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Ryan Blaney started on the pole. It was his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series pole in one of his infrequent starts in the series. The race went green and Sam Hornish Jr. quickly flexed his muscles as he took the lead in the first turn and led the first lap of the event. Hornish began to run away from the field as Blaney settled into second place and the rest of the field chased behind them. The laps began to click by quickly through the Sunday afternoon and the race was looking to be entering a long green flag run. The run ended before it became too long with the first caution of the race on lap 40. Cale Conley had a right front tire problem in turn 2. He slowed down and moved to the apron due to the flat tire. Conley made it to pit road without damage, but his sway bar was broken, which caused the flat tire, and he would need lengthy repairs. Chad Boat received the lucky dog. The caution brought the first pit stops of the race and they were without strategy. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with Sam Hornish Jr. coming out as the leader. Hornish remained the only leader of the race and he looked to keep it that way, but the field was ready to battle behind him.
The race went back green and Hornish managed to hold onto the lead. Once again, Ryan Blaney maneuvered into second place as the field raced behind the two leaders. Blaney made a few charges up to Hornish in the laps immediately after the restart, but Hornish remained the leader. Hornish began to streak away just a little bit as the field looked for an answer to his domination. The laps began to click by really quick through the afternoon as Hornish remained out front. He was lapping cars left and right and lap traffic began to cause him some problems. Blaney was able to move up to Hornish and as the two leaders came to lap 90, the lap traffic would cost the leader the lead. Hornish ran up on Dakoda Armstrong entering turn 3 and Armstrong took the outside line, which Hornish inhabited. Blaney shot to the inside line and passed Hornish in taking the lead for the first time in the race. He began to cruise as the run began to become the longest of the race. Blaney clicked some laps down out front and the field was looking towards green flag pit stops as the second caution of the event waved on lap 105. A piece of track banner had started to peel off on the frontstretch of the track. NASCAR threw a caution to allow the track officials to pick up the banner. J.J. Yeley received the lucky dog. The caution brought some more pit stops. All the lead lap drivers took four tires with Ryan Blaney coming out first and returning to the lead. The race was approaching the halfway point and the win looked to be up for grabs.
The green flag waved once again and Ryan Blaney was able to hold onto the lead. Blaney streaked away from the field as Sam Hornish Jr. fell into second. The laps continued to click away as Blaney remained fast at the front of the field. The race crossed the halfway mark and Blaney had checked out as he continued to lap the field. He looked to keep the field behind him until green flag pit stops or a caution came, but he wouldn't have to wait long before the third caution waved on lap 143. Carlos Contreras's car began to smoke heavily heading down the frontstretch. He hit the apron heading down the backstretch with a blown engine. He made it to pit road, but his race was finished. J.J. Yeley received the lucky dog. The caution brought some more pit stops and the first strategy of the afternoon. Landon Cassill, who had been running great just around the top ten, took two tires while the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires. Even with Cassill's strategy call, Blaney came off of pit road first. With only about one hundred laps to go, the action would surely heat up and the battle for the lead would become very intense.
The race went back green and Sam Hornish Jr. managed to take the lead away from Ryan Blaney once again. Hornish began to check out as Blaney looked for a chance to take the lead away. The field raced behind the two leaders, but it was still their race to decide. Hornish continued to stay out front as drivers started to really jostle positions in the top ten. The run was beginning to lengthen and the move to pit road under green was approaching. Hornish continued to lead as the fifty lap to go mark passed, but Blaney was coming. Blaney made his way up to Hornish and on lap 208, he was through for the lead. In a couple of laps, green flag stops looked like a must. On lap 213, Dylan Kwasniewski made the first move to pit road. He hit the pit lane and made it to his box. He took four tires and left, but he lost a lap and his race would take a turn as the fourth caution waved on lap 213. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 1. Ryan Sieg received the lucky dog. Kwasniewski was stuck a lap down, but he was able to take the wave around and he would just have to gain the positions he lost back. The caution brought what turned out to be the final pit stops of the race and a little strategy. Michael McDowell took two tires while Ryan Blaney and the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires. McDowell managed to come off pit road first, but he was off sequence and he would have to battle hard. Now, the race was within thirty five laps of completion and it would be an all-out brawl.
The race went back green and McDowell's two tires could not hold off Blaney's four as he took the lead. Blaney looked to run away from his closest competitor, Sam Hornish Jr., but the fifth and final caution waved on lap 221. Mike Bliss had a tire problem entering turn 3. Bliss shot up the track and piled hard into the outside wall. He kept his car running, but he came to a stop on the frontstretch. His car had a good bit of damage and his race was over. James Buescher received the lucky dog. The wreck was cleaned up and the field was ready to restart for what would be the final time. The race went back green and Blaney tried extremely hard to hold onto the lead, but Sam Hornish Jr. was able to fly past him. Hornish began to look to run away as only twenty or so laps remained. Hornish was running away and Blaney was thrashing to make his way to the front. Regan Smith made his way into third and he was also looking to move into the battle. Hornish was still out front by a decent margin with ten laps to go and the field raced behind him. He continued to hit his marks like he had all race and he was running a torrid pace. Five laps to go flashed on the board and Blaney and Smith were thrashing to try and close the advantage, but Hornish seemed out of reach. Hornish, meanwhile, kept the pressure behind him and he took the white flag with absolute ease. Hornish looked like he had been doing it every single week this year and he crossed the finish line to take the win in his second opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing. Hornish proved he still has it and he was definitely worth signing.
A key word for Sam Hornish Jr. throughout the race on Sunday was opportunity. Hornish's opportunities in NASCAR have been well documented. Roger Penske gave him a shot in the Cup Series in 2008 and Hornish held the ride until 2010 when he was let go after a less than stellar performance in three seasons. He took, basically, the season off from NASCAR and Penske gave him a shot again in a few races in the Nationwide Series in 2011. Hornish won a race and came back for 2012 and 2013 to run full seasons, but he fell a few points short of a championship in 2013 and his opportunity ended. Now, he has another opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing. He did not miss out on this opportunity early as he took the win at Iowa in only his second start behind the wheel of the Monster Energy Toyota. When he is able to win a race in a car that is usually piloted by the winningest driver in the history of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, heads turn and Hornish will have more opportunities in the very near future. Ryan Blaney battled hard all day in Roger Penske's usual Nationwide entry to take a second place finish. Regan Smith continued his momentum to start the season with a very nice third place finish. Chase Elliott barely missed a step in his Iowa Nationwide Series debut as he took a fourth place finish. Elliott Sadler rode the Talladega momentum train to a well deserved fifth place finish. The rest of the Nationwide regulars followed behind Sadler and the usual culprits could be found in the top ten. It was definitely a great show of young drivers in the Nationwide Series at Iowa, but the Cup regulars will be back next week at Charlotte. Charlotte has been home to some very good Nationwide races and Saturday afternoon's event will be one to watch. Will Kyle Busch take his third straight win at Charlotte, will Regan Smith or Chase Elliott take another win for JR Motorsports, or will another Nationwide driver shine at home in Charlotte? We only have to wait a few days to find out these answers and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 40- Cale Conley had a tire problem in turn 2, but he did not hit the wall.
2nd Caution: Lap 105- A track banner was spotted on the frontstretch of the track.
3rd Caution: Lap 143- Carlos Contreras lost an engine heading down the frontstretch and left some oil on track.
4th Caution: Lap 213- Debris was spotted on the track in turn 1.
5th Caution: Lap 221- Mike Bliss had tire problems in turn 3 and slammed the outside wall hard.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Chad Boat
2nd Caution: J.J. Yeley
3rd Caution: J.J. Yeley
4th Caution: Ryan Sieg
5th Caution: James Buescher
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Sam Hornish Jr.
2nd: Ryan Blaney
3rd: Regan Smith
4th: Chase Elliott
5th: Elliott Sadler
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Brian Scott
8th: Ty Dillon
9th: Trevor Bayne
11th: Dylan Kwasniewski
12th: Brendan Gaughan
19th: James Buescher
30th: Cale Conley
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/standings.live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2014_Get_To_Know_Newton_250/B
-Image:
http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20140518&Category=SPORTS03&ArtNo=305180047&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Sam-Hornish-Jr-wins-Nationwide-race-Iowa
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