2017 Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200

The 2017 Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 was the 28th stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the second race of the Round of 12, and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2017, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1 mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, would dominate for most of the race to win his sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier and William Byron, both driving for JR Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.

2017 Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200
Race details
Race 28 of 33 in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date September 30, 2017
Official name 32nd Annual Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200
Location Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 200 laps, 200 mi (321.868 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 200 mi (321.868 km)
Average speed 111.975 miles per hour (180.206 km/h)
Pole position
Driver JR Motorsports
Time 23.046
Most laps led
Driver Ryan Blaney Team Penske
Laps 136
Winner
No. 22 Ryan Blaney Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network NBCSN
Announcers Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Dover International Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

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 JD Motorsports Chevrolet Heroes Haven
00 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Haas Automation
1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet OneMain Financial
01 Harrison Rhodes JD Motorsports Chevrolet Iron Source, Meding's Seafood
2 Austin Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Rheem
3 Ty Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats
4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet Use Your Melon
5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet Pilot Flying J
7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet Textron Off Road
07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet SS-Green Light Racing
8 B. J. McLeod B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet B. J. McLeod Motorsports
9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet Axalta, Central Aluminum
11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet LeafFilter Gutter Protection
13 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Chevrolet CrashClaimsR.Us[permanent dead link], TLC Resorts
14 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota Superior Essex
15 Reed Sorenson (i) JD Motorsports Chevrolet Iron Source, Stockley Tavern
16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford Lilly Diabetes
18 Daniel Suárez (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Interstate Batteries
19 Matt Tifft (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Comcast NBCUniversal Salute to Service
20 Erik Jones (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GameStop, Pixel Pals
21 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Blue Gate Bank
22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford Fitzgerald Glider Kits
23 Spencer Gallagher (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet Allegiant Air
24 Corey LaJoie (i) JGL Racing Toyota Youtheory
33 Brandon Jones Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Anderson's Maple Syrup, Safeway
38 Gray Gaulding (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet RSS Racing
39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet Midstate Basement Authorities
40 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Chevrolet Smithfield Homes
42 Tyler Reddick Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Broken Bow Records, Dustin Lynch
48 Brennan Poole Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet DC Solar
51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet RepairableVehicles.com
52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Katie J's Bar & Grill, Eternal Fan
62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa
74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge Veterans Motorsports Inc., HM-15
78 Josh Bilicki B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet Prevagen
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet Racing with Jesus, Visone RV
90 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet W. G. Speeks, Mid-Atlantic Wrecker Service
93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet RSS Racing
98 Casey Mears Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford GEICO Military
99 David Starr BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet Alarm Tech Systems
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, September 29, at 12:00 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.335 and an average speed of 154.275 mph (248.282 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford 23.335 154.275
2 20 Erik Jones (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.357 154.129
3 9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.384 153.951
Full first practice results

Second and final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes known as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, September 29, at 2:30 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[2] Ryan Blaney, driving for Team Penske, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.580 and an average speed of 152.672 mph (245.702 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford 23.580 152.672
2 9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.581 152.665
3 33 Brandon Jones Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.588 152.620
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on Saturday, September 30, at 11:35 AM EST.[2] Since Dover International 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.[5]

William Byron, driving for JR Motorsports, would win the pole after setting a time of 23.046 and an average speed of 156.209 mph (251.394 km/h) in the third round.[6]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time (R1) Speed (R1) Time (R2) Speed (R2) Time (R3) Speed (R3)
1 9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.074 156.020 23.110 155.777 23.046 156.209
2 18 Daniel Suárez (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.154 155.481 23.259 154.779 23.084 155.952
3 20 Erik Jones (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.362 154.096 23.294 154.546 23.161 155.434
4 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.144 155.548 23.156 155.467 23.170 155.373
5 42 Tyler Reddick Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 23.439 153.590 23.330 154.308 23.191 155.233
6 00 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23.353 154.156 23.235 154.939 23.207 155.126
7 48 Brennan Poole Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 23.334 154.281 23.207 155.126 23.239 154.912
8 22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford 23.289 154.579 23.346 154.202 23.246 154.865
9 21 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.592 152.594 23.337 154.261 23.310 154.440
10 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.394 153.886 23.301 154.500 23.379 153.984
11 3 Ty Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.381 153.971 23.318 154.387 23.402 153.833
12 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 23.466 153.413 23.347 154.195 23.495 153.224
Eliminated in Round 2
13 62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.598 152.555 23.392 153.899 - -
14 24 Corey LaJoie (i) JGL Racing Toyota 23.731 151.700 23.457 153.472 - -
15 33 Brandon Jones Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.495 153.224 23.482 153.309 - -
16 5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 23.578 152.685 23.533 152.977 - -
17 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 23.463 153.433 23.572 152.724 - -
18 98 Casey Mears Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 23.594 152.581 23.577 152.691 - -
19 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 23.699 151.905 23.617 152.433 - -
20 23 Spencer Gallagher (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 23.739 151.649 23.681 152.021 - -
21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 23.686 151.989 23.762 151.502 - -
22 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 23.735 151.675 23.850 150.943 - -
23 19 Matt Tifft (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 23.442 153.571 - - - -
24 15 Reed Sorenson (i) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 23.617 152.433 - - - -
Eliminated in Round 1
25 14 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 23.777 151.407 - - - -
26 2 Austin Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.791 151.318 - - - -
27 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 23.895 150.659 - - - -
28 8 B. J. McLeod B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 23.907 150.584 - - - -
29 90 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 23.967 150.207 - - - -
30 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 24.032 149.800 - - - -
31 01 Harrison Rhodes JD Motorsports Chevrolet 24.107 149.334 - - - -
32 99 David Starr BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 24.222 148.625 - - - -
33 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 24.266 148.356 - - - -
Qualified by owner's points
34 40 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 24.429 147.366 - - - -
35 52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 24.505 146.909 - - - -
36 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 25.096 143.449 - - - -
37 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 26.012 138.398 - - - -
38 13 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 26.214 137.331 - - - -
39 78 Josh Bilicki B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet - - - - - -
Last car to qualify on time
40 38 Gray Gaulding (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 24.850 144.869 - - - -
Official qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Stage 1 Laps: 60

Pos. # Driver Team Make Pts
1 9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 10
2 22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford 0
3 18 Daniel Suárez (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0
4 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 7
5 20 Erik Jones (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0
6 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 5
7 42 Tyler Reddick Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 4
8 00 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 21 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2
10 48 Brennan Poole Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1

Stage 2 Laps: 60

Pos. # Driver Team Make Pts
1 22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford 0
2 9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 9
3 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 18 Daniel Suárez (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0
5 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 42 Tyler Reddick Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 5
7 00 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 4
8 21 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3
9 48 Brennan Poole Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2
10 20 Erik Jones (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 0

Stage 3 Laps: 80

Fin[7] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 8 22 Ryan Blaney (i) Team Penske Ford 200 136 running 0
2 4 7 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 50
3 1 9 William Byron (R) JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 62 running 53
4 9 21 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 38
5 7 48 Brennan Poole Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 35
6 23 19 Matt Tifft (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 0 running 31
7 2 18 Daniel Suárez (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 2 running 0
8 6 00 Cole Custer (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 0 running 36
9 10 1 Elliott Sadler JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 39
10 13 62 Brendan Gaughan Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 27
11 16 5 Michael Annett JR Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 26
12 12 4 Ross Chastain JD Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 25
13 11 3 Ty Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 0
14 21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 23
15 14 24 Corey LaJoie (i) JGL Racing Toyota 199 0 running 0
16 17 16 Ryan Reed Roush Fenway Racing Ford 198 0 running 21
17 25 14 J. J. Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 198 0 running 20
18 18 98 Casey Mears Biagi-DenBeste Racing Ford 198 0 running 19
19 19 11 Blake Koch Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 198 0 running 18
20 3 20 Erik Jones (i) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 198 0 running 0
21 27 07 Ray Black Jr. SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 198 0 running 16
22 22 51 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet 198 0 running 15
23 26 2 Austin Dillon (i) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 198 0 running 0
24 20 23 Spencer Gallagher (R) GMS Racing Chevrolet 198 0 running 13
25 29 90 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet 197 0 running 12
26 5 42 Tyler Reddick Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 197 0 running 20
27 28 8 B. J. McLeod B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 194 0 running 10
28 35 52 Joey Gase Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet 194 0 running 9
29 30 0 Garrett Smithley JD Motorsports Chevrolet 194 0 running 8
30 39 78 Josh Bilicki B. J. McLeod Motorsports Chevrolet 192 0 running 7
31 37 74 Mike Harmon Mike Harmon Racing Dodge 87 0 clutch 6
32 36 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Chevrolet 43 0 suspension 5
33 38 13 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 35 0 overheating 4
34 40 38 Gray Gaulding (i) RSS Racing Chevrolet 31 0 electrical 0
35 24 15 Reed Sorenson (i) JD Motorsports Chevrolet 25 0 crash 0
36 34 40 Chad Finchum MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 25 0 crash 1
37 31 01 Harrison Rhodes JD Motorsports Chevrolet 17 0 engine 1
38 32 99 David Starr BJMM with SS-Green Light Racing Chevrolet 7 0 crash 1
39 15 33 Brandon Jones Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 0 crash 1
40 33 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 4 0 crash 1
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "Blaney asserts his dominance in NASCAR XFINITY Series win at Dover". ESPN.com. September 30, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "2017 NASCAR XFINITY Dover Race Info". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2017-09-29). "Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones are fastest in first of 2 Xfinity practices at Dover". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  4. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (2017-09-29). "Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones are fastest in first of 2 Xfinity practices at Dover". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  5. ^ "NASCAR Qualifying Rules". ESPN.com. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  6. ^ Long, Dustin (2017-09-30). "William Byron captures Xfinity pole at Dover". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  7. ^ "2017 Use Your Melon. Drive Sober 200 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
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