Denny Hamlin Wins Martinsville Truck Race With Late Pass

 
Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Oct. 27, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

MARTINSVILLE, Va.—To Denny Hamlin, it was standard operating procedure at Martinsville Speedway.

To Matt Crafton, it was an unjustified bulldozer move.

Regardless of the point of view, Hamlin won Saturday's Kroger 200 with an aggressive pass after a restart with eight laps left and showed no regret in claiming his second victory at the .526-mile short track and his second win in 15 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts.

Hamlin, who started from the rear because he missed the drivers' meeting —- thanks to a conflict with Sprint Cup practice -- finished 1.932 seconds ahead of Nelson Piquet Jr., who bulled his way into the runner-up position after restarting fourth on Lap 193 of 200. Joey Coulter ran third, followed by Crafton and Scott Riggs.

Irate at Hamlin's use of the front bumper, Crafton had some choice words for the driver of the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota after the race. With Hamlin parked on pit road, Crafton leaned into the driver's-side window to express his displeasure.

Hamlin's reaction was "What did he expect?"

"When you're the leader with a few laps to go, you've got to expect it," said Hamlin, who moved Crafton out of the way and took the lead for the first time with six laps left. "you can't wreck the guy — that's off-limits — but moving him off and out of the groove, that's standard protocol at this type of race track."

Crafton disagreed and took umbrage at the characterization of Hamlin's winning move as a pass.

"If you want to call that a pass—that's just moving somebody," Crafton said. "Running in the back of somebody, that doesn't take anything. Anybody can do that. I didn't let the tires come up quite clean enough on the last restart. I do admit that. That's part of it. I didn't get my tires cleaned up, but I did not run into the back of him."

Ty Dillon's one-point championship lead evaporated after his No. 3 Chevrolet blew a tire and nosed into the outside wall on Lap 151 to cause the fourth caution of the afternoon. After repeated trips to pit road for repairs, Dillon dropped to 28th, six laps down and could not improve on that position.

Dillon's woes transferred the series lead to James Buescher, who rallied from a lap down to finish sixth. Buescher grabbed a 21-point lead over second-place Dillon with three races left in the season.

Even though he lost a lap in the early going and didn't get it back until he received a free pass under the third caution midway through the race, Buescher was confident he could get back into contention.

"When we were a lap down, I did have all the faith in the world that we could turn it around and come back for a top-10 finish," Buescher said. "I knew that we just needed some adjustments. We hadn't stopped yet. We were still on the initial run, and I knew that we could get the back end in the track better.

"We were really loose and just needed to come to pit road for an adjustment and hit "reset." We did that. (Crew chief) Michael Shelton made good calls on what to do to get the truck better, and it was able to go forward the rest of the day."


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race - KROGER 200
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Virginia
Saturday, October 27, 2012

       1. (5) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 200, $32000.
       2. (4) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 200, $26840.
       3. (15) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 200, $16485.
       4. (7) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 200, $13400.
       5. (23) Scott Riggs(i), Chevrolet, 200, $9650.
       6. (10) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 200, $10450.
       7. (1) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 200, $12600.
       8. (11) Ryan Blaney, RAM, 200, $10250.
       9. (13) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 200, $10200.
       10. (3) Brian Scott(i), Toyota, 200, $9175.
       11. (21) Max Gresham #, Chevrolet, 200, $8850.
       12. (2) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 200, $7725.
       13. (27) Jason White, Ford, 200, $9925.
       14. (8) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 200, $10875.
       15. (20) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 200, $10850.
       16. (19) David Starr, Toyota, 200, $9700.
       17. (24) Josh Richards(i), Ford, 200, $7400.
       18. (26) John Wes Townley #, Toyota, 200, $9600.
       19. (14) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, 200, $9550.
       20. (36) Peyton Sellers, Chevrolet, 199, $7875.
       21. (9) Jeff Agnew, Chevrolet, 199, $9475.
       22. (12) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 198, $9450.
       23. (31) Ross Chastain #, Toyota, 198, $9425.
       24. (29) Caleb Holman #, Chevrolet, 198, $7150.
       25. (30) Clay Greenfield, RAM, 198, $7250.
       26. (28) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 197, $9325.
       27. (33) Tim George Jr., Chevrolet, 197, $9250.
       28. (6) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 194, $7975.
       29. (32) Bryan Silas #, Ford, 193, $7925.
       30. (25) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 189, $7400.
       31. (35) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 188, $6450.
       32. (17) Ryan Truex(i), Chevrolet, Transmission, 158, $6425.
       33. (16) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, Oil Pump, 136, $6400.
       34. (18) Matt Merrell, Chevrolet, Transmission, 35, $6350.
       35. (22) Cale Gale #, Chevrolet, Transmission, 7, $6325.
       36. (34) Chris Fontaine, Chevrolet, Clutch, 5, $6292.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  69.579 mph.
Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 30 Mins, 43 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.932 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  7 for 40 laps.
Lead Changes:  7 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   T. Peters 1-58; K. Harvick(i) 59-94; J. Sauter 95; K. Harvick(i) 96-151; T. Peters 152; K. Harvick(i) 153-161; M. Crafton 162-194; D. Hamlin(i) 195-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Harvick(i) 3 times for 101 laps; T. Peters 2 times for 59 laps; M. Crafton 1 time for 33 laps; D. Hamlin(i) 1 time for 6 laps; J. Sauter 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: J. Buescher - 716; T. Dillon # - 695; T. Peters - 691; P. Kligerman - 680; J. Coulter - 670; M. Crafton - 664; N. Piquet Jr. - 626; J. Lofton - 618; J. Sauter - 573; M. Paludo - 568.


--30--

Matt Kenseth survives wild Cup race on new pavement at Kansas

 

Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images

Oct. 21, 2012

 
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Fans who came to Kansas Speedway on Sunday thought they were attending a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Instead, they witnessed the latest episode of "Survivor."

Matt Kenseth won a wild war of attrition, otherwise known as the Hollywood Casino 400, beating Martin Truex Jr. to the checkered flag by .495 seconds to claim his third victory of the season, his first at Kansas and the 24th of his career.

Paul Menard ran third, followed by polesitter Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart, who rallied from a 33rd-place starting position and spin on the backstretch during the race.

Kenseth won the race despite scraping the wall behind spinning Aric Almirola on after a restart on Lap 173.

"I thought it was over when I got in the fence when Aric wrecked under Mark (Martin)," Kenseth said. "I was watching them and trying to make sure I didn’t hit them and I flat-sided it pretty bad. It ended up working in our favor. They fixed the body as good as it was when we started, and we had to take less gas in that last pit stop, and the pit crew put me out front.

"I knew I hit it really hard but thought it was centered up in the door real good, and we had a similar thing happen at Homestead last year. As soon as we got the fender back where it was supposed to be, it was fine. I was happy, as hard as I hit it, that my steering wheel was still in the right place."

Throughout the day, however, other drivers found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. The slick, new racing surface at the 1.5-mile speedway produced a track-record 14 cautions for 66 caution laps, and no one was immune from disaster -- not even a five-time champion.

Jimmie Johnson's quest for a sixth Cup title appeared to have suffered a severe setback on Lap 135, when the No. 48 Chevrolet spun in heavy traffic and backed into the Turn 4 wall. After leading 44 laps, Johnson had just taken a wave-around for a restart on Lap 128, having been trapped a lap down when Aric Almirola smacked the Turn 2 wall, and the resulting caution interrupted a cycle of green-flag pit stops.

Johnson, however, stayed on the lead lap through a succession of pit stops under the yellow, and a liberal application of BearBond kept the No. 48 competitive. Astoundingly, Johnson and his team salvaged a ninth-place finish on a day that could have been much worse and remained seven points behind eighth-place finisher and series leader Brad Keselowski with four races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

"I'm very proud, but also disappointed," Johnson said. "I crashed the car. I spun out trying to get inside the 56 (Truex). He bobbled a little in front of me, and I thought that was an opportunity to jump in the gas real hard.

"When I did that, my car took off and I couldn't catch it. All-in-all, a good day, but it could have been a lot better. I think we could have been in Victory Lane, and stretched some points on these guys."

Keselowski, who fought his way forward from the 25th starting position was thankful for a day that ended with his No. 2 Dodge intact.

"I'm ready to go home and have a couple beers," Keselowski said after climbing from his car."It's just been a long day, Everybody has been asking all season long where the cautions have been. Well, they flew to Kansas and they've been hanging out here, because there was caution after caution, and it seemed like every wreck that happened today happened right in front of me.

"So, I'm glad to have survived the carnage and brought back a decent car in great shape and dodged a bullet of a race. That’s the only thing I can use to describe it."

Despite the conditions, the repaving job, which included a reconfiguration with graduated banking, drew favorable reviews -- not surprisingly -- from drivers who finished near the front of the field.

"I thought the track was great," Truex said. "The outside lane is going to come in really, really good -- probably by next year, I would say. Their winters here are pretty rough, and I expect it will weather the track in really nicely.

"Once the outside got working, it was actually pretty darn good. It’s going to be a cool race track here in the future, and they did a great job with it."

RACE RESULTS

 1. (12) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 267, $389611.
 2. (16) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267, $231954.
 3. (14) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 267, $177615.
 4. (1) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 267, $156015.
 5. (33) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 267, $184840.
 6. (3) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 267, $146854.
 7. (39) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 267, $124015.
 8. (25) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 267, $144310.
 9. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 267, $148651.
10. (19) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 267, $147626.
11. (10) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267, $147991.
12. (18) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 267, $128088.
13. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267, $139471.
14. (17) Carl Edwards, Ford, 267, $140396.
15. (21) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 267, $129613.
16. (24) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 267, $126496.
17. (31) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 267, $121863.
18. (26) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 267, $121350.
19. (8) Joey Logano, Toyota, 267, $102305.
20. (37) David Ragan, Ford, 267, $111013.
21. (32) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 267, $92630.
22. (42) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 267, $100205.
23. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 266, $105363.
24. (2) Mark Martin, Toyota, 266, $90505.
25. (29) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 265, $109738.
26. (15) Sam Hornish Jr.(i), Dodge, Accident, 234, $131030.
27. (11) Greg Biffle, Ford, 227, $97380.
28. (20) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 214, $127330.
29. (5) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 212, $124491.
30. (6) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Accident, 188, $130463.
31. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 181, $131813.
32. (40) Danica Patrick(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 154, $84130.
33. (22) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, Accident, 140, $101752.
34. (35) Scott Speed, Ford, Electrical, 77, $83730.
35. (13) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 69, $91780.
36. (30) Mike Bliss(i), Toyota, Vibration, 47, $83305.
37. (28) Casey Mears, Ford, Accident, 29, $83080.
38. (43) Kelly Bires, Ford, Rear Gear, 28, $82857.
39. (41) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, Brakes, 25, $79325.
40. (36) Joe Nemechek(i), Toyota, Rear Gear, 22, $79080.
41. (34) Reed Sorenson(i), Toyota, Overheating, 18, $78805.
42. (27) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Vibration, 11, $78635.
43. (23) Michael McDowell, Ford, Vibration, 7, $78907.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  115.086 mph.
Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 28 Mins, 48 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.495 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  14 for 66 laps.
Lead Changes:  16 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   K. Kahne 0; M. Martin 1-6; A. Almirola 7-33; D. Gilliland 34; A. Almirola 35-73; T. Kvapil 74; J. Johnson 75-118; A. Almirola 119-121; C. Bowyer 122-123; J. Gordon 124; C. Bowyer 125-127; M. Kenseth 128-156; J. Gordon 157; M. Martin 158-211; P. Menard 212-217; K. Kahne 218; M. Kenseth 219-267.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  M. Kenseth 2 times for 78 laps; A. Almirola 3 times for 69 laps; M. Martin 2 times for 60 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 44 laps; P. Menard 1 time for 6 laps; C. Bowyer 2 times for 5 laps; J. Gordon 2 times for 2 laps; D. Gilliland 1 time for 1 lap; K. Kahne 1 time for 1 lap; T. Kvapil 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 12 in Points: B. Keselowski - 2,250; J. Johnson - 2,243; D. Hamlin - 2,230; C. Bowyer - 2,225; K. Kahne - 2,220; M. Truex Jr. - 2,207; T. Stewart - 2,203; J. Gordon - 2,199; M. Kenseth - 2,195; K. Harvick - 2,191; G. Biffle - 2,188; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 2,128.


 --30--

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rallies for improbable Nationwide win at Kansas

Oct. 20, 2012



By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rallied from two laps down to
win Saturday's Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at
Kansas Speedway and tighten the battle for the series championship.

During a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race six laps
beyond its scheduled distance of 200 laps, Stenhouse surged to the front
in the final turn after Kyle Busch ran out of fuel.

Austin Dillon ran second, .288 seconds behind Stenhouse. Polesitter Joey
Logano finished third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Cole Whitt.

In winning for the sixth time this season and the eighth time in his
career, Stenhouse cut Sadler's series lead from 13 points to six with
three races left in the season.

To get to Victory Lane, Stenhouse had to survive a collision with
Logano's No. 18 Toyota -- an incident team owner Jack Roush said was
Stenhouse's fault just past the halfway point.

"The guys did an awesome job getting the car back together, and we never
gave up," Stenhouse said. "Mike made great calls and adjustments to fix
how the car drove with the damage, and it was still one of the fastest
cars out there.

"I didn't see the win coming like this, but we will take it."

Saturday's event was the first NASCAR race on a track that was newly
repaved and reconfigured with graduated banking, and there were some
growing pains. The race produced a record 12 cautions for a total of 50
laps.

The championship battle took an ominous turn for Stenhouse, the
defending series champion, just after the midpoint of the race.
Stenhouse and polesitter Logano collided off Turn 2, damaging both cars,
but both were able to continue.

Stenhouse was following Logano closely just before the contact.

"We had a lot of debris on the grille, and we were 300 (degrees) on
water and oil, and I thought we would have to pit to come get that off
before we blew up," Stenhouse said. "I was trying to get behind him to
get the debris off and he checked up at the last second and I turned and
just drove right into the side of him. There wasn't much he could do
about it, and I thought it ruined our day, but we were able to bounce
back from it."

Stenhouse lost two laps during a green-flag pit stop but got them back
on a wave-around before a Lap 142 restart and a free pass as the
highest-scored lapped car under the 10th caution of the afternoon.

Back on the lead lap for a restart on Lap 167, Stenhouse had charged to
13th by the time Mike Bliss' slide through the tri-oval caused the
track-record-tying 11th caution. Stenhouse was two spots behind Sadler
in fifth when first-time Nationwide starter Hal Martin and Scott Lagasse
Jr. wrecked off Turn 2 on Lap 198.

Fearing they would run out of fuel in overtime, Sadler and Dillon both
pitted for a splash of fuel under the 12th caution. Stenhouse restarted
fourth and took the checkered flag when Kyle Busch ran out of fuel on
the final lap.

So ended another disappointing day for Busch, still trying to win for
the first time behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota he owns.

"That's our year, man -- nothing else to it than that," said Busch, who
rolled across the finish line in sixth place. "…What a frustrating defeat."

Notes: The race marked the first appearance for a Pakastani driver in a
NASCAR event. Nur Ali finished 33rd in his NASCAR debut after slamming
the Turn 3 wall on Lap 69… Derek White, who wrecked in Turn 4 on Lap 138
to cause the ninth yellow, was transported to a local hospital for
further evaluation… Danica Patrick (10th) posted her third top-10 finish
of the season, but she'll remember this race for a spectacular
three-wide pass of Sadler and Ryan Blaney for the sixth spot on Lap 171.

RACE RESULTS

1. (10) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 206, $91143.
2. (2) Austin Dillon #, Chevrolet, 206, $65718.
3. (1) Joey Logano(i), Toyota, 206, $50125.
4. (7) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 206, $38533.
5. (8) Cole Whitt #, Chevrolet, 206, $35158.
6. (6) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 206, $24190.
7. (21) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 206, $32208.
8. (14) Michael Annett, Ford, 206, $28508.
9. (12) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 206, $27418.
10. (13) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 206, $27783.
11. (27) Ryan Blaney(i), Dodge, 206, $26058.
12. (22) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 206, $25508.
13. (23) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 206, $24958.
14. (37) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, 206, $24448.
15. (15) Eric McClure, Toyota, 205, $24888.
16. (5) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, Fuel, 204, $20160.
17. (39) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 204, $23493.
18. (4) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, Fuel, 203, $23983.
19. (32) Joey Gase #, Chevrolet, 202, $16555.
20. (24) Jason Bowles #, Dodge, 201, $23488.
21. (29) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 200, $22703.
22. (33) Jennifer Jo Cobb(i), Chevrolet, 200, $16125.
23. (26) Brad Sweet #, Chevrolet, Engine, 199, $22458.
24. (19) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 197, $15875.
25. (16) Hal Martin, Toyota, Accident, 182, $22683.
26. (3) Brian Scott, Toyota, 177, $23098.
27. (42) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 165, $21988.
28. (17) James Buescher(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 155, $21868.
29. (40) Derek White, Toyota, Accident, 130, $21718.
30. (31) Tony Raines(i), Chevrolet, Vibration, 123, $15440.
31. (9) Johanna Long #, Chevrolet, Accident, 109, $21473.
32. (43) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 75, $14895.
33. (41) Nur Ali, Chevrolet, Accident, 68, $21253.
34. (30) Scott Saunders, Ford, Accident, 31, $14675.
35. (11) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Water Pump, 24, $14565.
36. (25) Blake Koch, Toyota, Ignition, 24, $14455.
37. (36) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Overheating, 23, $14335.
38. (34) Timmy Hill, Ford, Engine, 14, $14275.
39. (35) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, Clutch, 14, $13940.
40. (28) JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, Vibration, 9, $13830.
41. (38) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 8, $13725.
42. (18) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 4, $13520.
43. (20) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Ignition, 4, $13413.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 111.597 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 46 Mins, 08 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.288 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 12 for 50 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Logano(i) 1-34; R. Stenhouse Jr. 35-37; P. Menard(i)
38-44; R. Stenhouse Jr. 45-53; P. Menard(i) 54-58; R. Stenhouse Jr.
59-70; P. Menard(i) 71-112; A. Dillon # 113-117; P. Menard(i) 118-139;
J. Allgaier 140-142; P. Menard(i) 143-175; K. Busch(i) 176-183; P.
Menard(i) 184; K. Busch(i) 185-205; R. Stenhouse Jr. 206;.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): P. Menard(i) 6 times for
110 laps; J. Logano(i) 1 time for 34 laps; K. Busch(i) 2 times for 29
laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 4 times for 25 laps; A. Dillon # 1 time for 5
laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 3 laps.
Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler - 1,136; R. Stenhouse Jr. - 1,130; A. Dillon
# - 1,110; S. Hornish Jr. - 1,038; M. Annett - 986; J. Allgaier - 974;
C. Whitt # - 913; M. Bliss - 820; B. Scott - 758; D. Patrick - 742.


--30--

Bowyer saves just enough fuel to win Chase race at Charlotte

        Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images for NASCAR    

Bowyer saves just enough fuel to win Chase race at Charlotte

Oct. 13, 2012

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C.—Clint Bowyer was burned up that he didn't have enough fuel to complete a righteous burnout.

But that was the only thing that went wrong in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Saving fuel over the final 56 laps of the closing green-flag run, Clint Bowyer snookered his Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup rivals in winning his third race of the season and the eighth of his career.

Bowyer, who won for the first time at Charlotte and the first time on an intermediate speedway, beat Denny Hamlin to the finish line by .417 seconds. Jimmie Johnson, who like Hamlin and Bowyer was saving fuel over the final run, came home third. The top three finishers trimmed a significant portion off Brad Keselowski's series lead.

"I want to do a burnout!" Bowyer lamented in Victory Lane. "Am I ever going to get to do a burnout?"

Keselowski ran out of fuel before his final pit stop and finished 11th. Keselowski leads Johnson by seven points and third-place Hamlin by 15 at the midpoint of the Chase. Bowyer climbed to fourth in the standings, 28 points back.

"Realistically, we're still in the thing," Bowyer said. "We've just got to keep doing what we're doing. Talladega (where Bowyer was the victim of a 25-car last-lap crash and finished 23rd) was a huge setback, but what a great way to bounce back and get pointed back in the right direction."

Bowyer moved from Richard Childress Racing to Michael Waltrip Racing this year, and the depth of success in their first season together has been a pleasant surprise.

"It makes you almost giddy," Bowyer said. "It's so much fun to come to the racetrack knowing that you've got cars that are capable of getting the job done . . . Who would have thought in a million years, after making the switch and coming over to a new family, and everything that was new, that we'd be in Victory Lane three times?

"With five races left, we're still in contention for a championship our first year together."

Greg Biffle ran fourth, Kyle Busch fifth and Mark Martin sixth, as only six cars finished on the lead lap

Keselowski, who started 20th, gained track position by pitting under the first caution on Lap 12 and then staying out when the rest of the lead-lap cars came to pit road under the third yellow on Lap 37. From Lap 42 through Lap 166, the race ran caution-free, and when NASCAR threw the fourth yellow for debris in Turn 1 on Lap 166, the caution restored all the lead-lap cars to the same tire cycle.

All except Johnson, that is. Curiously, Johnson was the only driver to take two tires (right sides) as opposed to four during pit stops on Lap 168. The No. 48 Chevrolet restarted the race in the lead on lap 173, but Johnson quickly lost six spots to cars with fresher rubber.

With a three-wide move to the outside on the restart, Biffle took the top spot, but his stint at the point was short-lived. Keselowski slipped past Biffle on lap 180, pulling Hamlin with him, and began logging laps at the front of the field.

A debris caution interrupted the proceedings on lap 223, but it didn't deter Keselowski, who led the field to a restart on Lap 228 and began to pull away from Kyle Busch. Johnson and Hamlin came to pit road to top off their fuel cells under the caution — whereas Keselowski did not.

Ultimately, that cost the driver of the No. 2 Dodge, who ran one lap too many before his next stop and ran out of fuel before getting back to pit road on Lap 276. Keselowski's car stalled in the pit box, and by the time he was back up to racing speed, he was 13th in the running order.

Johnson and Hamlin pitted on Laps 279 and 280, respectively, and were confident they could make it to the checkered flag without stopping again. They did — but so did Bowyer.

Neither Hamlin nor Johnson was particularly thrilled at having to back down his speed to save gas, but they were consoled by the dent they made in Keselowski's points advantage.

"We ran around in circles and were done," Johnson said sardonically when he entered the media center for his post-race press conference. "It's a tough way to race, for sure, but I'm happy that as a group and a team, we've figured out how to get better at fuel-mileage racing.

"It's something that we didn't have in our repertoire for a lot of years. So I'm very pleased with the progress we've made, that I've made in the car. My driving style just eats up fuel. Making good changes, and playing the game the way it needs to be played right now, and closed in a little bit on that No. 2 car (Keselowski)."

Subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was sidelined by a concussion, Regan Smith turned in a strong performance in the early going of the first race without an Earnhardt since 1979 and the first race without a driver from North Carolina since 1961.

Smith ran as high as ninth and was firmly in the 10th spot when his engine expired on Lap 61, ending his first run for Hendrick Motorsports.

"I think the important part was that we had a really fast race car," Smith said after exiting the No. 88 Chevrolet. "We had a good first adjustment there, went just a little too far with it and got a little too free.

"Needed one more stop and I think we would have had it dialed in . . . It's disappointing."

Smith will get his second shot in the car next weekend at Kansas Speedway.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race - Bank of America 500

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Concord, North Carolina

Saturday, October 13, 2012

1. (4) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 334, $251389.

2. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 334, $220426.

3. (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334, $192396.

4. (1) Greg Biffle, Ford, 334, $189410.

5. (8) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334, $162818.

6. (2) Mark Martin, Toyota, 334, $109935.

7. (19) Carl Edwards, Ford, 333, $144701.

8. (10) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 333, $99010.

9. (12) Joey Logano, Toyota, 333, $96385.

10. (6) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 333, $115649.

11. (20) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 333, $151380.

12. (17) Aric Almirola, Ford, 333, $119146.

13. (32) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 333, $134610.

14. (7) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 333, $124296.

15. (14) Sam Hornish Jr.(i), Dodge, 333, $117935.

16. (11) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 333, $122871.

17. (30) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 333, $106793.

18. (13) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 332, $119246.

19. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 332, $104701.

20. (3) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 332, $119443.

21. (21) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 332, $100143.

22. (16) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 332, $73285.

23. (36) David Gilliland, Ford, 331, $89043.

24. (38) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 330, $94968.

25. (41) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 330, $92668.

26. (37) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 329, $98530.

27. (24) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 328, $79860.

28. (39) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 327, $110635.

29. (27) Casey Mears, Ford, 327, $80607.

30. (34) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 327, $72335.

31. (33) Michael McDowell, Ford, 326, $70135.

32. (15) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 324, $75685.

33. (18) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 303, $95468.

34. (25) David Ragan, Ford, 287, $67160.

35. (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(i), Ford, Engine, 190, $67010.

36. (40) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, Engine, 182, $75110.

37. (31) David Stremme, Toyota, Rear Gear, 62, $66705.

38. (26) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, Engine, 61, $74828.

39. (28) Mike Bliss(i), Toyota, Rear Gear, 53, $63725.

40. (23) Scott Speed, Ford, Vibration, 50, $63600.

41. (43) Reed Sorenson(i), Toyota, Vibration, 32, $63450.

42. (35) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 30, $63325.

43. (42) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, Transmission, 25, $63713.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 154.935 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 14 Mins, 01 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.417 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 5 for 23 laps.

Lead Changes: 20 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: G. Biffle 1-2; M. Martin 3-4; G. Biffle 5-37; B. Keselowski 38-41; M. Ambrose 42-43; B. Keselowski 44-71; J. Johnson 72-83; J. Gordon 84-85; B. Keselowski 86-97; J. Johnson 98-134; D. Hamlin 135-167; B. Keselowski 168; J. Johnson 169-172; G. Biffle 173-179; B. Keselowski 180-220; C. Bowyer 221-222; B. Keselowski 223-275; C. Bowyer 276-277; D. Hamlin 278-280; G. Biffle 281-309; C. Bowyer 310-334.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Keselowski 6 times for 139 laps; G. Biffle 4 times for 71 laps; J. Johnson 3 times for 53 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 36 laps; C. Bowyer 3 times for 29 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 2 laps; M. Martin 1 time for 2 laps; M. Ambrose 1 time for 2 laps.

Top 12 in Points: B. Keselowski - 2,214; J. Johnson - 2,207; D. Hamlin - 2,199; C. Bowyer - 2,186; K. Kahne - 2,179; G. Biffle - 2,171; M. Truex Jr. - 2,165; T. Stewart - 2,164; J. Gordon - 2,164; K. Harvick - 2,158; M. Kenseth - 2,147; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 2,128.

--30--

Logano wins at Charlotte, notches eighth Nationwide victory in 2012

 
Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Oct. 12, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C.—You can call him the dominator.

Joey Logano buried the field in the final run of Friday night's Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and won his eighth Nationwide Series race of the season in 18 starts.

Logano beat Kevin Harvick to the finish line by 2.760 seconds to win for the first time at Charlotte and the 17th time in his career. Series leader Elliott Sadler ran third and extended his advantage to 13 points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who came home seventh.

Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin completed the top five.

Logano changed his racing line after losing the lead to Harvick on Lap 155. That, coupled with a loose handling condition for Harvick, proved the difference.

"I didn't have an option," Logano said. 'I was getting beat, and I knew I had to do something. I moved to the top, and I was like, 'Hey, there's something here.' Just kind of had to adjust my style and get this little No. 20 car rocking and get these guys in Victory Lane one more time.

"I still have a few more left."

Brad Keselowski took the lead from Joey Logano at the midpoint of the race and quickly pulled away to a lead of more than one second. Stenhouse got by Logano for the second spot on Lap 116 but couldn't make headway on the leader.

When Stenhouse's car began to fade slightly as the run progressed, Logano retook second, but a caution for debris on Lap 131 gave the lead-lap cars a chance to pit for tires and fuel and bunched the field for the restart on Lap 137.

Sadler gained two positions to second on the exchange of stops, but Stenhouse fell seven spots to 10th with an uncharacteristically slow pit stop marked by indecision as to whether to straighten the right side of the rear spoiler. Stenhouse had bent the spoiler during a slight brush with the outside wall.

It was Logano who led the field to a restart on Lap 137, but Harvick tracked him down and passed the No. 20 Toyota in traffic on Lap 155. On Lap 162, however, both Logano and Keselowski shot past Harvick into the top two spots, after the handling of Harvick's Chevrolet began to deteriorate.

After the Lap 137 restart, all drivers had to stop for fuel before the end of the race, which proved Keselowski's undoing. His crew failed to engage the gas can and did not get fuel in the car on a splash-and-go with 10 laps left. That set up Logano for the decisive win.

Harvick said passing in most Charlotte night races is difficult, but Friday's event was an exception.

"Tonight was a different story," Harvick said. "You could run all over the race track — run the top, the bottom and the middle. For us, as the night went on, our car got looser up off the corner, and the 20 (Logano) seemed to get a little bit better. We just lost a little bit of pace there, but all in all, it was a good night for us."

 

Nelson Piquet Jr. sidesteps Crafton for Vegas trucks win

Nelson Piquet Jr. sidesteps Crafton for Vegas trucks win


 Credit: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images for NASCAR                                                                         Credit: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images for NASCAR


Sept. 29, 2012

NASCAR Wire Service

LAS VEGAS -- Nelson Piquet Jr. converted a last-ditch, last-lap pass for the lead Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, prevailing in the Smith's 350 to seal his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season.

Piquet dove low to the inside of Matt Crafton in the first turn and made the winning move stick on the backstretch of the 1.5-mile track. Crafton, whose winless streak stretched to 30 races, finished .223 seconds behind the Brazilian at the checkered flag.

Pole-starter Joey Coulter, who made a bold, three-wide move to briefly lead after the final restart, settled for third after leading a race-high 40 of the 146 laps. Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan took fourth and Todd Bodine rallied from a first-lap spin to finish fifth.

It was the third national series victory in what has been a breakthrough NASCAR season so far for Piquet, who also won in the Nationwide Series' event at Road America in June and the truck series' race at Michigan last month. Piquet twice tried to pull in front of Crafton over the final green-flag run, but made the third time the charm.

"I have no idea what happened," Piquet said. "I had to give it a last try, I sticked it in there and God gave me a little bit more grip on the inside and we made it. It feels great. We really needed this win -- probably the best win of my career. For sure, top five moments of my career."

For Crafton, who led 13 of the last 14 laps except for the final one, the third runner-up finish in the last four races at Las Vegas had an unmistakable sting.

"That sucks, it plain and simple sucks," Crafton said. ". . . We had a great truck and were really good there at the end. He had a real good run there at the end and I can't thank these guys enough, but my God, that's a tough one to lose on the last lap."

Ty Dillon finished 10th to keep his lead in the standings by one point over James Buescher, who wound up sixth. Timothy Peters finished eighth and ranks third, 24 points off the top.

Parker Kligerman led 36 laps but was sidelined with 20 laps remaining after his third scrape with the outside retaining wall. The 19th-place result dropped Kligerman one spot to fifth in the series points, 39 points behind Dillon.

Action sports star Travis Pastrana recovered from a sixth-lap spin to finish 15th in his truck series debut.

RACE RESULTS

 1. (13) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 146.
 2.  (4) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 146.
 3.  (1) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 146.
 4.  (6) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 146.
 5. (10) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 146.
 6. (15) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 146.
 7. (12) Cale Gale, Chevrolet, 146.
 8.  (2) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 146.
 9.  (3) David Mayhew, Toyota, 146.
10.  (5) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 146.
11.  (7) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 146.
12.  (9) Grant Enfinger, RAM, 146.
13. (16) Jason White, Ford, 146.
14. (19) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 146.
15. (17) Travis Pastrana, Toyota, 146.
16. (21) Bryan Silas, Ford, 146.
17. (18) Ryan Reed, Ford, 145.
18. (33) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 135.
19. (14) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, Accident, 126.
20.  (8) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, Accident, 114.
21. (11) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, Accident, 114.
22. (24) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, Alternator, 111.
23. (22) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, Accident, 102.
24. (32) Chris Lafferty, Chevrolet, Accident, 27.
25. (23) Ross Chastain, Toyota, Suspension, 26.
26. (28) Travis Miller, Chevrolet, Overheating, 23.
27. (20) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, Engine, 20.
28. (30) Jennifer Jo Cobb, RAM, Clutch, 19.
29. (34) Chris Fontaine, Chevrolet, Transmission, 13.
30. (25) Johnny Chapman, Toyota, Rear Gear, 11.
31. (27) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7.
32. (26) B.J McLeod, Chevrolet, Overheating, 5.
33. (29) Chris Jones, Chevrolet, Vibration, 4.
34. (31) Clay Greenfield, Ford, Overheating, 3.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.068 mph.
   Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 57 Mins, 15 Secs.
   Margin of Victory:  0.223 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 8 for 33 laps.
   Lead Changes: 17 among 8 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: J. Coulter 0; T. Peters 1-18; J. Coulter 19-33; P. Kligerman 34-35; G. Enfinger 36; P. Kligerman 37-70; N. Piquet Jr. 71-76; J. Coulter 77; T. Dillon 78-80; J. Coulter 81-103; T. Dillon 104-105; D. Mayhew 106; N. Piquet Jr. 107-124; M. Crafton 125; N. Piquet Jr. 126-130; J. Coulter 131; M. Crafton 132-145; N. Piquet Jr. 146.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Coulter 4 times for 40 laps; P. Kligerman 2 times for 36 laps; N. Piquet Jr. 4 times for 30 laps; T. Peters 1 time for 18 laps; M. Crafton 2 times for 15 laps; T. Dillon 2 times for 5 laps; D. Mayhew 1 time for 1 lap; G. Enfinger 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 10 in Points: T. Dillon - 637; J. Buescher - 636; T. Peters - 613; J. Coulter - 599; P. Kligerman - 598; M. Crafton - 596; J. Lofton - 572; N. Piquet Jr. - 571; M. Paludo - 514; J. White - 503.

--30--

Joey Logano roars to Nationwide victory at Dover

Joey Logano roars to Nationwide victory at Dover

                              Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sept. 29, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DOVER, Del. -- The steep concrete banks of Dover International Speedway aside, Saturday's OneMain Financial 200 was hardly a cliffhanger, as Joey Logano dominated the proceedings from start to finish in winning his seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season.

Momentarily, at least, a caution on Lap 177 for Tim Andrews' blown engine injected a modicum of suspense, but Logano reasserted his superiority after a restart on Lap 182 and pulled away for his second victory at the Monster Mile and the 16th of his career.

Logano, who led 184 of 200 laps, crossed the finish line .876 seconds ahead of runner-up Paul Menard and won at Dover for the second straight time. Michael Annett ran third, tying his career best in the Nationwide Series, and fourth-place Elliott Sadler increased his series lead to nine points over defending champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished ninth. Kyle Busch completed the top five.

Logano said the winning moves actually started in Friday's practice, after the track began to resemble what he and crew chief Adam Stevens believed would be Saturday's racing conditions.

"The track changed a lot throughout practice," Logano said, "and we knew the direction we needed to go for when the race started. Adam did a really good job of keeping his head in the game and knowing which way it was going to go -- keeping my head in the game and knowing which way the race track was going to go. That helped.

"The first few laps, when the track was green (before it rubbered in), we were a second-place car behind the 31 (Justin Allgaier). Once it rubbered up, it was like, 'OK, now I've got my old race car back,' and we were able to stay out front most of the day after that."

By the time NASCAR called a planned competition caution on Lap 46, Logano had opened a lead of roughly three seconds. Kasey Kahne took over the top spot with a two-tire call under the yellow, but Logano regained the lead moments after a restart on Lap 51.

The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota held the point until the second caution of the afternoon -- resulting from oil on the track from Jeremy Clements' car -- slowed the field on Lap 116. The brief interruption, however, didn't slow Logano, who took off again from a restart on Lap 124 and built a lead of 1.5 seconds over Allgaier.

Menard, who took over the second spot after both Allgaier and Sam Hornish Jr., had tire issues, pointed to Logano's advantage on restarts as the difference in the race.

"We had a really good long-run car," Menard said. "I believe we were the fastest car on the track, faster than Joey, but he could just take off faster than us. I don't think he got passed all day."

Sadler and Annett likewise took advantage of the final restart, when Kahne held up the bottom lane and allowed drivers on the outside to leap-frog toward the front. For Sadler, the positions gained toward the end of the race vastly improved what had been a difficult afternoon.

"We just fought a loose race car all day," Sadler said. "The guys did a good job, made some good adjustments at the end, and we got a pretty fortunate restart there. It was a good run all in all for us. I wish I had done a better job yesterday (in practice) of getting it ready for the race, but all in all, that's a good finish for us."

Darrell Wallace, 18, who claimed the top starting spot in Saturday's time trials, is the first African-American driver to win a pole in the Nationwide Series. Wallace, part of NASCAR's youth movement dubbed the "Next 9," is a six-time winner in the K&N Pro Series East. He finished 12th Saturday to end a streak of three straight top-10 results in his first three Nationwide starts.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (3) Joey Logano, Toyota, 200, $39,375.
 2. (10) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 200, $29,675.
 3. (12) Michael Annett, Ford, 200, $30,718.
 4.  (4) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, $26,893.
 5.  (7) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, $17,650.
 6. (13) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 200, $24,218.
 7. (38) Brian Scott, Toyota, 200, $22,528.
 8.  (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200, $14,920.
 9.  (6) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 200, $22,018.
10. (9) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, $21,818.
11. (15) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 200, $20,343.
12.  (1) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, 200, $23,618.
13. (8) Ryan Blaney, Dodge, 200, $20,118.
14. (11) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 200, $19,993.
15. (21) Jeff Green, Toyota, 200, $20,893.
16. (25) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 200, $19,843.
17. (24) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 200, $22,368.
18. (14) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 199, $19,918.
19. (16) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 198, $19,668.
20. (23) Jason Bowles, Dodge, 198, $20,293.
21. (29) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 197, $19,568.
22. (18) Blake Koch, Toyota, 197, $19,468.
23. (34) JJ Yeley, Ford, 197, $12,925.
24. (33) Timmy Hill, Ford, 197, $19,343.
25. (31) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 197, $13,300.
26. (37) Eric McClure, Toyota, 197, $19,243.
27. (27) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 194, $19,193.
28. (41) Brad Teague, Chevrolet, 193, $19,118.
29. (39) Tim Andrews, Ford, Oil Leak, 174, $12,575.
30.  (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 164, $19,293.
31. (30) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 148, $18,938.
32. (35) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, Suspension, 108, $12,410.
33. (42) Tony Raines, Dodge, Engine, 53, $18,818.
34. (17) Kevin Lepage, Ford, Axle, 35, $12,315.
35. (40) Danny Efland, Ford, Overheating, 14, $12,285.
36. (43) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Suspension, 14, $12,260.
37. (32) Carl Long, Ford, Handling, 12, $12,240.
38. (26) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Handling, 9, $12,176.
39. (20) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Electrical, 6, $12,075.
40. (19) Michael McDowell, Toyota, Rear Gearing, 6, $12,020.
41. (36) TJ Bell, Chevrolet, Vibration, 6, $11,990.
42. (28) Kelly Bires, Chevrolet, Brakes, 4, $11,950.
43. (22) Charles Lewandoski, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $11,892.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 123.711 mph.
   Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 37 Mins, 0 Secs.
   Margin of Victory:  0.876 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 3 for 15 laps.
   Lead Changes: 4 among 3 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: J. Allgaier 1-13; J. Logano 14-47; K. Kahne 48-50; J. Logano 51-200.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Logano 2 times for 184 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 13 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 3 laps.
   Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler - 1,054; R. Stenhouse Jr. - 1,045; A. Dillon - 1,029; S. Hornish Jr. - 994; J. Allgaier - 926; M. Annett - 916; C. Whitt - 843; M. Bliss - 781; B. Scott - 703; J. Nemechek - 678.

--30--

Denny Hamlin cashes in on guarantee in New Hampshire Chase race

Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

Denny Hamlin cashes in on guarantee in New Hampshire Chase race

Sept. 23, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

LOUDON, N.H. -- Denny Hamlin called his shot -- and gave the rest of the field a handicap before he fulfilled his own prophecy.

After running out of fuel in the first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race last Sunday at Chicagoland, Hamlin promised via his Twitter feed that he would win Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

It was no contest. Though he started deep in the field, Hamlin drove his vastly superior car to a 2.675-second victory over runner-up Jimmie Johnson. The victory was Hamlin's fifth of the season and the 22nd of his Cup career.

After taking the checkered flag, Hamlin parked his car beneath the flag stand, climbed out, raised his arm and pointed to the grandstand in a gesture designed to recall Babe Ruth's called shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series.

An avid fan of sports other than racing, Hamlin claimed the 100th Cup victory for Joe Gibbs Racing, a team owned and named for the former Washington Redskins coach who won 248 NFL games and three Super Bowls. JGR is the sixth team to achieve that milestone.

Pole-sitter Jeff Gordon ran third to keep his faint championship hopes alive. Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart ran fourth through seventh, as Chase drivers swept the top seven spots.

Hamlin said he used the promise to win more as a way to reassure his fans that New Hampshire would provide a comeback from Chicagoland. Early in the race, however, he knew he had a car capable of fulfilling the promise.

"I knew, once we got to about lap 50 and started working our way to the sixth or seventh position -- I knew that we had the winning car," Hamlin said. "It's all those other things that you can't control that can keep you out of Victory Lane. It's the untimely caution, things like that.

"For me, that was the most nerve-wracking part -- let's not find a way to lose -- because I knew we had the fastest car today, and I've obviously got a great knack for this racetrack."

Hamlin led 193 of 300 laps at the 1.058-mile track. Clearly, Hamlin was the class of the field, but it wasn't obvious to Johnson where he was getting beaten.

"It was hard to tell," said Johnson, who snagged the Chase lead by one point over Keselowski. "He had a lot of speed in his car and seemed to be able to go when he needed to and wanted to. It was just a great job on their behalf. We were the next best car, finished second and passed a lot of cars ourselves today (from the 20th starting position).

"We knew based on the (July) race that those guys were going to be tough, and they certainly were. . . . I kept waiting for him to make a mistake. He did a good job.

Added Gordon: "I don't think that thing bobbled all day."

Hamlin, who climbed to third in the standings (seven points behind Johnson) started 32nd because of a mistake with tire pressures during Friday's time trials, but before the race had reached Lap 100, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota had the lead. Hamlin passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on Lap 94 and proceeded to dust the field the rest of the way.

Hamlin held a lead of more than seven seconds over Johnson when NASCAR called the third debris caution of the race, and fourth overall, on Lap 272. The yellow bunched the field, but it didn't matter, as Hamlin sped away after a restart on Lap 278 and easily held off Johnson, who finished second for the second straight race.
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RACE RESULTS

 1. (32) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 300, $273,166.
 2. (20) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 300, $204,796.
 3.  (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 300, $179,171.
 4. (12) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 300, $141,074.
 5.  (6) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 300, $113,135.
 6. (15) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 300, $135,780.
 7.  (3) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 300, $149,360.
 8. (18) Joey Logano, Toyota, 300, $98,185.
 9.  (4) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 300, $94,985.
10.  (8) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 300, $128,968.
11. (16) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 300, $132,421.
12.  (7) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 300, $94,135.
13. (14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 300, $92,185.
14. (25) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 300, $127,946.
15. (11) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 300, $121,560.
16. (22) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 300, $107,818.
17.  (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 300, $108,499.
18. (13) Greg Biffle, Ford, 300, $89,235.
19.  (5) Carl Edwards, Ford, 300, $123,126.
20. (17) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 299, $105,718.
21. (10) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 299, $121,010.
22. (24) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 299, $109,776.
23. (19) Aric Almirola, Ford, 298, $116,396.
24. (21) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 298, $107,068.
25. (23) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 298, $101,543.
26. (29) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 298, $109,593.
27. (28) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 298, $104,580.
28.  (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 298, $124,643.
29. (26) David Ragan, Ford, 297, $89,318.
30. (34) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 296, $78,910.
31. (33) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 296, $94,257.
32. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 296, $73,935.
33. (42) Mike Olsen, Ford, 289, $81,735.
34. (39) Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet, Brakes, 151, $83,035.
35. (43) David Stremme, Toyota, Transmission, 145, $73,335.
36. (30) Casey Mears, Ford, Vibration, 100, $73,110.
37. (31) Michael McDowell, Ford, Vibration, 97, $72,905.
38. (27) Scott Speed, Ford, Suspension, 88, $72,678.
39. (36) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Brakes, 78, $69,850.
40. (41) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 68, $69,700.
41. (40) J J Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 29, $69,525.
42. (35) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Brakes, 21, $69,400.
43. (38) Kelly Bires, Ford, Brakes, 20, $69,767.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 116.81 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 43 Mins, 02 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 2.675 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 4 for 17 laps.
   Lead Changes: 17 among 10 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: J. Gordon 1-3; T. Stewart 4-41; J. Gordon 42; C. Mears 43; J. Gordon 44-45; Kyle Busch 46-93; D. Hamlin 94-107; K. Kahne 108; J. Johnson 109; M. Kenseth 110; B. Keselowski 111-112; D. Hamlin 113-179; B. Vickers 180-184; D. Hamlin 185-244; J. Johnson 245; J. Gordon 246; B. Keselowski 247-248; D. Hamlin 249-300.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Hamlin 4 times for 193 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 48 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 38 laps; J. Gordon 4 times for 7 laps; B. Vickers 1 time for 5 laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 4 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 2 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 1 lap; M. Kenseth 1 time for 1 lap; C. Mears 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 12 in Points: J. Johnson - 2,096; B. Keselowski - 2,095; D. Hamlin - 2,089; T. Stewart - 2,086; K. Kahne - 2,081; C. Bowyer - 2,081; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 2,070; K. Harvick - 2,065; G. Biffle - 2,063; M. Truex Jr. - 2,062; M. Kenseth - 2,061; J. Gordon - 2,051.

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Austin Dillon soars to repeat Nationwide win at Kentucky

Austin Dillon soars to repeat Nationwide win at Kentucky

Sept. 22, 2012

By Jerry Bonkowski
Special for NASCAR Wire Service

SPARTA, Ky. -- In the first NASCAR Nationwide Series race to be held during the day at Kentucky Speedway, Austin Dillon returned to the site of his first career NNS victory earlier this year to double up with what is now his second series win, capturing Saturday's Kentucky 300.

Dillon, who started the race from the pole, regained the lead on Lap 151, slingshotting around Elliott Sadler to eventually build a three-second advantage before finishing with a 1.059-second margin of victory over runner-up Sam Hornish Jr.

Dillon dominated en route to his first career Nationwide Series win at Kentucky in late June, leading 192 of the event's 200 laps. He wasn't as dominating Saturday, leading just 65 laps (Sadler led the most with 93), but the most important thing is he took the checkered flag nonetheless.

"We weren't the best car, but we were able to fight, fight, fight and get out in front there at the end," Dillon said. "When we got the chance to take the lead, I just took it."

Perhaps the biggest key to Dillon's win came on Lap 162 when Eric McClure spun, bringing out the caution flag. Sadler was instructed by crew chief Lucas Lambert to follow Dillon and do what he did in terms of coming onto pit road or staying on the race track.

Sadler did as he was told, but Dillon snookered him, turning back onto the race track at virtually the last second before reaching the pit lane commitment cone. Sadler didn't have enough time to react and was forced to pit for two tires and fuel, while essentially also watching his chances of a series-tying fifth win this season slowly fade away. Sadler entered pit road in second place in the race; he exited in seventh.

From that point on, Dillon remained in command. While he did get some late challenges from Sam Hornish Jr., Brendan Gaughan and Justin Allgaier, Dillon's car remained the class of the field for the remainder of the race.

He even had to endure an uncharacteristic gushing bloody nose during the second half of the race, but by the time he reached the checkered flag, his bloody nose stopped and he presented a memorable birthday gift of sorts to team owner and grandfather Richard Childress, who turned 67 on Friday.

Much like James Buescher, who on Friday night won his second race of the season at Kentucky Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Dillon made it 2-for-2 in 2012 at the 1.5-mile Bluegrass State track.

Dillon was followed by second-place Hornish, who may have reignited what had been fading championship hopes, Gaughan in third, Drew Herring in fourth and Sadler wound up fifth.

As it stands with six races remaining on the schedule, Sadler leads Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the NNS standings by four points, has a 19-point advantage over third-ranked Dillon, leads Hornish by 46 points and Allgaier trails by a distant 103 points.

"I think this thing is going to go back and forth from now all the way to (the season finale at) Homestead," Sadler said. "We felt like we could really make a big gain today if we were able to win the race.

"But we are four points ahead, so we're right in the middle of this thing and we'll go on to Dover. It's going to be a good battle all the way to the end. I don't see anyone stretching out a comfortable lead before we get to November."

Dillon admits he sees some definite similarities developing between the way he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship last season and how his rookie bid to win the title in the Nationwide Series is shaping up.

"We never really led until the end of the year in the truck series last year, and when we did, we kind of opened it up," Dillon said. "This year, we're coming from a little bit further than we'd like to be, but we're still right there.

"We've said from the beginning, as a rookie team we'd just hope for a shot going into Homestead. If you have a good enough year as a rookie to have a chance to win the championship, I think that's really good. Now, where we're sitting, we just have to keep knocking them down."

Sadler, who had led the Nationwide Series points standings for 21 of the first 26 weeks, came into Saturday's race looking to regain the No. 1 top spot from Stenhouse, who entered Saturday with a nine-point advantage over Sadler.

"It's frustrating not to be able to close out the day, as fast as we were," Sadler said, adding that his car developed power steering issues late in the race that affected his ability to climb back even further in the field.

"We gave up some points today, six or seven points. We had a tire (issue) last week (while) leading the race, and then leading the race this week and the power steering went out," Sadler said. "We just can't buy any luck. So we feel very fortunate to be the points leader with what we're overcoming."

Stenhouse can relate about bad luck, as he finished 17th Saturday, three laps behind the leaders.

Dillon and Stenhouse earned the top two spots in qualifying, but when the race started, it was all Stenhouse, the defending series champion who was also making his 100th career start in Nationwide competition.

But when NASCAR invoked a mandatory competition caution on Lap 32 due to heavy rains late Friday night, Stenhouse crashed into McClure's car on pit road, causing damage to Stenhouse's Ford Mustang. Stenhouse brought the car back onto pit road two more times to have the damage repaired, and when racing went back to green-flag competition, Stenhouse had fallen from first to 28th.

And as if to add insult to injury, Stenhouse smacked the wall on Lap 50 when his right-rear tire blew out, prompting another pit stop and a further drop downward in the field, to the point where he exited pit road after repairs two laps off the lead.

Gone was his lead in the race, gone was his hopes for a win in his milestone Nationwide Series start and gone was his lead in the points standings.

Stenhouse, who won at Chicago last weekend, came into Saturday's race with two wins and two runner-up finishes in his last four starts.

To his credit, Stenhouse never gave up. At one point in the race, he had fallen 23 points behind Sadler in the in-progress series standings. But even with being three laps down, Stenhouse continued to move forward, ending the race a lot better than he potentially could have wound up behind Sadler.

As for other drivers, Kurt Busch looked like he was shot out of a cannon at the start of the race. Doing double duty with Sunday's Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire, Busch had Matt Crafton practice and qualify the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota (qualified 14th).

Busch was sent to the back of the 43-car field for not qualifying the car, but that proved to be more of an incentive than an obstacle, as he quickly climbed an almost unheard-of 28 spots in the first 20 laps of the 200-lap event, and was up to fifth place by Lap 38.

Unfortunately, Busch may have pushed his car too hard and too fast as his Toyota developed gear issues that ended his day prematurely on Lap 128. It was just another in a long list of misfortune that has hampered the struggling Kyle Busch Motorsports team this season.

Danica Patrick qualified 11th in the first race with new crew chief Ryan Pemberton, struggling through the first third of the race before rallying back to a 14th-place finish.

NOTES: The two youngest drivers on the Nationwide circuit, 18-year-old Ryan Blaney and 19-year-old Alex Bowman, had strong runs, finishing ninth and 25th, respectively. Of note for Bowman, it was only his second career Nationwide Series race, but his car suffered mechanical issues late, relegating him further back in the pack than what appeared to be a potential top-15 finish.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (1) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, $94,868.
 2.  (3) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 200, $55,743.
 3.  (6) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200, $43,943.
 4.  (4) Drew Herring, Toyota, 200, $33,943.
 5.  (8) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, $30,943.
 6. (15) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 200, $27,068.
 7.  (5) Michael Annett, Ford, 200, $24,793.
 8. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, $23,568.
 9. (20) Ryan Blaney, Dodge, 200, $22,543.
10. (13) Brad Sweet, Chevrolet, 200, $23,193.
11.  (7) Brian Scott, Toyota, 199, $21,468.
12. (12) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, 199, $20,943.
13. (19) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 199, $20,393.
14. (11) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 198, $19,868.
15. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 198, $23,418.
16. (23) Jason Bowles, Toyota, 197, $19,418.
17.  (2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 197, $20,293.
18. (17) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 197, $19,143.
19. (16) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 196, $12,550.
20. (22) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 196, $19,568.
21. (27) Josh Richards, Ford, 196, $12,300.
22. (24) Eric McClure, Toyota, 196, $18,643.
23. (33) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 195, $18,493.
24. (30) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 194, $18,343.
25.  (9) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 194, $18,468.
26. (21) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, 187, $11,805.
27. (32) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Engine, 143, $17,943.
28. (14) Kurt Busch, Toyota, Rear Gear, 128, $11,355.
29. (40) Timmy Hill, Ford, Handling, 104, $11,220.
30. (25) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, Engine, 81, $17,878.
31. (42) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 55, $11,000.
32. (29) Benny Gordon, Toyota, Vibration, 52, $10,890.
33. (36) David Starr, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 47, $10,785.
34. (34) Kevin Lepage, Ford, Vibration, 46, $10,675.
35. (37) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Clutch, 38, $10,560.
36. (43) Mike Harmon, Ford, Vibration, 22, $10,525.
37. (41) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Overheating, 16, $10,475.
38. (38) Tanner Berryhill, Toyota, Rear Gear, 15, $10,431.
39. (26) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Vibration, 13, $10,295.
40. (39) Matt Carter, Chevrolet, Transmission, 13, $10,210.
41. (31) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, Vibration, 10, $10,150.
42. (35) Matt Frahm, Chevrolet, Brakes, 6, $10,120.
43. (28) Charles Lewandoski, Toyota, Vibration, 4, $10,053.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 137.492 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 55 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 1.059 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 6 for 26 laps.
   Lead Changes: 11 among 7 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: A. Dillon 0; R. Stenhouse Jr. 1-32; K. Lepage 33; A. Dillon 34-43; S. Hornish Jr. 44-46; E. Sadler 47-87; A. Dillon 88-92; E. Sadler 93-144; S. Hornish Jr. 145-146; D. Herring 147-148; M. Annett 149-150; A. Dillon 151-200.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Â E. Sadler 2 times for 93 laps; A. Dillon 3 times for 65 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 32 laps; S. Hornish Jr. 2 times for 5 laps; D. Herring 1 time for 2 laps; M. Annett 1 time for 2 laps; K. Lepage 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler - 1,014; R. Stenhouse Jr. - 1,010; A. Dillon - 995; S. Hornish Jr. - 968; J. Allgaier - 911; M. Annett - 875; C. Whitt - 805; M. Bliss - 748; B. Scott - 666; J. Nemechek - 651.

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James Buescher makes it two truck wins in a row at Kentucky

Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sept. 21, 2012

By Jerry Bonkowski
Special for NASCAR Wire Service

SPARTA, Ky. -- James Buescher made it 2-for-2 for 2012 at Kentucky Speedway, stretching his fuel window for 53 laps to capture Friday night's Kentucky 201 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.

The 22-year-old Buescher, who also won at the 1.5-mile track back on June 28, captured his fourth overall win of both the season and his NCWTS career (all on 1.5-mile tracks).

"I wouldn't say it was a dominating performance like the last time we were here (led 119 of 150 laps), but I think we led the most laps and dominated anyway," said Buescher, who indeed led the most laps Friday (64 of the race's 134 circuits around the track). "We've won four races with the same truck and now we're going to dust it off and take it to another mile-and-a-half (next week at Las Vegas)."

The Plano, Texas native won Friday's race the hard way -- taking a bigger gamble than most gamblers might do at some of the nearby casinos along the Ohio River -- by not pitting for fuel in the final 53 laps.

Buescher's Turner Motorsports crew chief, Michael Shelton, made sure his driver saved enough fuel in their Chevrolet Silverado at the right time -- particularly on the last caution period from Lap 108 to 111 -- to motor all the way to the checkered flag.

"We should have been at least two (laps) to the good," Shelton said. "James saved fuel for us every way he could, but we were definitely close. It would have been real interesting if it had been a green-white-checker there and where everybody would have been, but fortunately it played out for us."

Buescher, who admitted he wasn't feeling 100 percent in the race, having battled the flu bug for the last three days, came in on Lap 81 for just two right-side tires and fuel to gain an advantage coming out of the pits. The strategy added to the drama when the seventh and final caution of the race occurred on Lap 107 after Jason White wrecked.

With 27 laps to go, Shelton elected to keep Buescher on the track to maintain position, as did his four closest challengers -- pole-sitter Joey Coulter, rookie Ty Dillon, Parker Kligerman and Matt Crafton -- setting up the fuel mileage outcome. Ironically, none of the leaders ran out of fuel in the final laps.

"I think we were two laps to the good, so maybe two more laps (left)," Dillon said. "We were chancing it there. . . . I'm a little bummed about finishing third just because James won, but we've got some speed and some great momentum."

Dillon made a surge toward the front in the final 15 laps, but Buescher's truck was nothing short of flawless, building a nearly two-second lead before finishing with a 1.292-second winning margin over runner-up Parker Kligerman, who rallied back from an earlier spin.

Dillon finished third, followed by Coulter and Brian Scott in fifth. Dillon now has three top-3 finishes in his last three starts: his first career NCWTS win at Atlanta, a second-place showing last week at Iowa and Friday's third-place outing.

Dillon came into the race atop the points standings, leading Timothy Peters by eight points and Buescher by 11. But Buescher's win significantly tightened things up, as Dillon's lead is now only four points over Buescher. Peters, meanwhile, wrecked just before halfway and finished 21st, dropping to third place in the season standings, now 22 points behind Dillon.

"We battled back and our team showed a lot of resiliency," Dillon said. "I'll take this kind of day any day. Our team really has a lot of momentum going. … It's not easy to finish three times in a row in the top three -- first, second and third the last three weeks. If we keep doing that, the wins are going to come. We're still a young and learning team and we're going to keep fighting for these wins.

"It was a great race, I thought. We just needed a little bit more speed for the 31 (Buescher)."

The threat of heavy rain prior to the start of the race dissipated as the storm front stayed north by about 50 miles, and by the time the green flag fell for the 36 trucks that qualified to race, the skies were relatively clear, promising an exciting night of racing.

"We knew from the start of the race that there was weather near the track," Kligerman said. "I actually on the pace laps said to my crew to make sure they were up on the weather, especially as we approached halfway (through the 134-lap race), just to make sure that we're not giving anything up. We're not here to just win a race, we're here to win a championship."

Last week's first-time winner at Iowa Speedway, 18-year-old Ryan Blaney, had his own share of excitement even before the race began. During the first of two practice sessions earlier in the day, Blaney lost the handle on his Dodge truck, crashing into the Turn 1 wall. The damage was irreparable, prompting the team to go to a backup truck for the second practice and qualifying, in which Blaney placed 16th.

Even though his backup truck was a handful to drive at times, Blaney still managed to come home with an 11th-place finish.

On Lap 81, Kligerman lost control and went on a single-truck spin down the frontstretch, but with little damage and he was able to continue on. Not only that, Kligerman was able to recover, earning his second runner-up and fourth top-5 finish in five starts since joining Red Horse Racing.

"We had one of those nights where just everything that could go against us, even with a fast truck, went against us," Kligerman said. "I tried to force the issue and spun out. From there, we were in recovery mode and passed a bunch of trucks on the restart. From there, we just tried to chase down the 31 (of Buescher), and just came up a little short."

Buescher regained the lead on Lap 83 and never relinquished it from that point on.

As it turned out, however, the rain that everyone appeared to be watching faded away and the race was able to go the entire scheduled length without even a hint of precipitation.

Making his first start for Turner Motorsports, rookie Dakoda Armstrong had problems that began on the pace laps, when smoke began emitting from his Chevrolet Silverado. While he took the green flag, it was pretty clear he was suffering from an engine problem that quickly dropped him from his 20th qualifying spot to 28th in just the first 10 laps.

He eventually came onto pit road and called it a night as the engine suffered irreparable damage.

"I think the motor just took a crap," Armstrong said afterward. "Unfortunately right from the get-go, it was blowing smoke out of the headers. As soon as we took the green, there was no power. It was gone. . . .  It's really disappointing. Everyone worked real hard to get this thing going."

NOTES: The series moves to Las Vegas for a night race next Saturday, followed by the always unpredictable Talladega on Oct. 6. . . . Jason White made the biggest move in the standings -- unfortunately downward -- dropping three spots from ninth to 12th.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (8) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 134, $48,865.
 2.  (5) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 134, $30,390.
 3.  (3) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 134, $19,635.
 4.  (1) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 134, $18,125.
 5. (10) Brian Scott, Toyota, 134, $12,350.
 6.  (2) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 134, $13,275.
 7. (14) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, 134, $13,975.
 8.  (12) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 134, $11,550.
 9. (11) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 134, $11,500.
10. (23) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 134, $12,400.
11. (16) Ryan Blaney, RAM, 134, $11,725.
12.  (6) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 134, $11,275.
13. (25) Jake Crum, Chevrolet, 134, $8,975.
14. (22) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 134, $11,175.
15. (34) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 133, $12,125.
16. (30) Jennifer Jo Cobb, RAM, 127, $8,675.
17. (29) Jeff Agnew, Chevrolet, Oil Pump, 123, $10,825.
18. (17) Tim George Jr., Chevrolet, 118, $10,700.
19.  (4) Cale Gale, Chevrolet, 115, $10,600.
20. (19) Jason White, Ford, Accident, 105, $11,175.
21. (13) Timothy Peters, Toyota, Accident, 66, $10,400.
22. (28) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, Engine, 65, $9,050.
23.  (9) Max Gresham, Chevrolet, Accident, 62, $7,950.
24. (33) Travis Miller, Chevrolet, Vibration, 54, $8,850.
25. (24) John King, Ford, Accident, 53, $7,975.
26. (15) David Mayhew, RAM, Brakes, 53, $7,800.
27. (18) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, Accident, 46, $7,750.
28. (27) Ross Chastain, Toyota, Vibration, 35, $7,725.
29. (26) Bryan Silas, Ford, Accident, 33, $7,700.
30.  (7) Todd Bodine, Toyota, Accident, 21, $8,175.
31. (20) Dakoda Armstrong, Chevrolet, Engine, 16, $7,650.
32. (32) Johnny Chapman, Chevrolet, Rear End, 16, $7,625.
33. (21) Chris Jones, Chevrolet, Rear End, 4, $7,600.
34. (35) Chris Fontaine, Chevrolet, Engine, 3, $7,580.
35. (36) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, Vibration, 3, $7,550.
36. (31) Blake Koch, Ford, Transmission, 0, $7,509.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 106.053 mph.
   Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 53 Mins, 43 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 1.292 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 7 for 42 laps.
   Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: J. Coulter 1-17; R. Chastain 18; B. Silas 19-20; B. Scott 21-33; J. Buescher 34-42; B. Scott 43; J. Buescher 44-46; R. Blaney 47-59; J. Coulter 60-81; J. Agnew 82; J. Buescher 83-134.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. Buescher 3 times for 64 laps; J. Coulter 2 times for 39 laps; B. Scott 2 times for 14 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 13 laps; B. Silas 1 time for 2 laps; J. Agnew 1 time for 1 lap; R. Chastain 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 10 in Points: T. Dillon - 602; J. Buescher - 598; T. Peters - 576; P. Kligerman - 572; J. Coulter - 556; M. Crafton - 553; J. Lofton - 548; N. Piquet Jr. - 524; M. Paludo - 481; R. Hornaday Jr. - 477.

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