NXS: Chase Briscoe Wins U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway

Chase Briscoe ended the late-afternoon victorious at Iowa Speedway by passing race dominator Christopher Bell with seven laps to go – earning his second career NASCAR XFINITY Series victory.

Briscoe started second and finished stage one sitting third and second at the end of stage two. The Indiana native leaves the 0.785-mile oval with eight top five and 14 top 10 finishes this season through 19 races.

Briscoe’s last victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series came last season at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval. The driver started ninth and led 33 laps in his only top five finish of the 2018 season.

Christopher Bell, winner of both stages, came home in the second spot at Iowa Speedway. Bell started on the pole in his No. 20 Rheem Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and led 232 circuits of the 250 laps.

The driver out of Oklahoma came into the weekend looking to continue their streak of solid runs at Iowa Speedway. In five starts at the track located in central Iowa, Bell has four top five and top 10 finishes along with two victories.

With 19 races complete in 2019, Bell has 12 top five and 13 top 10 finishes with five trips to victory lane and sits second in points behind Tyler Reddick.

John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top three finishers on Saturday. Nemechek led the field for seven laps and battled with leader Christopher Bell late. The son of veteran racer Joe Nemechek will leave Iowa with three top five and 11 top 10 finishes.

Noah Gragson and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five.

Taking home top 10 finishes included Justin Allgaier, Shane Lee, Justin Haley, Zane Smith and Michael Annett.

Several key drivers found themselves involved in incidents throughout the 250-lap event. On lap 45, in turn one, Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson tangled to bring out the first yellow flag of the day.

Cindric finished 37th and was done for the day while Gragson took home fourth.

On lap 75, also in turn one, Riley Herbst and Jeremy Clements tangled to bring out the third yellow flag of the race. Herbst went on to finish 13th while Jeremy Clements finished 30th on the leaderboard.

The next incident to involve a heavy contender occurred on lap 162 for Cole Custer in turn three. Custer, piloting the No. 00 Haas Ford, was done for the day with a finish of 29th. The driver from California started sixth on the starting grid.

The next race for the NASCAR XFINITY Series will be at Watkins Glen International. The Zippo 200 will air live on August 3rd at 3:00 p.m. ET. On NBC.

Brett Winningham
Follow Me