Rookie Erik Jones has made winning look easy in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Jones' success is even more remarkable given that he's had to race without his father, who died of cancer just a month ago. Jones retook the lead from Ty Dillon with 16 laps to go and won Saturday night at Iowa Speedway for his third victory of the season. Jones led a race-high 154 of 250 laps, but it took a late inside move for Jones to overcome Dillon for his first win since his father Dave died in June at just 53. "It's special for me to get back into Victory Lane without him. I know he was riding along with us, and it's hard not to think that this one was for him," Jones said. "I know he's definitely smiling down on us." Brad Keselowski was the only Sprint Cup driver in the field, leaving Iowa wide-open for an Xfinity regular to snatch a victory. But Jones remains the only series driver with more than one of those in 2016. Dillon, seeking his first victory since Indianapolis in 2014, finished second. He's winless in 66 races. Elliott Sadler was third, followed by Brennan Poole and Dakoda Armstrong. Keselowski, who will start seventh Sunday in Pocono in Pennsylvania in the Cup race, was eighth. Daniel Suarez, the series leader entering the race, failed to finish because of damage to the No. 19 car. Jones' margin of victory was nearly four seconds — and the rest of the field finished at least 10 seconds behind him. "I was really working as hard as I could to get around Ty. Man, it was tough," said Jones, who was 27th in the June race at Iowa. "I feel like we deserved to win when he came here earlier this year. We really had a fast car. It's nice to get some redemption." Pagenaud on pole in Ohio France's Simon Pagenaud captured his sixth pole position of the season Saturday, putting his Penske at the head of the grid for the IndyCar race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Pagenaud, who tops the standings after 11 of 16 races, notched his sixth track record of 2016 with a lap of 1min 3.8700sec (127.271 mph/204.82 Km/h) in Lexington, Ohio. The track record was no surprise after all three practice sessions featured laps quicker than the prior mark of 1:04.5814. Pagenaud beat that mark with a lap of 1:04.2483 in the first phase of qualifying, which saw several teams scrambling to post fast laps ahead of threatening weather. The second phase of qualifying saw Australian Will Power, Pagenaud, 2015 Mid-Ohio winner Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden and Charlie Kimball advance to the "Fast Six" final phase that determines the top six spots on the grid. Power set the first official lap in Mid-Ohio history in the 1 minute, 3 second range at 1:03.9381. Power will join Pagenaud on the front row for Sunday's 90-lap race, with Newgarden and Hunter-Reay on the second row. Past Mid-Ohio winners Kimball and Rahal rounded out the top six. Pagenaud came into the weekend leading the standings with 432 points, with Power next on 385 and Brazilian Helio Castroneves third on 358.
