NASCAR Xfinity Series at Iowa 2015: Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Ryan Blaney nearly went wire-to-wire Saturday night at Iowa Speedway as he won the U.S. Cellular 250.

Blaney led all but 15 of the 260 laps on the night in what was one of the more commanding performances you'll see in the Xfinity Series this year.

With that said, a pair of cautions near the end of the race almost resulted in Blaney's downfall.

With five laps to go, Brendan Gaughan threw caution to the wind and attempted to pass Blaney on the inside. The two cars almost made contact, with Blaney avoiding a wreck and remaining in first.

The two battled once again following a caution on Lap 248, which brought about a green-white-checkered finish. Upon the restart, Gaughan once again gambled with an aggressive move, which pleased driver and Sprint Cup team owner Michael Waltrip:

Gaughan looked to make contact with the left rear of the No. 22 car and came out the worse for wear and fish-tailed. That resulted in another caution, with Gaughan falling out of contention.

Blaney didn't walk away unscathed, complaining to his crew of a potential tire rub on the left rear of his car, per Jayski's. The threat of the damage it would cost Blaney on the green-white-checkered finish was very real, and it looked as if he crossed the finish line just in time, per Motorsport.com's Nick DeGroot:

Blaney certainly earned the win with the way he held off Gaughan and then Regan Smith following the late restarts.

You can view the top 10 finishers below, with the full results available at NASCAR.com:

Pos.	Driver	Behind	Laps Led
1	Ryan Blaney	----	252
2	Regan Smith	0.321	4
3	Brian Scott	0.726	0
4	Ty Dillon	0.880	0
5	Brendan Gaughan	1.079	0
6	Daniel Suarez	1.320	0
7	Erik Jones	1.368	0
8	Elliott Sadler	1.489	0
9	Chase Elliott	1.904	3
10	Ross Chastain	2.555	0

Chris Buescher didn't have a great night on the track, winding up in 13th place. He maintained his lead in the points standings, however. Here's a look at the top 10, courtesy of ESPN.com:

Pos.	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Chris Buescher	682	2
T2	Chase Elliott	661	0
T2	Ty Dillon	661	0
4	Regan Smith	642	0
5	Elliott Sadler	630	0
6	Darrell Wallace Jr.	601	0
7	Daniel Suarez	596	0
8	Brendan Gaughan	576	0
9	Brian Scott	568	0
10	Ryan Reed	551	1

Saturday's race quickly became all about Blaney. He started out in second behind pole-sitter Daniel Suarez and moved into first on the second lap. From that point forward, the 21-year-old dictated the pace and ran out to a comfortable lead.

Frontstretch's Tom Bowles didn't think his dominance made for great entertainment:

To a certain extent, Bowles wasn't incorrect. The first 200 or so laps of the U.S. Cellular 250 were an exercise in futility for anybody trying to overtake the No. 22 car. The likes of Smith, Brian Scott, Erik Jones and Chase Elliott all tried and failed to get into the top spot.

ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass wondered if Blaney was racing with a chip on his shoulder, which fueled his impressive driving:

He finished runner-up to Kyle Busch at last week's Lilly Diabetes 250. Blaney looked to have the checkered flag in the bag until Busch passed him on the final lap of the race. 

After the race, he was extremely hard on himself.

"I messed up in 2 and (Busch) got a run on us," he said, per NASCAR Talk's Jerry Bonkowski. "We had it won, and the driver gave it away."

Blaney looked determined to avoid making the same mistake for a second week in a row.

With about 50 laps to go, the Hawk Eye's John Bohnenkamp highlighted what was the only real potential snag regarding the lead car:

A caution on the 203rd lap allowed those drivers on the lead lap to head into the pits. Blaney refueled and took two fresh tires to brace for the final stretch. By the time he exited pit road, however, he found himself in second place behind Elliott.

Elliott's time on top was brief, with Blaney quickly regaining the first position. He didn't look back from there.

The Xfinity Series will shift to Watkins Glen, New York, for next Saturday's race. The Zippo 200 is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET, so the drivers will likely be battling with some brutal heat early on in the race.

Between what will likely be hot temperatures inside the car and on the track, crew chiefs will earn their paychecks working out the perfect in-race strategy to ensure success.