Snapshot: Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- NASCAR Next Class of 2016 member Alon Day will make his NASCAR national series debut at Mid-Ohio. Day, 24, will pilot the No. 40 Dodge for MBM Motorsports and is also set to race at Road America in two weeks. The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series competitor is the first driver from Israel to start a national series race. For more key story lines for the race, read on.

At a glance

Where: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course in Lexington, Ohio
Green flag time: 3:33:30 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: Showers and thunderstorms with a high near 86, according to the National Weather Service.
National anthem: Wendy Reiser
Race distance: 75 laps, 169.35 miles
Pit road speed: 35 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph

Honoring Clauson

XFINITY Series teams will honor Bryan Clauson this weekend with a special decal on the cars at Mid-Ohio. Clauson passed away Sunday following injuries from a crash in a U.S. Auto Club midget car race in Belleville, Kansas. Clauson made 26 starts with two career top 10s in what was then called the Nationwide Series.

Who's behind the wheel?

Mid-Ohio will have its share of notable names and road ringers: Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 2 Chevrolet), Ryan Blaney (No. 22 Ford) and Kenny Habul (No. 88 Chevrolet) are among those in action. Owen Kelly (No. 18 Toyota), a veteran of the Australia Supercar Series, will make his first NASCAR start since 2013. Nelson Piquet Jr. (No. 98 Ford) will make his first NASCAR start since 2014, while Andy Lally (No. 90 Chevrolet) will make his first NASCAR start of 2016.

Road weary

Joe Gibbs Racing has been the dominant organization in the XFINITY Series this year with 13 wins over the 20 races. However, for all of JGR's XFINITY success, the organization has yet to win at any of the three road courses currently on the schedule. Last year at Mid-Ohio, no JGR car finished in the top 10. The No. 18 of Owen Kelly (engine change) and the No. 19 of Daniel Suarez (right-rear damage) had trouble in the opening practice.

Trouble for Ty?

In final practice, Ty Dillon came into Turn 9 hot and got into the tire barrier, causing damage to his No. 3 Chevrolet. The team repaired the primary car.

'I ran up on a slow car and went to give him some track and get myself some space around him to run a couple more laps. ... Coasted through some of the hilly, curvy sections. It knocked my pads back a little bit. When I went to attack the corner again, I didn’t have much pedal and I went through there too fast.'

Ready for the rain

Road races go on in the event of wet weather. The XFINITY Series cars are equipped here with windshield wipers, and the teams will have rain tires. Wayne Auton, XFINITY Series managing director, will make the call at the start, if the race begins in 'dry,' 'wet' or 'damp' conditions. Once the race starts under a particular condition, the crew chief is solely responsible for the decision of when to change/use 'dry' or 'wet' condition equipment.

Chase watch

Elliott Sadler, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones are locked into the XFINITY Series Chase. Several other drivers are in great spots based on their points positions and can clinch with a victory on Saturday. However, the race for the last spot on the provisional grid is tight with Blake Koch holding just a two-point edge over Ross Chastain with Dakoda Armstrong and Jeremy Clements close behind, too

He said it

'I love this track because you have elevation changes, you have some high speed corners, where it requires a lot of brakes. And to me, this is a little bit of a mix of what you would get in the (Sprint) Cup Series with having Sonoma and Watkins Glen. You have some high speed but you also have some things where you are pressed to the hills and you got to keep the tires on the car.' -- Ohio native Sam Hornish Jr, driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

He said it II

'This type of racing is much more in my wheelhouse. It's much less of a learning curve then the other tracks I've gone to this year. I know what the car needs and kind of hit the ground running. Just the style of racing here plays more into my strengths and experience than the oval tracks.' -- Justin Marks, driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing, who has an extensive road racing resume and earned his first XFINITY top 10 in 2014 at Mid-Ohio.