2017 ToyotaCare 250

2017 ToyotaCare 250

Race details
Race 8 of 33 in the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date	April 29, 2017
Official name	30th Annual ToyotaCare 250
Location	Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km)
Distance	254 laps, 190.5 mi (306.58 km)
Scheduled Distance	250 laps, 187.5 mi (301.752 km)
Average speed	87.541 miles per hour (140.884 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Daniel Hemric	Richard Childress Racing
Time	22.885
Most laps led
Driver	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports
Laps	157
Winner
No. 42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Sports 1
Announcers	Adam Alexander, Michael Waltrip, Joey Logano
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2017 ToyotaCare 250 was the eighth stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, April 29, 2017, in Richmond, Virginia at Richmond Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race was extended from its scheduled 250 laps to 254 due to a NASCAR overtime finish. At race's end, Kyle Larson, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, would steal the victory on the final restart when the race would end under caution due to a wreck on the backstretch.^[1] The win was Larson's seventh career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his second of the season. To fill out the podium, Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports and Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

The first practice session was held on Friday, April 28, at 1:00 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.^[2] Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.796 and an average speed of 118.442 miles per hour (190.614 km/h).^[3]

The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, April 28, at 3:00 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.^[2] Kyle Benjamin of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.061 and an average speed of 117.081 miles per hour (188.424 km/h).^[4]

Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 29, at 10:05 AM EST.^[2] Since Richmond Raceway 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.^[5]

Daniel Hemric of Richard Childress Racing would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, with a time of 22.885 and an average speed of 117.981 miles per hour (189.872 km/h).^[6]

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Tommy Joe Martins and Morgan Shepherd.

Stage 1 Laps: 75

Stage 2 Laps: 75

Stage 3 Laps: 104

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Elliott Sadler 295 2 Justin Allgaier 254 (-41) 3 William Byron 251 (–44) 4 Daniel Hemric 228 (–67) 5 Bubba Wallace 211 (–84) 6 Ryan Reed 198 (–97) 7 Blake Koch 190 (–105) 8 Michael Annett 186 (–109) 9 Matt Tifft 183 (–112) 10 Brennan Poole 180 (–115) 11 Dakoda Armstrong 160 (–135) 12 Cole Custer 154 (–141) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.