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Jones Wins; Enters Xfinity Chase No. 1

| , RacinToday.com Saturday, September 17 2016
Erik Jones takes the checkered flag after winning Saturday's Xfinity race at Chicagoland Speedway. (RacinToday/HHP photo Alan Marler)

Erik Jones takes the checkered flag after winning Saturday’s Xfinity race at Chicagoland Speedway. (RacinToday/HHP photo Alan Marler)

When leader Kyle Busch spun with a tire down on Lap 182 of 200, Erik Jones took full advantage of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate’s misfortune and went on to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday.

With four victories this season, Jones enters the inaugural Series Chase as the No. 1 seed in next Saturday’s race at Kentucky Speedway.

“It’s a lot of momentum,” Jones said. “I wish this was our first round right here. We’ll go into Kentucky definitely with a full head of steam and are due for another win there. Our mile-and-a-half program is great – it’s been great all year.

“To finally get a first mile-and-a-half win of the year – just looking forward to getting to Kentucky next weekend and try to chase down another one.”

Saturday’s event finalized the 12-driver Chase field, as Blake Koch and Ryan Sieg clinched the final two spots with finishes of 15th and 12th, respectively.

The full Chase field, in order of seeding, consists of Erik Jones, Sadler, Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Darrell Wallace Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Brennan Poole, Ryan Sieg, Ryan Reed, Brandon Jones, Blake Koch.

Sadler finished third on Saturday, followed by Suarez and Allgaier.

Larson recovered from a pit road speeding penalty to record his eighth top-five finish in 12 starts this year.

“I knew I could get the top (lane) going, but I knew when I got the top going, Erik would move up just when I got to him,” Larson said. “He did, and I tried to carry a lot of throttle off of (Turn) 2 and maybe get a run on him, but I got into the wall.”

Busch led 154 laps and recovered from his spin to finish 13th. All told, 11 different drivers led at least one lap, including the top eight drivers in the finishing order.

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NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Drive for Safety 300
Chicagoland Speedway
Joliet, Illinois
Saturday, September 17, 2016

1. (5) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 200.
2. (8) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 200.
3. (4) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
4. (2) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200.
5. (3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
6. (7) Clint Bowyer(i), Chevrolet, 200.
7. (9) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 200.
8. (12) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200.
9. (6) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 200.
10. (40) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
12. (17) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (1) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200.
14. (19) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 200.
15. (13) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
17. (20) Ryan Preece #, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (23) David Starr, Chevrolet, 199.
19. (26) Garrett Smithley #, Chevrolet, 199.
20. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr, Ford, 198.
21. (11) Brennan Poole #, Chevrolet, 198.
22. (21) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 198.
23. (29) Martin Roy, Chevrolet, 198.
24. (25) BJ McLeod #, Ford, 197.
25. (22) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 196.
26. (31) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 196.
27. (33) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 194.
28. (32) Ray Black Jr #, Chevrolet, 184.
29. (34) Jordan Anderson(i), Chevrolet, Transmission, 151.
30. (36) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Fuel Pump, 126.
31. (28) Jeff Green, Toyota, Wheel Bearing, 110.
32. (14) Ryan Reed, Ford, Accident, 101.
33. (27) Travis Kvapil(i), Ford, Engine, 82.
34. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 49.
35. (39) Spencer Boyd(i), Chevrolet, Too Slow, 43.
36. (38) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 36.
37. (30) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, Accident, 27.
38. (37) Carl Long, Dodge, Wheel Bearing, 16.
39. (16) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 9.
40. (24) Matt DiBenedetto(i), Toyota, Electrical, 3.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  120.576 mph.
Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 29 Mins, 17 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.392 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  8 for 38 laps.
Lead Changes:  22 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   K. Busch(i) 1; D. Suarez 2-5; K. Busch(i) 6-10; D. Suarez 11; K. Busch(i) 12-27; T. Kvapil(i) 28-29; K. Busch(i) 30-31; K. Larson(i) 32-40; K. Busch(i) 41-79; E. Sadler 80; J. Allgaier 81; K. Busch(i) 82-103; J. Logano(i) 104-108; K. Busch(i) 109-154; B. Gaughan 155; R. Preece # 156-157; K. Busch(i) 158-164; E. Jones # 165; K. Busch(i) 166-181; J. Allgaier 182-183; C. Bowyer(i) 184-186; E. Sadler 187-191; E. Jones # 192-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Busch(i) 9 times for 154 laps; E. Jones # 2 times for 10 laps; K. Larson(i) 1 time for 9 laps; E. Sadler 2 times for 6 laps; D. Suarez 2 times for 5 laps; J. Logano(i) 1 time for 5 laps; J. Allgaier 2 times for 3 laps; C. Bowyer(i) 1 time for 3 laps; R. Preece # 1 time for 2 laps; T. Kvapil(i) 1 time for 2 laps; B. Gaughan 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler – 891; D. Suarez – 832; J. Allgaier – 823; T. Dillon – 807; E. Jones # – 797; B. Gaughan – 789; B. Poole # – 756; B. Jones # – 733; D. Wallace Jr – 680; R. Reed – 635.

| , RacinToday.com Saturday, September 17 2016
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