Erik Jones scores second straight Xfinity Series victory – USA TODAY
USA TODAY Sports’ Brant James tells you what to watch for at the Food City 500 in Bristol, including who’s got the best chance to come away victorious.
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BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Erik Jones claimed back-to-back Xfinity Series victories, at both Bristol Motor Speedway and on the season.
Jones also won at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8, and he was the defending race winner at Bristol from last year.
With 20 laps remaining, Jones moved Ryan Blaney out of the lead to take over the top spot in a race Saturday that had a lengthy interruption for rain.
He later had to hold Blaney off on a three-lap shootout at the finish to earn the eighth Xfinity Series race of his career.
“Man, we were racing hard,” Jones said. “I didn’t know whether we had a winning car or not. It was a race I won’t forget for a long time. It was just an awesome day for us.”
Jones won in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday, but he’s shown strong speed in his Furniture Row Racing car all weekend in preparation for the Cup race on Sunday.
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Ryan Blaney finished second — the same result he’s had in all three Xfinity Series races he’s entered.
“Three seconds this year, so that’s getting old,” Blaney said.
Daniel Suarez was third to give the JGR cars two spots in the top three. Xfinity Series leader Elliott Sadler was fourth.
Daniel Hemric won a $100,000 bonus from Xfinity as part of its Dash-4-Cash program. He finished fifth.
The race had some off-track excitement when Ross Chastain and Jeremy Clements had a confrontation on pit road during the rain stoppage. Clements appeared to approach Chastain from behind to initiate a discussion, but when he grabbed Chastain, the driver turned and punched Clements.
Clements went to the care center and emerged wearing sunglasses before he continued the race.
“Somebody grabbed me by my shoulders and kind of pushed me,” Chastain said. “I just turned around and saw who it was. I hope he realizes now that he can talk, we can talk, but you can’t grab someone by the shoulders. That happened before and I said right then I wouldn’t let it happen again.”
In 2015, Ryan Reed approached Chastain from behind and shoved him after an Xfinity race at Iowa.
PHOTOS: 2017 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE WINNERS
FITZGERALD GLIDER KITS 300 RESULTS
Saturday from the 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway (starting position in parentheses):
1. (4) Erik Jones, Toyota, 300 laps, 0 points.
2. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 300, 0.
3. (10) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 300, 0.
4. (17) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 300, 35.
5. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 300, 44.
6. (6) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 300, 0.
7. (1) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 300, 0.
8. (13) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 300, 29.
9. (16) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 300, 34.
10. (28) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 300, 27.
11. (30) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 300, 26.
12. (19) William Byron, Chevrolet, 300, 25.
13. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 300, 0.
14. (5) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 300, 26.
15. (21) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 300, 22.
16. (7) Matt Tifft, Toyota, 300, 21.
17. (15) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 299, 20.
18. (23) Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, 298, 19.
19. (31) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 298, 18.
20. (18) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 297, 20.
21. (20) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 295, 16.
22. (32) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 295, 15.
23. (29) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 294, 14.
24. (34) Timmy Hill, Dodge, 294, 13.
25. (37) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 294, 12.
26. (22) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 293, 11.
27. (36) Carl Long, Toyota, 293, 10.
28. (38) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 292, 9.
29. (26) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 292, 8.
30. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 281, 7.
31. (11) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, accident, 268, 6.
32. (3) Cole Custer, Ford, accident, 262, 12.
33. (14) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, accident, 258, 4.
34. (35) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, accident, 253, 3.
35. (12) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, accident, 243, 10.
36. (27) David Starr, Chevrolet, accident, 227, 1.
37. (25) Ray Black Jr, Chevrolet, accident, 213, 1.
38. (24) Ryan Reed, Ford, accident, 79, 1.
39. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, overheating, 15, 1.
40. (33) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, electrical, 13, 0.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 67.735 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 21 minutes, 38 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.125 seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 85 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K.Larson 0; A.Dillon 1; K.Larson 2-19; E.Jones 20-25; K.Larson 26-88; R.Blaney 89; K.Larson 90-163; D.Suarez 164; D.Hemric 165-172; R.Blaney 173-187; D.Suarez 188-204; K.Larson 205-229; R.Blaney 230; B.Jones 231-235; R.Blaney 236-279; E.Jones 280-300
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Larson, 5 times for 176 laps; R.Blaney, 4 times for 57 laps; E.Jones, 2 times for 25 laps; D.Suarez, 2 times for 16 laps; D.Hemric, 1 time for 7 laps; B.Jones, 1 time for 4 laps; A.Dillon, 1 time for 0 laps.
Wins: E.Jones, 2; J.Allgaier, 1; K.Larson, 1; R.Reed, 1.
Top 10 in Points: 1. E.Sadler, 260; 2. W.Byron, 244; 3. J.Allgaier, 200; 4. R.Reed, 184; 5. D.Hemric, 180; 6. D.Wallace, 180; 7. B.Koch, 164; 8. B.Poole, 163; 9. M.Tifft, 160; 10. M.Annett, 157.
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