The NASCAR Xfinity series heads to Iowa Speedway for the first of two races this, but the American Ethanol E15 250 is the only one that will be held under the lights at Iowa. It was first held in May before moving to June in 2016, and it has always been 250 laps, although it was extended in 2015 for a green-white-checkered finish. Two drivers have won this race and they’re both “juniors” although not the one that you’re probably thinking about it: Sam Hornish and Ricky Stenhouse are the drivers in mind, not Dale Earnhardt.
Details
Event: American Ethanol E15 250
Category: Monster Energy Xfinity Series
Date: Saturday, June 24th – 8:30 PM ET
Location: Iowa Speedway, Newton, IA
Denny Hamlin picked up the win at Michigan last week in the Irish Hills 250, although he was given a run for his money by William Bryon. The rest of the top five consisted of Elliott Sadler, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch as the top five were all drivers that started in the top five (coincidentally, the starting five started from Busch and went backwards to Hamlin). Keselowski led a race-high 34 laps, but it was Hamlin who would get his first win in the Xfinity Series since the first Charlotte race last year, although he doesn’t race in this series very often. As far as the standings go, Sadler continues to lead Justin Allgaier, but a pair of rookies, Byron and Daniel Hemric, are starting to make some noise.
Past Five Winners
2016: Sam Hornish Jr.
2015: Chris Buescher
2014: Sam Hornish Jr.
2013: Trevor Bayne
2012: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
The Field
Justin Allgaier is the favorite to win this week. However, he is not the leader in the points standings. He’s currently in second place with 439 points, 21 shy of the leader. That leader is Elliott Sadler, who has an impressive 11 Top 10 finishes on the year so far. William Byron is in third place in the standings with 388 points but he is the second in line in terms of the betting odds for this week. On the year, Byron has yet to register a win but has three Top 5’s and seven Top 10’s for the season. The top five is rounded out with Sadler and Sam Hornish Jr. Daniel Hemric, who is fourth according to the standings, is eighth according to the odds for this week.
What To Know About The Track
Iowa Speedway opened in 2006, but the first race in the Xfinity Series didn’t take place here until 2009 (that would be the second race of the season at Iowa, which will be run here in late July). It is 0.875 miles long, but with banking of 12-14 degrees in the turns, 10 degrees on the frontstretch and four degrees on the backstretch, it is faster than you would think for a smaller track. It is very similar to Richmond International Raceway and it was partly designed by Rusty Wallace, who had a lot of success there, so it makes sense that his track would be much like Richmond.
A Good Matchup To Bet: William Byron Over Justin Allgaier
Allgaier finished seventh in both Iowa race last year, but he has finished outside of the top 10 in three of his last four starts. Byron has finished in the top six in two of his last three starts and he almost ran down Hamlin, one of the top Cup drivers out there, at Michigan. This is based purely on momentum and the rookie is hot lately.
Top-Five Pick: Sam Hornish Jr.
Why not? Hornish got the call to race this weekend and while he doesn’t do it very often, he finished in the top six in all three Xfinity races he ran in 2016 and again, he won here twice, along with a sixth at Iowa in the summer race; that was his second finish lower than fourth here in eight Iowa starts. Again, why not?
Odds To Win 2017 NASCAR Xfinity American Ethanol E15 250
Justin Allgaier +350
William Byron +400
Elliott Sadler +360
Sam Hornish Jr +560
Christopher Bell +1000
Kyle Benjamin +1200
Cole Custer +1500
Daniel Hemric +2000
Tyler Reddick +2500
Matt Tifft +2500
Brennan Poole +2500
Brendan Gaughan +2500
Ben Kennedy +3000
Scott Lagasse Jr +3000
Ryan Reed +4000
Brandon Jones +4000
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