The 2016 Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville was the 23rd stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the seventh iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 27, 2016, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America, a 4.048 miles (6.515 km) permanent road course. The race was extended from its scheduled 45 laps to 48 due to a green–white–checker finish. Michael McDowell, driving for Richard Childress Racing, came home with the win, his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. Brennan Poole would end up finishing in 3rd, with Brendan Gaughan finishing in 2nd.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 32 in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | August 27, 2016 | ||
| Official name | Seventh Annual Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville | ||
| Location | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Road America | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 4.048 mi (6.515 km) | ||
| Distance | 48 laps, 194.304 mi (312.702 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 45 laps, 182.16 mi (293.16 km) | ||
| Average speed | 74.573 mph (120.014 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 2:12.641 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 24 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Dave Burns, Dale Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Report
editBackground
editThe race was held at Road America, which is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IndyCar Series, SCCA Pirelli World Challenge, ASRA, AMA Superbike series, and SCCA Pro Racing's Trans-Am Series.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first 55-minute practice session was held on Friday, August 26, at 9:00 AM CST.[1] Michael McDowell, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 2:23.138 and an average speed of 108.847 mph (175.172 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2:23.138 | 108.847 |
| 2 | 18 | Owen Kelly | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2:23.155 | 108.839 |
| 3 | 22 | Alex Tagliani | Team Penske | Ford | 2:23.486 | 108.687 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Final practice
editThe final 55-minute practice session was held on Friday, August 26, at 11:00 AM CST.[1] Justin Marks, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 2:29.076 and an average speed of 108.946 mph (175.332 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Justin Marks | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2:22.936 | 108.946 |
| 2 | 20 | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2:23.015 | 108.907 |
| 3 | 22 | Alex Tagliani | Team Penske | Ford | 2:23.706 | 108.571 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, August 26, at 5:35 PM CST.[2] Since Road America is a road course, the qualifying system is a two group system, with two rounds. Drivers will be separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. Each driver will have multiple laps to set a time. The fastest 5 drivers from each group will advance to the final round. The fastest driver to set a time in that round will win the pole. Alex Tagliani, driving for Team Penske, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 2:12.641, and an average speed of 109.866 mph (176.812 km/h).
No one would fail to qualify for the race.
Qualifying results
edit| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Alex Tagliani | Team Penske | Ford | 2:12.641 | 109.866 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing | Toyota | 2:12.974 | 109.591 | ||||
| 3 | 42 | Justin Marks | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2:13.455 | 109.196 | ||||
| Official qualifying results | ||||||||||
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||||
Race results
edit| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | Michael McDowell | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 48 | 24 | Running | 0 |
| 2 | 8 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 48 | 2 | Running | 40 |
| 3 | 12 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 48 | 0 | Running | 38 |
References
edit- ^ a b "2016 NASCAR Xfinity Road America Race Info". Jayski.com. 2017-08-27. Archived from the original on 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Media related to 2016 Road America 180 at Wikimedia Commons