starts.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series race will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 at 1:30 p.m. ET. on Sunday afternoon. The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM will carry the live radio broadcast.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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