The 2017 Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 was the 28th stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the second race of the Round of 12, and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2017, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1 mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, would dominate for most of the race to win his sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier and William Byron, both driving for JR Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 28 of 33 in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | September 30, 2017 | ||
| Official name | 32nd Annual Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 | ||
| Location | Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 200 mi (321.868 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 200 mi (321.868 km) | ||
| Average speed | 111.975 miles per hour (180.206 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | JR Motorsports | ||
| Time | 23.046 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 136 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, September 29, at 12:00 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.335 and an average speed of 154.275 mph (248.282 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Ryan Blaney (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 23.335 | 154.275 |
| 2 | 20 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.357 | 154.129 |
| 3 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.384 | 153.951 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
editThe final practice session, sometimes known as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, September 29, at 2:30 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.580 and an average speed of 152.672 mph (245.702 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Ryan Blaney (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 23.580 | 152.672 |
| 2 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.581 | 152.665 |
| 3 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.588 | 152.620 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, September 30, at 11:35 AM EST.[2] Since Dover International Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km) in length, 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.[5]
William Byron, driving for JR Motorsports, would win the pole after setting a time of 23.046 and an average speed of 156.209 mph (251.394 km/h) in the third round.[6]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
edit| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time (R1) | Speed (R1) | Time (R2) | Speed (R2) | Time (R3) | Speed (R3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.074 | 156.020 | 23.110 | 155.777 | 23.046 | 156.209 |
| 2 | 18 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.154 | 155.481 | 23.259 | 154.779 | 23.084 | 155.952 |
| 3 | 20 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.362 | 154.096 | 23.294 | 154.546 | 23.161 | 155.434 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.144 | 155.548 | 23.156 | 155.467 | 23.170 | 155.373 |
| 5 | 42 | Tyler Reddick | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 23.439 | 153.590 | 23.330 | 154.308 | 23.191 | 155.233 |
| 6 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 23.353 | 154.156 | 23.235 | 154.939 | 23.207 | 155.126 |
| 7 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 23.334 | 154.281 | 23.207 | 155.126 | 23.239 | 154.912 |
| 8 | 22 | Ryan Blaney (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 23.289 | 154.579 | 23.346 | 154.202 | 23.246 | 154.865 |
| 9 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.592 | 152.594 | 23.337 | 154.261 | 23.310 | 154.440 |
| 10 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.394 | 153.886 | 23.301 | 154.500 | 23.379 | 153.984 |
| 11 | 3 | Ty Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.381 | 153.971 | 23.318 | 154.387 | 23.402 | 153.833 |
| 12 | 4 | Ross Chastain | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.466 | 153.413 | 23.347 | 154.195 | 23.495 | 153.224 |
| Eliminated in Round 2 | ||||||||||
| 13 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.598 | 152.555 | 23.392 | 153.899 | - | - |
| 14 | 24 | Corey LaJoie (i) | JGL Racing | Toyota | 23.731 | 151.700 | 23.457 | 153.472 | - | - |
| 15 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.495 | 153.224 | 23.482 | 153.309 | - | - |
| 16 | 5 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.578 | 152.685 | 23.533 | 152.977 | - | - |
| 17 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 23.463 | 153.433 | 23.572 | 152.724 | - | - |
| 18 | 98 | Casey Mears | Biagi-DenBeste Racing | Ford | 23.594 | 152.581 | 23.577 | 152.691 | - | - |
| 19 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 23.699 | 151.905 | 23.617 | 152.433 | - | - |
| 20 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 23.739 | 151.649 | 23.681 | 152.021 | - | - |
| 21 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 23.686 | 151.989 | 23.762 | 151.502 | - | - |
| 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 23.735 | 151.675 | 23.850 | 150.943 | - | - |
| 23 | 19 | Matt Tifft (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.442 | 153.571 | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | 15 | Reed Sorenson (i) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.617 | 152.433 | - | - | - | - |
| Eliminated in Round 1 | ||||||||||
| 25 | 14 | J. J. Yeley | TriStar Motorsports | Toyota | 23.777 | 151.407 | - | - | - | - |
| 26 | 2 | Austin Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.791 | 151.318 | - | - | - | - |
| 27 | 07 | Ray Black Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 23.895 | 150.659 | - | - | - | - |
| 28 | 8 | B. J. McLeod | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.907 | 150.584 | - | - | - | - |
| 29 | 90 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.967 | 150.207 | - | - | - | - |
| 30 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.032 | 149.800 | - | - | - | - |
| 31 | 01 | Harrison Rhodes | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.107 | 149.334 | - | - | - | - |
| 32 | 99 | David Starr | BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 24.222 | 148.625 | - | - | - | - |
| 33 | 93 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 24.266 | 148.356 | - | - | - | - |
| Qualified by owner's points | ||||||||||
| 34 | 40 | Chad Finchum | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.429 | 147.366 | - | - | - | - |
| 35 | 52 | Joey Gase | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 24.505 | 146.909 | - | - | - | - |
| 36 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Chevrolet | 25.096 | 143.449 | - | - | - | - |
| 37 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Mike Harmon Racing | Dodge | 26.012 | 138.398 | - | - | - | - |
| 38 | 13 | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26.214 | 137.331 | - | - | - | - |
| 39 | 78 | Josh Bilicki | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Last car to qualify on time | ||||||||||
| 40 | 38 | Gray Gaulding (i) | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 24.850 | 144.869 | - | - | - | - |
| Official qualifying results | ||||||||||
| Official starting lineup | ||||||||||
Race results
editStage 1 Laps: 60
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Ryan Blaney (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 3 | 18 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 20 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 6 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Tyler Reddick | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Ryan Blaney (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 2 | 9 | William Byron (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Daniel Suárez (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 42 | Tyler Reddick | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Brennan Poole | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 80
Standings after the race
edit
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Blaney asserts his dominance in NASCAR XFINITY Series win at Dover". ESPN.com. September 30, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c "2017 NASCAR XFINITY Dover Race Info". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2017-09-29). "Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones are fastest in first of 2 Xfinity practices at Dover". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2017-09-29). "Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones are fastest in first of 2 Xfinity practices at Dover". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
- ^ Long, Dustin (2017-09-30). "William Byron captures Xfinity pole at Dover". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ "2017 Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-07-17.