2017 Bank of America 500

The **2017 Bank of America 500** was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 8, 2017, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 337 laps -- extended from 334 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate speedway, it was the 30th race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, fourth race of the Playoffs, and first race of the Round of 12.

## Report

### Background

The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad-oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, the Sprint All-Star Race, and the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

The 2,000 acres (810 ha) complex also features a state-of-the-art quarter mile (0.40 km) drag racing strip, ZMAX Dragway. It is the only all-concrete, four-lane drag strip in the United States and hosts NHRA events. Alongside the drag strip is a state-of-the-art clay oval that hosts dirt racing including the World of Outlaws finals among other popular racing events.

## First practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.113 seconds and a speed of 192.082 mph (309.126 km/h).

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## Qualifying

Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.184 and a speed of 191.598 mph (308.347 km/h).

## Practice (post-qualifying)

Both practice sessions for Saturday were canceled due to rain.

## Race

### First stage

#### Start

Denny Hamlin led the field to the green flag at 1:10 p.m., He led a total of 40 laps, The first caution of the race flew for a competition caution on lap 30, for overnight rain, The race restarted on lap 40 and it remained green for four laps, The race’s second caution flew because of contact between Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer exiting Turn 2 on lap 43. Both cars were damaged, Newman’s more heavily. NASCAR called a competition caution earlier in the race because of Saturday rain and its impact on the track.

The race restarted on lap 52 and Kevin Harvick outran Chase Elliott by two seconds to win the first stage (90 laps). Following in the top 10 were: Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suárez and Jimmie Johnson. Harvick led 39 laps in the stage, second to Hamlin’s 40. The third caution of the race flew for conclusion of the first stage.

### Second stage

The race restarted on lap 98 and it remained green for 19 laps, The fourth caution of the afternoon appeared on lap 117 when Michael McDowell lost control of his car and did a long slide across the top of the track in the second turn. He was running 23rd.

The race restarted on lap 121, and Kevin Harvick took the lead, While running second on lap 136, Kyle Busch slid into the wall between Turns 3 and 4, damaging the right rear of his Toyota and causing the race’s fifth caution. He lost a lap in the pits for repairs and later fell two laps back. Busch took a two-race winning streak into Sunday’s race. CMS remains the only active track where Busch has not won.

The race restarted on lap 141 and Kevin Harvick finished one second in front of Chase Elliott to win the second stage. Also in the top 10 were Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Jamie McMurray. The sixth caution of the race flew for conclusion of the second stage.

### Final stage

The race restarted on lap 186, and it remained green for 81 laps, David Ragan slid across the track and was hit by Danica Patrick on lap 266, bringing out the race’s seventh caution. Martin Truex Jr. led second-place Kyle Larson at that point. After the ensuing pit stops, Larson took the lead, with Truex second.

The race restarted on lap 271, and it remained green for 9 laps, The eighth caution of the race flew on lap 280 when Kyle Busch spun out in turn 2, He returned to the track four laps behind the leaders. During the pit stops that followed, the teams of Kyle Larson and Jimmie Johnson had missteps, pushing them out of the top 10 for the restart.

The race restarted on lap 284 and it remained green for 43 laps, Kyle Busch spun out in turn 3 and it brought the ninth caution of the race on lap 327, A. J. Allmendinger won the free pass under caution.

The race restarted on lap 332 and the tenth caution of the race flew when Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson made contact with two laps to go, forcing an overtime finish.

### Overtime

The race restarted in overtime with two laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. drove on to score his sixth victory of the season.

#### Post race

"It was tough out there today, the car was a handful," Truex said after climbing out of his car at the start-finish line. "Man, just thanks to my guys. We kept digging. The pit crew was flawless.

"They got us track position, and we were able to keep it. Just a never give-up attitude with these guys. ... At this time of year you want to click on all cylinders, and we just did everything right."

### Race results

#### Stage results

**Stage 1**
*Laps:* 90

**Stage 2**
*Laps:* 90

### Final stage results

**Stage 3**
*Laps:* 154

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 8 among different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 10 for 44
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 38 minutes and 0 seconds
* Average speed: 139.128 miles per hour (223.905 km/h)

## Media

### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen and Dale Jarrett had the call in the regular booth for the race. Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the NBC's Stock Car Smarts Booth for the race. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

 **Lap-by-lap:** Rick Allen **Color Commentator** Dale Jarrett**Stock Car Smarts Booth Analyst:** Jeff Burton**Stock Car Smarts Booth Analyst:** Steve Letarte | Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast

### Radio

The Performance Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

 **Lead announcer:** Doug Rice**Announcer:** Mark Garrow**Announcer:** Wendy Venturini | **Turns 1 & 2:** Rob Albright**Turns 3 & 4:** Pat Patterson | Brad GillieBrett McMillanJim NobleSteve Richards

## References

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