The 2017 Mid-Ohio Challenge was the 21st stock car race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and the fifth iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 12, 2018, in

Lexington, Ohio Lexington is a village (United States)#Ohio, village along the Clear Fork River in Troy Township, Richland County, Ohio, Troy Township and Washington Township, Richland County, Ohio, Washington Township in Richland County, Ohio, Richland County ...

at the

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar, IMSA WeatherTech Sportsc ...

, a 2.258 miles (3.634 km) permanent road course. The race took the scheduled 75 laps to complete. At race's end, Sam Hornish Jr., driving for

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

, would hold off the field on the final restart with five to go to complete a dominant performance. The win was Hornish's sixth and to date, final career win in the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

and his only win of the season. To fill out the podium, Daniel Hemric, driving for

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...

, and Matt Tifft, driving for

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...

, would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The track is a road course

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

facility located in

Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio Troy Township is one of the sixteen townships of Morrow County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,156 people in the township. Geography Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships: * Troy To ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central region of the state, from south of Sandusky to the north of Columbus. The track opened as a 15-turn, 2.4 mile (3.86 km) road circuit run

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...

. The back portion of the track allows speeds approaching 180 mph (290 km/h). A separate starting line is located on the backstretch to allow for safer rolling starts. The regular start / finish line is located on the pit straight. There is grandstand seating for 10,000 spectators and three observation mounds alongside the track raise the capacity to over 75,000.

Entry list

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

Practice

Originally, two practices were scheduled to be held on Friday, August 11. However, rain would force the cancellation of both sessions. Instead, a lone practice session was run the following day. The only 45-minute practice session was held on Saturday, August 12, at 8:00 AM EST. Sam Hornish Jr., driving for

would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:25.695 and an average speed of .

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, August 12, at 12:00 PM EST. Since the

is a road course, the qualifying system was a multi-car system that included two rounds. The first round was 25 minutes, where every driver would be able to set a lap within the 25 minutes. Then, the second round would consist of the fastest 12 cars in Round 1, and drivers would have 10 minutes to set a lap. Whoever set the fastest time in Round 2 would win the pole. Sam Hornish Jr., driving for

would win the pole, with a lap of 1:23.921 and an average speed of in the second round. No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Race results

Stage 1 ''Laps: 20'' Stage 2 ''Laps: 20'' Stage 3 ''Laps: 35''

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.

References

{{2017 NASCAR Xfinity 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course August 2017 sports events in the United States 2017 in sports in Ohio