Jeremy Clements Wins Xfinity Race at Road America

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ELKHART LAKE, WI - RIS - Jeremy Clements survived a last lap dust-up with Matt Tifft to win the Johnsonville 180 NASCAR Xfinity race at Road America.  He not only got the win, but is now qualified for the playoffs.  Clements drove his No.51 Chevrolet to a huge lead when he pitted for the last time.  He chased Tifft for the final six laps until, just before the start-finish line, He and Tifft got together, both spinning.  Clements was ablre to get his car started and went on to win his first Xfinith Series race. The small, underfunded family run team had finally captured a checkered flag for the first time in 256 Xfinity Series races. Suddenly, it seems like everyone wants to talk him.

 “I drive for a small family team. Just to get a win in any of these starts is amazing,” Clements said. Father and team owner Tony Clements sat next to him, slightly embarrassed after having to turn the ringer off on his phone.

They might be fielding a few more calls this week. Not only was Clements’ No. 51 Chevy built in 2008, but the front end had to be pieced back together following a wreck two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio.

Tony Clements figured that a road course like Road America might provide a more level playing field against more well-funded teams, especially on a weekend when the top-level Monster Cup series wasn’t racing on the same track.

Pit strategy paid off on an overcast afternoon on the 4-plus mile, 14-turn road course.

All the twists and turns can take a toll on tires, and second-place finisher Michael Annett said drivers also had to deal with some wet track around turn 12. Qualifying for the 45-lap race was cancelled because of weather, with rain having fallen earlier in the morning.

Working with fresh tires down the stretch, Clements chased down Tifft after pitting with nine laps left to surrender the lead. Clements finally caught up with Tifft on the 44th lap, with their cars spinning into the dirt on the last turn of the 14-turn road course.

The 32 year-old Clements recovered first and sped away to victory on the last lap. Annett passed Tifft to take second, 5.8 seconds behind Clements. Tifft settled for third.

“I was just trying to survive on the older tires,” Tifft said. “Any time I would try to push it at all, the rear would get really lightened and not so happy with me.”

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 24 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet 45 7 44 Running 2 10 5
2 17 5 Michael Annett Allstate Parts & Service Group Chevrolet 45 35 Running 1 2
3 13 19 Matt Tifft # Dragon Alliance Toyota 45 7 6 43 Running 1 6
4 5 42 Justin Marks Katerra Chevrolet 45 2 42 Running
5 18 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet 45 8 35 Running
6 6 9 William Byron # Liberty University Chevrolet 45 8 34 Running
7 15 11 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 45 10 31 Running
8 12 00 Cole Custer # Haas Automation Ford 45 29 Running
9 28 98 Casey Mears GEICO Military Ford 45 9 30 Running
10 39 46 Parker Kligerman(i) ComServe Wireless Chevrolet 45 0 Running
11 7 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet 45 5 4 39 Running
12 33 8 Josh Bilicki Xtreme Xperience Chevrolet 45 25 Running
13 19 4 Ross Chastain Flex Seal Chevrolet 45 24 Running
14 3 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet 45 3 31 Running 1 4
15 11 21 Daniel Hemric # Blue Gate Bank Chevrolet 45 1 32 Running 1 10 1
16 1 22 Austin Cindric(i) Discount Tire Ford 45 3 0 Running 1 1
17 20 14 JJ Yeley TriStar Motorsports Toyota 45 5 26 Running
18 8 2 Ben Kennedy # Rheem Chevrolet 45 2 28 Running
19 4 18 Christopher Bell(i) Toyota Toyota 45 9 0 Running
20 21 39 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing Chevrolet 45 17 Running
21 27 07 Ryan Ellis SuperLiteCars.com/Bachtel Excavating Chevrolet 45 16 Running
22 16 28 Dakoda Armstrong JGL Racing Toyota 45 15 Running
23 9 3 Scott Lagasse Jr. Bellin Health/American Cancer Society Chevrolet 45 14 Running
24 26 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Travel Chevrolet 45 13 Running
25 22 33 Brandon Jones Jeld Wen/Menards Chevrolet 45 12 Running
26 35 90 Dexter Bean BadgerEnvironment&Earthworks/CrshClmsR.Us Chev 45 11 Running
27 29 0 Garrett Smithley teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 45 10 Running
28 30 99 David Starr Chevrolet 45 9 Running
29 40 17 Nicolas Hammann Trudell Performance Dodge 44 8 Running
30 37 74 John Graham New York Islanders Chevrolet 44 7 Running
31 10 48 Brennan Poole DC Solar Chevrolet 44 4 13 Running 1 1
32 25 52 Joey Gase Cobblestone Inn/Premier Millwright Chevrolet 43 5 Running
33 23 24 Dylan Lupton Nut Up Toyota 42 4 Running
34 36 78 Stephen Young Wealth Recovery International Chevrolet 42 3 Running
35 14 16 Ryan Reed Lilly Diabetes Ford 36 6 7 Accident
36 34 40 Tim Cowen Cowen Logistics Dodge 35 1 Accident
37 2 20 James Davison Hollinger Motor Sports Toyota 20 1 11 Accident 1 11 1
38 32 01 Sheldon Creed United Rentals Chevrolet 18 10 2 Vibration
39 38 13 Ernie Francis Jr. Frameless Shower Doors Toyota 16 1 Engine
40 31 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet 2 1 Vibration
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 12 Mins, 53 Secs. Average Speed: 82.250 MPH Margin of Victory: 5.802 Seconds

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2017, Issue 8, Posted 6:02 PM, 08.27.2017