The 2016 Menards 250 presented by Valvoline was the thirteenth stock car race of the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, June 11, 2016, in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a 2 miles (3.2 km) permanent tri-oval shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 125 laps to complete. In an exciting battle for the win, Daniel Suárez, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would make a last lap pass on Kyle Busch, and earn his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. He would become the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR national series race. Busch mainly dominated the race, leading 88 laps.[1] To fill out the podium, Paul Menard, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would finish in third, respectively.

2016 Menards 250 presented by Valvoline
Race details
Race 13 of 33 in the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date June 11, 2016
Official name 25th Annual Menards 250 presented bt Valvolina
Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 125 laps, 250 mi (402 km)
Scheduled Distance 125 laps, 250 mi (402 km)
Average speed 155.952 mph (250.980 km/h)
Pole position
Driver JR Motorsports
Time 37.581
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 88
Winner
No. 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network FS1
Announcers Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN

Background

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The layout of Michigan International Speedway, the circuit where the race was held.

Michigan International Speedway is a 2 mi (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) approximately four-mile (6.4 km) south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is 70-mile (110 km) west of the center of Detroit, 40-mile (64 km) from Ann Arbor and 60 miles (97 km) south and northwest of Lansing and Toledo, Ohio respectively. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a sister track to Texas World Speedway, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by NASCAR. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of the motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards). Michigan is the fastest track in NASCAR due to its wide, sweeping corners, long straightaways, and lack of a restrictor plate requirement; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) and corner entry speeds are anywhere from 215 to 220 mph (346 to 354 km/h) after the 2012 repaving of the track.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Garrett Smithley (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet Operating Engineers 324
01 Ryan Preece (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet JD Motorsports
1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet OneMain Financial
2 Paul Menard (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Richmond Water Heaters, Menards
3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Rheem
4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet Dream Water
6 Bubba Wallace Roush Fenway Racing Ford LoudMouth Exhaust
07 Ray Black Jr. (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet Scuba Life
7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet Brandt
10 Matt DiBenedetto (i) TriStar Motorsports Toyota TriStar Motorsports
11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection
13 Harrison Rhodes MBM Motorsports Dodge OCR Gaz Bar, Mohawk Market
14 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota TriStar Motorsports
15 Todd Peck B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford Lilly Trucking, Carport Empire
16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford Lilly Diabetes, American Diabetes Association
18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota NOS Energy Drink
19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Arris
20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Reser's Fine Foods
22 Joey Logano (i) Team Penske Ford Discount Tire
25 Chris Cockrum Chris Cockrum Racing Chevrolet Advanced Communications Group
28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota WinField
33 Brandon Jones (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Nexteer Automotive
39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet iDashBoards
40 John Jackson MBM Motorsports Toyota TLC Vacations
42 Justin Marks Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Katerra
44 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota Zachry
48 Brennan Poole (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet DC Solar
51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet RepairableVehicles.com, Diamond Pistons
52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Donate Life, DB Sales
62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa
70 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge Mike Harmon Racing
78 B. J. McLeod (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford B. J. McLeod Motorsports
79 Josh Williams Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet DB Sales
88 Alex Bowman JR Motorsports Chevrolet Vannoy Construction
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet Shepherd Racing Ventures
90 Martin Roy DGM Racing Chevrolet Gamache Truck Center
92 Mario Gosselin DGM Racing Chevrolet BuckedUp Apparel
93 Josh Wise (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet RSS Racing
97 T. J. Bell Obaika Racing Chevrolet Vroom! Brands
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, June 10, at 12:30 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Erik Jones, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 37.482, and an average speed of 192.092 mph (309.142 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.482 192.092
2 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.523 191.882
3 22 Joey Logano (i) Team Penske Ford 37.556 191.714
Full first practice results

Final practice

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The final practice session was held on Friday, June 10, at 3:00 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Joey Logano, driving for Team Penske, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 37.534, and an average speed of 191.826 mph (308.714 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Joey Logano (i) Team Penske Ford 37.534 191.826
2 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 37.595 191.515
3 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 37.614 191.418
Full final practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on Saturday, June 11, at 10:00 AM EST.[2] Since Michigan International Speedway is at least 2 miles (3.2 km), the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13–40. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1–12.[5]

Alex Bowman, driving for JR Motorsports, would win the pole after advancing from the preliminary round and setting the fastest lap in Round 2, with a lap of 37.581, and an average speed of 191.586 mph (308.328 km/h).[6]

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time (R1) Speed (R1) Time (R2) Speed (R2)
1 88 Alex Bowman JR Motorsports Chevrolet 37.535 191.821 37.581 191.586
2 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.640 191.286 37.591 191.535
3 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 37.687 191.047 37.629 191.342
4 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 37.793 190.511 37.655 191.210
5 18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.762 190.668 37.740 190.779
6 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 37.871 190.119 37.750 190.728
7 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 37.765 190.653 37.765 190.653
8 48 Brennan Poole (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 37.821 190.370 37.784 190.557
9 22 Joey Logano (i) Team Penske Ford 37.781 190.572 37.827 190.340
10 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 37.822 190.365 37.830 190.325
11 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 37.766 190.648 37.840 190.275
12 2 Paul Menard (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.883 190.059 38.009 189.429
Eliminated in Round 1
13 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.974 189.603 - -
14 62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 37.994 189.504 - -
15 33 Brandon Jones (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 38.009 189.429 - -
16 42 Justin Marks Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 38.083 189.061 - -
17 6 Bubba Wallace Roush Fenway Racing Ford 38.088 189.036 - -
18 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 38.113 188.912 - -
19 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 38.210 188.432 - -
20 0 Garrett Smithley (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 38.218 188.393 - -
21 44 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 38.306 187.960 - -
22 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 38.365 187.671 - -
23 14 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 38.573 186.659 - -
24 01 Ryan Preece (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 38.617 186.446 - -
25 10 Matt DiBenedetto (i) TriStar Motorsports Toyota 38.717 185.965 - -
26 07 Ray Black Jr. (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 38.766 185.730 - -
27 93 Josh Wise (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 38.955 184.829 - -
28 78 B. J. McLeod (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 39.004 184.596 - -
29 52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 39.294 183.234 - -
30 13 Harrison Rhodes MBM Motorsports Dodge 39.347 182.987 - -
31 97 T. J. Bell Obaika Racing Chevrolet 39.521 182.182 - -
32 70 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet 39.769 181.046 - -
33 92 Mario Gosselin DGM Racing Chevrolet 39.832 180.759 - -
Qualified by owner's points
34 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 40.115 179.484 - -
35 25 Chris Cockrum Chris Cockrum Racing Chevrolet 40.345 178.461 - -
36 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 40.996 175.627 - -
37 90 Martin Roy DGM Racing Chevrolet 41.073 175.298 - -
38 15 Todd Peck B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 41.212 174.706 - -
39 40 John Jackson MBM Motorsports Toyota 42.215 170.555 - -
40 79 Josh Williams Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 42.268 170.342 - -
Official qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin[7] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 6 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 125 4 Running 44
2 5 18 Kyle Busch (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 125 88 Running 0
3 12 2 Paul Menard (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 125 1 Running 0
4 2 20 Erik Jones (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 125 18 Running 38
5 3 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 125 2 Running 37
6 9 22 Joey Logano (i) Team Penske Ford 125 0 Running 0
7 1 88 Alex Bowman JR Motorsports Chevrolet 125 11 Running 35
8 4 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 125 0 Running 33
9 17 6 Bubba Wallace Roush Fenway Racing Ford 125 0 Running 32
10 15 33 Brandon Jones (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 125 0 Running 31
11 8 48 Brennan Poole (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 125 0 Running 30
12 10 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 125 0 Running 29
13 7 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 125 0 Running 28
14 11 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 125 0 Running 27
15 13 3 Ty Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 125 0 Running 26
16 18 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 125 0 Running 25
17 20 0 Garrett Smithley (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 125 0 Running 24
18 14 62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 125 0 Running 23
19 24 01 Ryan Preece (R) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 125 0 Running 22
20 21 44 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 124 1 Running 22
21 22 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 124 0 Running 20
22 16 42 Justin Marks Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 124 0 Running 19
23 26 07 Ray Black Jr. (R) SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 123 0 Running 18
24 19 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 122 0 Running 17
25 29 52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 121 0 Running 16
26 30 13 Harrison Rhodes MBM Motorsports Dodge 120 0 Running 15
27 37 90 Martin Roy DGM Racing Chevrolet 118 0 Running 14
28 31 97 T. J. Bell Obaika Racing Chevrolet 117 0 Running 13
29 36 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 116 0 Running 12
30 38 15 Todd Peck B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 116 0 Running 11
31 32 70 Derrike Cope Derrike Cope Racing Chevrolet 115 0 Running 10
32 35 25 Chris Cockrum Chris Cockrum Racing Chevrolet 82 0 Accident 9
33 23 14 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 75 0 Transmission 8
34 28 78 B. J. McLeod (R) B. J. McLeod Motorsports Ford 70 0 Transmission 7
35 33 92 Mario Gosselin DGM Racing Chevrolet 41 0 Vibration 6
36 34 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 16 0 Oil Leak 5
37 39 40 John Jackson MBM Motorsports Toyota 13 0 Clutch 4
38 40 79 Josh Williams Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 11 0 Overheating 3
39 27 93 Josh Wise (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 8 0 Rear Gear 0
40 25 10 Matt DiBenedetto (i) TriStar Motorsports Toyota 3 0 Rear Gear 0
Official race results

Standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
  1 Daniel Suárez 452
  2 Elliott Sadler 434 (-18)
  3 Ty Dillon 416 (-36)
  1 4 Erik Jones 397 (-55)
  2 5 Justin Allgaier 388 (-64)
  6 Brandon Jones 388 (-64)
  3 7 Brendan Gaughan 386 (-66)
  8 Brennan Poole 373 (-79)
  9 Bubba Wallace 340 (-112)
  10 Ryan Reed 301 (-151)
  11 Blake Koch 294 (-158)
  12 Ryan Sieg 292 (-160)
Official driver's standings
  • Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

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  1. ^ "Daniel Suarez becomes first Mexican driver to win NASCAR national series race". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 11, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - Michigan XFINITY Race Info Page". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Long, Dustin (June 10, 2016). "Groundhog delay can't slow Erik Jones in first Xfinity practice". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Long, Dustin (June 10, 2016). "Joey Logano paces field in final Xfinity practice at Michigan". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (June 11, 2016). "Alex Bowman outruns Erik Jones to grab Xfinity pole at Michigan". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "2016 Menards 250 presented by Valvoline - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
Previous race:
2016 Pocono Green 250
NASCAR Xfinity Series
2016 season
Next race:
2016 American Ethanol E15 250