The 2017 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 was the 31st stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the second race of the Round of 8, and the 13th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, November 4, 2017, in Fort Worth, Texas, at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Erik Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would dominate the race to win his ninth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and his third and final victory of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, and Kyle Larson, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 33 in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | November 4, 2017 | ||
| Official name | 13th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 133.862 miles per hour (215.430 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 28.232 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 142 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Erik Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
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, November 3, at 2:00 PM CST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[2] Blake Koch, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.519 and an average speed of 189.347 mph (304.724 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Blake Koch | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 28.519 | 189.347 |
| 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.806 | 187.461 |
| 3 | 42 | Kyle Larson (i) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.823 | 187.350 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
editThe final practice session, sometimes known as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, November 3, at 4:00 PM CST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Kyle Larson, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.327 and an average speed of 190.631 mph (306.791 km/h).[4]
During the session, Richard Childress Racing driver Daniel Hemric wrecked in turn four, ending the practice session 15 minutes early.[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Kyle Larson (i) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 28.327 | 190.631 |
| 2 | 22 | Ryan Blaney (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 28.649 | 188.488 |
| 3 | 20 | Erik Jones (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 28.657 | 188.436 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, November 4, at 5:05 PM CST.[2] Since Texas Motor 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.[6]
Erik Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole after setting a time of 28.232 and an average speed of 191.272 mph (307.822 km/h) in the third round.[7]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStage 1 Laps: 45
Stage 2 Laps: 45
Stage 3 Laps: 110
Standings after the race
edit
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Erik Jones completes Texas sweep with NASCAR XFINITY win". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. November 5, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ a b c "2017 NASCAR XFINITY Texas Race Info". ESPN.com. November 6, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (November 3, 2017). "Blake Koch fastest in first of 2 Xfinity practices at Texas Motor Speedway". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (November 3, 2017). "Kyle Larson fastest in crash-shortened Xfinity practice at Texas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Schrote, Jesse (November 4, 2017). "Xfinity practice cut short after wreck sends debris on the track". Alt Driver. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (November 4, 2017). "Erik Jones cruises to pole for tonight's Xfinity race at Texas". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ "2017 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved July 28, 2022.