2016 has seen the introduction of heat races for the XFINITY series. The Lilly Diabetes 250 saw Kyle Busch and Erik Jones lead wire-to-wire in both of the races that led up to the main feature for the XFINITY series event. Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez and Elliott Sadler completed the top 5 in heat race one. In the second race the top 5 was rounded out by Kevin Harvick, Justin Allgaier, Paul Menard and Brennan Poole. Both races ran caution free and finished within three seconds of each other.
The top 5 of the first race was unchanged for four laps until Sadler broke into the fifth spot with a pass on Jeb Burton. The final 15 laps didn’t see any changes among to top quintet. In the final race analysis there were nine position changes in the top 10 during the 20 lap heat. Race two saw even less movement among the leaders as there were only six passes for position in the top 10. Menard passed Poole on lap 2 to move from fifth to fourth. That was the only movement in the top 5.
Matt DiBenedetto, Timmy Hill, Morgan Shepherd and Mike Harmon start and parked in the first heat. They were the only cars to pull of in under 10 laps in either of the races. Race one ended with 13 cars on the lead lap while heat two had 15 cars on the lead lap. Both races averaged just over 172 mph and took just over 17 minutes and 20 seconds to complete.
Race Results
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Heat Race #1 UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics Saturday, 7/23/2016 @ 4:14 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd Lld 1 1 18 Kyle Busch(i) NOS Energy Drink Toyota 20 0 Running 1 20 2 2 42 Kyle Larson(i) ParkerStore Chevrolet 20 0 Running 3 4 22 Joey Logano(i) Discount Tire Ford 20 0 Running 4 3 19 Daniel Suarez Juniper Networks Toyota 20 37 Running 5 10 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Chevrolet 20 36 Running 6 8 98 Jeb Burton Estes Ford 20 35 Running 7 6 33 Brandon Jones # Jeld-Wen/Menards Chevrolet 20 34 Running 8 5 16 Ryan Reed Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford 20 33 Running 9 7 11 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 20 32 Running 10 9 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com/SDD Chevrolet 20 31 Running 11 13 44 JJ Yeley Zachry Toyota 20 30 Running 12 14 14 Jeff Green Toyota 20 29 Running 13 15 0 Garrett Smithley # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 20 28 Running 14 12 01 Ryan Preece # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 19 27 Running 15 18 13 Harrison Rhodes TredWear.com/Masters Properties Toyota 18 26 Running 16 19 25 Stanton Barrett KeensBuildings.com Chevrolet 17 25 Running 17 20 74 Mike Harmon truckersfinalmile.org Dodge 6 24 Running 18 17 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 3 23 Running 19 16 40 Timmy Hill(i) CrashClaimsR.Us/Icard Merrill Dodge 3 0 Running 20 11 10 Matt DiBenedetto(i) Toyota 2 0 Running # = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series Average Speed: 172.911 MPH Time of Race: 00 Hrs, 17 Mins, 21 Secs. Margin of Victory: 2.835 Seconds Lead Changes: 0 among 1 drivers Cautions: 0 for 0 laps
Heat Race #2 UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics Saturday, 7/23/2016 @ 4:52 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Status TLd Lld 1 1 20 Erik Jones # Hisense USA Toyota 20 Running 1 20 2 2 88 Kevin Harvick(i) Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet 20 Running 3 3 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Chevrolet 20 Running 4 4 2 Paul Menard(i) Richmond/Menards Chevrolet 20 Running 5 5 48 Brennan Poole # DC Solar Chevrolet 20 Running 6 8 3 Ty Dillon Rheem/Nidec/US Motors Chevrolet 20 Running 7 7 6 Darrell Wallace Jr Ford EcoBoost Ford 20 Running 8 9 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 20 Running 9 6 39 Ryan Sieg NiceTargets Chevrolet 20 Running 10 10 28 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Toyota 20 Running 11 12 4 Ross Chastain Dream Water Chevrolet 20 Running 12 11 07 Ray Black Jr # Scuba Life Chevrolet 20 Running 13 15 46 Brandon Gdovic TCC Culture of Good Chevrolet 20 Running 14 13 78 BJ McLeod # Safecraft Safety Equipment Ford 20 Running 15 14 93 David Starr Massimo Motors Chevrolet 20 Running 16 20 90 Mario Gosselin BuckedUp Apparel Chevrolet 19 Running 17 16 97 Ryan Ellis VroomBrands Chevrolet 19 Running 18 18 70 Derrike Cope E-hydrate/Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet 19 Running 19 17 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Chevrolet 19 Running 20 19 15 Todd Peck Carport Empire/Lilly Trucking Ford 15 Running # = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series Average Speed: 172.414 MPH Time of Race: 00 Hrs, 17 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory: 8.314 Seconds Lead Changes: 0 among 1 drivers Cautions: 0 for 0 laps
About the author
What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? The writer, radio contributor and racetrack announcer coordinates the site’s local short track coverage, hitting up Saturday Night Specials across the country while tracking the sport’s future racing stars. The writer for our signature Cup post-race column, Thinkin’ Out Loud (Mondays) also sits down with Cup crew chiefs to talk shop every Friday with Tech Talk. Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.