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The 2017 Rinnai 250 was the second stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 163 laps to complete. At race's end, Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would pull away with the lead at the end of the race to win his 87th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Brad Keselowski of Team Penske and Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 33 in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
| Date | March 4, 2017 | ||
| Official name | 26th Annual Rinnai 250 | ||
| Location | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 163 laps, 251.02 mi (403.977 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 163 laps, 251.02 mi (403.977 km) | ||
| Average speed | 128.435 miles per hour (206.696 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 30.153 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | |
| Laps | 64 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Sports 1 | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, Chase Elliott | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
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Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
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First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 3, at 10:00 AM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3] Aric Almirola of Biagi-DenBeste Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.567 and an average speed of 181.372 miles per hour (291.890 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 | Aric Almirola (i) | Biagi-DenBeste Racing | Ford | 30.567 | 181.372 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.597 | 181.194 |
| 3 | 41 | Kevin Harvick (i) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.668 | 180.775 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
The second practice session was held on Friday, March 3, at 1:30 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3] Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.865 and an average speed of 179.621 miles per hour (289.072 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.865 | 179.621 |
| 2 | 98 | Aric Almirola (i) | Biagi-DenBeste Racing | Ford | 31.002 | 178.827 |
| 3 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 31.040 | 178.608 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, March 3, at 3:30 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3] Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.881 and an average speed of 179.528 miles per hour (288.922 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 30.881 | 179.528 |
| 2 | 41 | Kevin Harvick (i) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 30.927 | 179.261 |
| 3 | 98 | Aric Almirola (i) | Biagi-DenBeste Racing | Ford | 30.966 | 179.035 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
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Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 4, at 9:15 AM EST.[3] Since Atlanta Motor 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.[7]
Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole after setting a fast enough time in the first two rounds to advance to the next, with Bell achieving a lap in Round 3 with a time of 30.153 and an average speed of 183.862 miles per hour (295.897 km/h).[8]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Carl Long, Morgan Shepherd, and Mike Harmon.
Full qualifying results
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Stage 1 Laps: 40
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Brad Keselowski (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 41 | Kevin Harvick (i) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 0 |
| 4 | 20 | Denny Hamlin (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | William Byron | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson (i) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 3 | Ty Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 40
| Fin | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Kevin Harvick (i) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 0 |
| 2 | 22 | Brad Keselowski (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 0 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson (i) | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5 | 20 | Denny Hamlin (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 6 | 9 | William Byron | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 00 | Cole Custer (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Daniel Hemric (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Austin Dillon (i) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 83
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