2017 Apache Warrior 400

The 2017 Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 1, 2017, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Contested over 400 laps on the one-mile (1.6 km) concrete speedway, it was the 29th race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, third race of the Playoffs and final race of the Round of 16.

2017 Apache Warrior 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
Race 29 of 36 in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)
Location Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 400 laps, 400 mi (640 km)
Weather Fair skies with a temperature of 68 °F (20 °C); wind out of the north at 8 mph (13 km/h)
Average speed 129.171 miles per hour (207.881 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Furniture Row Racing
Time 22.407
Most laps led
Driver Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 138
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network NBCSN
Announcers Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Kurt Becker, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers Mike Bagley (Backstretch)

Report

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Background

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Dover International Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Dover International Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware, United States. Since opening in 1969, it has held at least two NASCAR races. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the Verizon IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1 mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

Entry list

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota
24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford
33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford
37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota
66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Chevrolet
72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota
83 Brett Moffitt (i) BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet
Official entry list

First practice

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Matt Kenseth was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 22.147 seconds and a speed of 162.550 mph (261.599 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.147 162.550
2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.219 162.023
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.219 162.023
Official first practice results

Qualifying

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Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 22.407 and a speed of 160.664 mph (258.564 km/h).[12]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2 R3
1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 22.776 22.589 22.407
2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.552 22.388 22.445
3 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.571 22.475 22.502
4 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.660 22.628 22.504
5 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.739 22.546 22.515
6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22.603 22.611 22.534
7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.853 22.467 22.544
8 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.763 22.565 22.577
9 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.661 22.624 22.612
10 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 22.670 22.665 22.622
11 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22.581 22.581 22.638
12 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.635 22.667 22.680
13 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.596 22.689
14 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 22.737 22.689
15 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.760 22.705
16 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 22.727 22.713
17 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.723 22.726
18 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 22.819 22.737
19 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.673 22.754
20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 22.802 22.811
21 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.806 22.819
22 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.794 22.826
23 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.844 22.842
24 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.808 22.923
25 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.875
26 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 22.923
27 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 22.939
28 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.006
29 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 23.038
30 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 23.100
31 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 23.311
32 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 23.506
33 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 23.519
34 83 Brett Moffitt (i) BK Racing Toyota 23.544
35 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 23.710
36 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 24.107
37 23 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota 24.174
38 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 24.192
39 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 191.747
40 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 0.000
Official qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

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Second practice

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Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 22.998 seconds and a speed of 156.535 mph (251.919 km/h).[13]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.998 156.535
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.016 156.413
3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 23.025 156.352
Official second practice results

Final practice

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Final practice

Chase Elliott was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 22.877 seconds and a speed of 157.363 mph (253.251 km/h).[14]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.877 157.363
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.944 156.904
3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 22.945 156.897
Official final practice results

Race

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First stage

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Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag and led the early part of the race. On lap 25, Kyle Larson took the lead from Truex. Larson would lead the race until Truex regained the lead on lap 60. On lap 82, a round of green-flag pit stops began. On lap 86, the first caution of the race came out during green-flag pit stops when Jeffrey Earnhardt spun coming into pit road and hit the barrels at the entrance to pit road. At the time of the caution, Kyle Busch was leading as he and a few other drivers had yet to pit including Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danica Patrick, and David Ragan. The race would be red-flagged for 15 minutes to replace the barrels at the entrance to pit road. The leaders pitted on lap 88 and Keselowski won the battle off pit road. The race returned to green flag on lap 93 and Keselowski would hold onto the lead to win Stage 1, which concluded on lap 120.[15]

Second stage

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Eventual race winner Kyle Busch leads at the beginning of Stage 2

After the first stage ended, the second caution of the race came out. The leaders pitted, and Kyle Busch left pit road first. Matt Kenseth was penalized for speeding on pit road. The race returned to green on lap 128 and Kyle Busch would continue to lead. On lap 151, Larson took the lead from Kyle Busch. On lap 167, the third caution of the race came out when Reed Sorenson blew an engine. Under this caution, the leaders pitted and Truex won the battle off pit road. The green flag came back out on lap 174 and Truex initially held the lead until getting passed by Larson in turn 2. On lap 219, Kevin Harvick made an unscheduled green-flag pit stop for a vibration. Larson held onto the lead and won Stage 2, which ended on lap 240.[15]

Final stage

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Following the conclusion of the second stage, the fourth caution of the race came out. The leaders came to pit road under the caution and Larson maintained the lead. However, Larson could not maintain speed after having to shut off his engine and restart it, which dropped him back to fifth for the restart and gave Chase Elliott the lead. The green flag came back out on lap 249 and Elliott held onto the lead. Elliott's lead would continue to grow as the race remained green. On lap 319, a round of green-flag pit stops began. Race leader Elliott pitted on lap 325, giving the lead to Kyle Busch, he pitted 5 laps later and gave the lead to Jimmie Johnson. Under this round of pit stops, Kurt Busch had a commitment line violation. Johnson pitted from the lead on lap 334 and gave the lead to Keselowski. He, Austin Dillon. and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. pitted on lap 340 to complete the cycle of green-flag pit stops and give the lead back to Elliott. Elliott continued to hold onto the lead. On lap 373, Denny Hamlin hit the wall and slowed down on the track. He was able to make it to pit road with a broken axle with the race remaining green. In the closing laps, Kyle Busch started catching Elliott as Elliott was getting caught in lapped traffic. Coming to the white flag on lap 399, Kyle Busch took the lead from Elliott. Kyle Busch held onto the lead to win the race. Following the race, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, and Kasey Kahne were eliminated from the playoffs.[15]

Race results

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Stage results

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Stage 1 Laps: 120

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 10
2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 9
3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 8
4 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7
5 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6
6 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 5
7 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 2
10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage one results

Stage 2 Laps: 120

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 10
2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 9
3 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 7
5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5
7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3
9 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2
10 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1
Official stage two results

Final stage results

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Stage 3 Laps: 160

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 56
2 12 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 47
3 17 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 40
4 1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 400 50
5 3 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 47
6 19 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 32
7 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 34
8 5 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 29
9 26 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 30
10 16 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 400 40
11 4 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 26
12 10 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 400 25
13 8 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 399 24
14 21 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 23
15 18 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 399 22
16 23 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 399 21
17 9 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 399 23
18 24 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 399 25
19 15 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 399 25
20 13 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 398 17
21 28 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 397 18
22 29 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 397 15
23 11 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 397 14
24 20 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 396 13
25 14 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 396 12
26 25 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 396 11
27 30 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 396 10
28 27 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 395 9
29 31 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 394 8
30 22 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 394 7
31 40 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 393 6
32 33 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 392 5
33 34 83 Brett Moffitt (i) BK Racing Toyota 391 0
34 37 23 Corey LaJoie (R) BK Racing Toyota 389 3
35 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 374 8
36 36 51 B. J. McLeod (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 372 0
37 38 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 368 1
38 32 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 348 0
39 39 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Toyota 162 1
40 35 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 39 0
Official race results

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 6 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 4 for 24
  • Red flags: 1 for 15 minutes and 9 seconds
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes and 48 seconds
  • Average speed: 129.171 miles per hour (207.881 km/h)

Media

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Television

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NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2006 race winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBCSN
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen
Color-commentator: Jeff Burton
Color-commentator: Steve Letarte
Dave Burns
Parker Kligerman
Marty Snider
Kelli Stavast

Radio

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MRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

MRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Kurt Becker
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Rusty Wallace
Backstretch: Mike Bagley Alex Hayden
Winston Kelley
Steve Post
Kim Coon

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "2017 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  2. ^ "Dover International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 25, 2017. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 29, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 29, 2017. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 30, 2017. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  7. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. September 30, 2017. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "Apache Warrior 400 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 1, 2017. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  9. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  10. ^ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Spencer, Lee (September 29, 2017). "Matt Kenseth leads clean opening practice at Dover". Motorsport.com. Dover, Delaware: Motorsport Network. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  12. ^ Gelston, Dan (September 29, 2017). "Truex wins pole at Dover for 3rd NASCAR playoff race". Associated Press. Dover, Delaware: AP Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  13. ^ Spencer, Lee (September 30, 2017). "Harvick and Earnhardt Jr. lead Saturday morning practice at Dover". Motorsport.com. Dover, Delaware: Motorsport Network. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  14. ^ Spencer, Lee (September 30, 2017). "Hendrick teammates Elliott and Johnson top final Dover practice". Motorsport.com. Dover, Delaware: Motorsport Network. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c Engle, Greg (October 1, 2017). "The NASCAR Apache Warrior 400 at Dover as it happened". CupScene.com. Cup Scene. Retrieved October 2, 2017.


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2017 ISM Connect 300
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
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Next race:
2017 Bank of America 500