2018 U.S. Cellular 250
{{Short description|19th race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=CUST|Scheduled_km=352.044|Avg={{convert|97.772|mph|km/h}}|Pole_Driver=Elliott Sadler|Pole_Team=JR Motorsports|Most_Driver=Cole Custer|First_Driver=Christopher Bell|Most_laps=104|Most_Team=Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste|First_Team=Joe Gibbs Racing|Network=NBCSN|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Car=20|Scheduled_mi=218.75|Location=Newton, Iowa, Iowa Speedway|Distance_km=361.901|Course_km=1.408|Course_mi=0.875|Scheduled_laps=250|Distance_laps=257|Description=Race 19 of 33 of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series|Official_name=10th Annual U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group|Date=July 28|Race_Name=U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group|Year=2018|Pole_Time=23.576|Distance_mi=224.875|Announcers=Dave Burns, Dale Jarrett|Image=Iowa Speedway 2024.svg}}
The 2018 U.S. Cellular 250 presented by The Rasmussen Group was the 19th stock car race of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 10th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Newton, Iowa at Iowa Speedway, a 7⁄8 mile (1.4 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race was extended from its scheduled 250 laps to 257 due to a NASCAR overtime finish. At race's end, Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing would battle and hold off JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier in an overtime restart to win his fifth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, his fourth of the season, and his third consecutive win in the series, a feat that was last accomplished by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2018.{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Robert|date=2018-07-29|title=Christopher Bell takes Iowa for third straight Xfinity win {{!}} NASCAR.com|url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2018/07/28/bell-wins-iowa-become-first-xfinity-regular-since-1999-win-three-row/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Official Site Of NASCAR|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821072827/https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2018/07/28/bell-wins-iowa-become-first-xfinity-regular-since-1999-win-three-row/ |archive-date=2018-08-21 }} To fill out the podium, Kyle Benjamin of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish third.
Background
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately 30 miles (48 km) east of Des Moines. The track was designed with influence from Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond Raceway, a short track where Wallace was very successful. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered Recreational Vehicle viewing area along the backstretch.
= Entry list =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor |
| 0 |
| 00
|Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste |Ford |
| 1 |
| 01 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 7 |
| 8 |
| 9
|Takl |
| 11 |
| 15 |
| 16
|Ford |
| 18 |
| 19 |
| 20
|Ruud |
| 21 |
| 22
|Ford |
| 23 |
| 26
|Ford |
| 35 |
| 36 |
| 38 |
| 39 |
| 40 |
| 42 |
| 45 |
| 51
|[https://repairablevehicles.com/ RepairableVehicles.com] |
| 52 |
| 55 |
| 60
|Ford |Ford |
| 66
|[https://LasVegas.net/ LasVegas.net], TLC Resorts |
| 74 |
| 76
|Grunt Style "This We'll Defend" |
| 78 |
| 89 |
| 90 |
| 92 |
| 93 |
| colspan="5" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/nxs19iowa2018entrylist.pdf Official entry list] |
|---|
Practice
= First practice =
The first practice session was held on Friday, July 27, at 4:05 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes.{{Cite web|date=2018-07-30|title=2018 NASCAR XFINITY Iowa Race Page|url=https://www.espn.com/jayski/nxs/races/2018/story/_/id/23874714/2018-nascar-xfinity-iowa-race-page|access-date=2021-12-27|website=ESPN.com|language=en}} Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.046 and an average speed of {{Convert|130.999|mph|km/h}}.{{Cite web|last=Beaver|first=Dan|date=2018-07-27|title=Xfinity practice report at Iowa|url=https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2018/07/27/xfinity-practice-report-at-iowa/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=NASCAR Talk {{!}} NBC Sports|language=en-US}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|1 |24.046 |130.999 |
|---|
| 2
|20 |24.047 |130.993 |
| 3
|9 |24.108 |130.662 |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/nxs19iowa2018prac1.pdf Full first practice results] |
= Second and final practice =
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, July 27, at 6:05 PM CST, and would last for 50 minutes. Casey Roderick of GMS Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.933 and an average speed of {{Convert|131.617|mph|km/h}}.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|23 |23.933 |131.617 |
|---|
| 2
|7 |23.961 |131.464 |
| 3
|1 |24.014 |131.173 |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/nxs19iowa2018prac2.pdf Full Happy Hour practice results] |
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, July 28, at 4:20 PM CST. Since Iowa Speedway is under 2 miles (3.2 km), 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.{{Cite web|date=2018-02-07|title=NASCAR Qualifying Rules|url=https://www.espn.com/jayski/pages/story/_/id/18676661/nascar-qualifying-rules|access-date=2021-11-03|website=ESPN.com|language=en}}
Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 23.576 and an average speed of {{Convert|133.610|mph|km/h}}.{{Cite web|last=Ryan|first=Nate|date=2018-07-28|title=Elliott Sadler captures Xfinity pole position at Iowa|url=https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2018/07/28/elliott-sadler-captures-xfinity-pole-position-at-iowa/|access-date=2021-12-27|website=NASCAR Talk {{!}} NBC Sports|language=en-US}}
No drivers would fail to qualify.
= Full qualifying results =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time (R1) !Speed (R1) !Time (R2) !Speed (R2) !Time (R3) !Speed (R3) |
| 1
|1 |23.823 |132.225 |23.675 |133.052 |23.576 |133.610 |
|---|
| 2
|00 |Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste |Ford |23.730 |132.743 |23.640 |133.249 |23.653 |133.175 |
| 3
|20 |23.566 |133.667 |23.539 |133.820 |23.654 |133.170 |
| 4
|18 |23.643 |133.232 |23.595 |133.503 |23.680 |133.024 |
| 5
|9 |23.779 |132.470 |23.660 |133.136 |23.691 |132.962 |
| 6
|22 |Ford |23.765 |132.548 |23.710 |132.855 |23.692 |132.956 |
| 7
|7 |23.878 |131.921 |23.826 |132.209 |23.752 |132.620 |
| 8
|3 |23.877 |131.926 |23.751 |132.626 |23.785 |132.436 |
| 9
|19 |23.732 |132.732 |23.724 |132.777 |23.800 |132.353 |
| 10
|21 |23.807 |132.314 |23.754 |132.609 |23.819 |132.247 |
| 11
|42 |23.869 |131.970 |23.731 |132.738 |23.831 |132.181 |
| 12
|60 |Ford |23.971 |131.409 |23.703 |132.895 |23.852 |132.064 |
| colspan="11" |Eliminated in Round 2 |
| 13
|51 |24.057 |130.939 |23.838 |132.142 |— |— |
| 14
|11 |23.737 |132.704 |23.864 |131.998 |— |— |
| 15
|23 |23.868 |131.976 |23.895 |131.827 |— |— |
| 16
|2 |23.973 |131.398 |23.897 |131.816 |— |— |
| 17
|5 |23.851 |132.070 |23.900 |131.799 |— |— |
| 18
|4 |23.930 |131.634 |23.909 |131.750 |— |— |
| 19
|16 |Ford |23.964 |131.447 |23.944 |131.557 |— |— |
| 20
|39 |23.849 |132.081 |24.020 |131.141 |— |— |
| 21
|36 |24.045 |131.004 |24.062 |130.912 |— |— |
| 22
|35 |Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing |24.253 |129.881 |24.348 |129.374 |— |— |
| 23
|52 |24.188 |130.230 |— |— |— |— |
| 24
|0 |24.236 |129.972 |— |— |— |— |
| colspan="11" |Eliminated in Round 1 |
| 25
|78 |24.278 |129.747 |— |— |— |— |
| 26
|26 |Ford |24.286 |129.704 |— |— |— |— |
| 27
|76 |24.359 |129.316 |— |— |— |— |
| 28
|15 |24.400 |129.098 |— |— |— |— |
| 29
|40 |24.407 |129.061 |— |— |— |— |
| 30
|8 |24.441 |128.882 |— |— |— |— |
| 31
|90 |24.594 |128.080 |— |— |— |— |
| 32
|38 |24.634 |127.872 |— |— |— |— |
| 33
|89 |24.643 |127.825 |— |— |— |— |
| colspan="11" |Qualified by owner's points |
| 34
|01 |24.704 |127.510 |— |— |— |— |
| 35
|74 |25.039 |125.804 |— |— |— |— |
| 36
|55 |25.093 |125.533 |— |— |— |— |
| 37
|66 |25.532 |123.375 |— |— |— |— |
| 38
|45 |25.601 |123.042 |— |— |— |— |
| 39
|93 |— |— |— |— |— |— |
| colspan="11" |Qualified on time |
| 40
|92 |25.082 |125.588 |— |— |— |— |
| colspan="11" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/nxs19iowa2018qualresults.pdf Official qualifying results] |
| colspan="11" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/nxs19iowa2018lineup.pdf Official starting lineup] |
Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 60
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Pts |
| 1
|00 |Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste |Ford |10 |
|---|
| 2
|1 |9 |
| 3
|20 |8 |
| 4
|22 |Ford |7 |
| 5
|18 |6 |
| 6
|7 |5 |
| 7
|19 |4 |
| 8
|42 |3 |
| 9
|21 |2 |
| 10
|3 |1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 60
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Pts |
| 1
|20 |10 |
|---|
| 2
|00 |Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste |Ford |9 |
| 3
|7 |8 |
| 4
|19 |7 |
| 5
|22 |Ford |6 |
| 6
|42 |5 |
| 7
|18 |4 |
| 8
|1 |3 |
| 9
|16 |Ford |2 |
| 10
|21 |1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 137
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts |
| 1
|3 |20 |257 |94 |running |58 |
|---|
| 2
|7 |7 |257 |6 |running |48 |
| 3
|4 |18 |257 |5 |running |44 |
| 4
|18 |4 |257 |0 |running |33 |
| 5
|11 |42 |257 |0 |running |40 |
| 6
|1 |1 |257 |41 |running |43 |
| 7
|19 |16 |Ford |257 |0 |running |32 |
| 8
|14 |11 |257 |0 |running |29 |
| 9
|2 |00 |Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste |Ford |257 |104 |running |47 |
| 10
|12 |60 |Ford |257 |0 |running |27 |
| 11
|10 |21 |257 |0 |running |29 |
| 12
|9 |19 |257 |1 |running |36 |
| 13
|8 |3 |256 |6 |running |25 |
| 14
|17 |5 |256 |0 |running |23 |
| 15
|15 |23 |256 |0 |running |22 |
| 16
|21 |36 |255 |0 |running |21 |
| 17
|22 |35 |Go Green Racing with SS-Green Light Racing |255 |0 |running |20 |
| 18
|6 |22 |Ford |254 |0 |running |32 |
| 19
|23 |52 |253 |0 |running |18 |
| 20
|13 |51 |253 |0 |running |17 |
| 21
|25 |78 |253 |0 |running |16 |
| 22
|5 |9 |252 |0 |running |15 |
| 23
|27 |76 |252 |0 |running |14 |
| 24
|31 |90 |251 |0 |running |13 |
| 25
|24 |0 |250 |0 |running |12 |
| 26
|16 |2 |249 |0 |crash |11 |
| 27
|28 |15 |249 |0 |running |10 |
| 28
|30 |8 |248 |0 |running |9 |
| 29
|34 |01 |247 |0 |running |8 |
| 30
|26 |26 |Ford |245 |0 |crash |0 |
| 31
|36 |55 |242 |0 |running |6 |
| 32
|35 |74 |241 |0 |running |5 |
| 33
|37 |66 |236 |0 |running |4 |
| 34
|20 |39 |206 |0 |running |3 |
| 35
|32 |38 |140 |0 |ignition |2 |
| 36
|40 |92 |73 |0 |vibration |1 |
| 37
|29 |40 |56 |0 |brakes |1 |
| 38
|33 |89 |46 |0 |brakes |1 |
| 39
|39 |93 |36 |0 |electrical |1 |
| 40
|38 |45 |2 |0 |engine |1 |
| colspan="10" |[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/nxs19iowa2018racereport.pdf Official race results] |
References
{{Reflist}}{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=2018 Lakes Region 200|Next_race=2018 Zippo 200 at The Glen|Series=NASCAR Xfinity Series|Monsteryear=2018}}{{NASCAR on NBC}}{{2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series}}
Category:2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Category:NASCAR races at Iowa Speedway