Erik Jones takes pole in short day for Xfinity Series at Iowa Speedway

NEWTON — Erik Jones made three laps on Saturday at Iowa Speedway — and all three were the fastest of the day.

With a schedule quirk this weekend for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series combo weekend, Jones and the rest of the NXS field had their two practices on Friday and just qualifying on Saturday.

So it took just more than a minute of work — roughly 23 seconds per lap — for Jones to take the pole for Sunday's American Ethanol 250.

'I felt pretty confident before qualifying, and obviously it worked out good. We're happy with it so far and hope it's good for (Sunday),' Jones said. '(The schedule) doesn't affect us too much. It's kind of a bummer because we're here for so long, but it doesn't change anything preparation-wise or anything driver-wise. It's a little odd coming in and just qualifying. It's not the easiest thing to do as a driver.'

A poll of drivers revealed Jones' take on the weekend schedule was a common one. Apart from the two drivers racing both series this weekend, Saturday proved to be an easy day on the job.

Jones was fastest in all three sessions, and will start alongside teammate Daniel Suarez (doing double duty) on the front row for Sunday's race. Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three positions, in fact, with Sam Hornish Jr. qualifying third.

The NXS Rookie of the Year candidate and two-time NCWTS winner at Iowa Speedway has liked his car all weekend. He was third in the first practice and fourth in final practice on Friday.

'It's good so far. I think (Friday) we weren't quite sure what we had over a long run, and got it a lot better toward the end of the day,' Jones said. 'It's nice to be able to get another pole for these guys, and hopefully another win (Sunday).'

JR Motorsports drivers Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler, and Ben Kennedy (joining Suarez doing both races) rounded out the top five for qualifying. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racer and 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski ended qualifying in sixth.

Cedar Rapids native Joey Gase qualified 26th for Sunday's race, one spot shy of his best-career qualifying effort at his home NASCAR track. Gase ended his only practice of the weekend 25th, and said after that session the car was tight. So when he did his five laps of work on Saturday, his team's wholesale changes seemed to help.

The weather forecast calls for a high of 93 degrees, making those handling effects even more crucial.

'We're pretty happy with that,' Gase said. 'We were very, very, very tight yesterday, so we threw the kitchen sink at it and we were actually free all the way around. That was good, I was happy with that. So I think we're happy with that, and hopefully we'll race well (Sunday). I think you want to be on the free side here, especially with how hot it's going to be.

'I don't remember an Xfinity race where it's supposed to be this hot.'

Gase was still smiling on Saturday, riding the high of getting a win at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in his No. 35 Late Model on Friday night, and even if he didn't get to bed until around 2 a.m., he said the celebration didn't go so late as to affect him too much on Saturday.

Getting to celebrate a win is worth it, though, and he said maybe the biggest relief today was having both contacts stay in while he was on the track.

Expectations as far as results may not be the same for Sunday's race as Friday's, but with the speed he's felt in the No. 52 Chevy, the 23-year-old is optimistic for a top-25 or better in the race.

'I'll be pretty happy with a top 25 (Sunday), and really happy with a top 20,' Gase said. 'And last night was a lot of fun. We had some friends come over and celebrate. I don't think we even left the track until 12:30 or so.

'My eye feels a lot better. I had some strain on my eye after (running that race with one contact in). I can't see past my elbow without them in, so it strained the eye a little bit. We're all good now, though.'

As for the race favorite, Jones certainly asserted himself as one to beat through practice and qualifying, along with teammates Suarez and Hornish — all three continuing the dominance JGR has shown in the Xfinity Series all season.

The kicker for Jones, though, is he actually gets to start where his car qualified. In his two Xfinity starts at Iowa last season, Drew Herring qualified his car, so he was forced to start from the rear. No such (bad) luck this time around.

'I hope (this makes it a little easier),' Jones said through a laugh. 'This will be the first time I get to start from my qualifying position, and actually the first time I even got to qualify an Xfinity car here. It's nice to be starting up front and not have to work from the back. That's tough to do at a short track. It'll be nice to be able to work on the car all day starting up front and have that advantage.'

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