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.
Â
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.

--30--

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.

--30--

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.

--30--

Ryan Blaney, 18, sets truck series youth mark with Iowa win

Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sept. 15, 2012

NASCAR Wire Service

NEWTON, Iowa -- Ryan Blaney, 18, withstood a series of late-race restarts to become the youngest winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, prevailing in Saturday night's American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway.

Blaney, making just his third truck series start, held off a final charge by Ty Dillon, who snared the points lead with a runner-up finish. The youngster, who drove a Brad Keselowski-owned truck to Ram's first win in the series since 2008, celebrated in Victory Lane with his father, Sprint Cup series driver Dave Blaney.

"This is pretty incredible," said the younger Blaney. ". . . It's unbelievable -- hopefully, we can get us a few more here."

Said Dave Blaney: "He does so good and catches on so quick. It's fun to watch."

The 20-year-old Dillon, who closed to finish .168 seconds behind Blaney at the checkered flag, lauded the teenager's poise in the frantic final stretch.

"I wanted it bad there at the end," Dillon said. "We were coming, but Ryan Blaney, he's an amazing driver. I'm glad we didn't have to race against him all year this year. He's a great guy and he really deserves this."

Todd Bodine, who also praised the younger Blaney as "a chip off the old block," finished third for his first top-five finish since his victory at Dover International Speedway on June 1. Johnny Sauter and Cale Gale completed the top five.

Dillon started the night third in the standings, but capitalized on rough nights by his closest rivals. Timothy Peters, who won the truck series' first event of the season at Iowa in July, fell from the points lead after a crash in the 34th lap. Peters squeezed Matt Crafton on the exit of turn four, forcing both trucks into the wall.

Peters remained on the lead lap despite several stops for repairs, but faded further after a late stop to replace a faulty battery and cool an overheating engine. He salvaged a 19th-place finish, two laps down.

James Buescher was in line to snatch the points lead from Peters until his spin with six laps to go brought out the last of nine caution periods. He finished 17th, one lap off the pace.

The standings shuffle put Dillon atop the heap by eight points over Peters with Buescher 11 points off the top.

First-time pole starter Parker Kligerman led 107 of the 200 laps, but was bitten by pit strategy that forced him to stop for service during the race's longest green-flag stretch. Kligerman rallied to as high as fourth place in the running order before spinning with 21 laps left. He wound up 23rd, three laps down.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (2) Ryan Blaney, RAM, 200, $37600.
 2.  (9) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 200, $25,065.
 3. (15) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 200, $21,710.
 4.  (4) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 200, $16,200.
 5.  (6) Cale Gale #, Chevrolet, 200, $13,975.
 6.  (3) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 200, $11,650.
 7. (17) Drew Herring(i), Toyota, 200, $11,150.
 8. (18) Jeff Choquette, Chevrolet, 200, $8,675.
 9. (12) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 200, $10,875.
10.  (8) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 200, $12,100.
11. (22) Ross Chastain #, Toyota, 200, $10,775.
12. (19) Jason White, Ford, 200, $10,650.
13. (14) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 199, $10,600.
14. (21) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199, $10,550.
15. (16) John Wes Townley #, Toyota, 199, $11,275.
16. (11) David Mayhew(i), RAM, 199, $10,550.
17.  (5) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 199, $10,225.
18. (24) Bryan Silas #, Ford, 198, $10,100.
19. (10) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 198, $10,000.
20. (26) Justin Jennings, Ford, 198, $8,325.
21. (23) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, 198, $7,550.
22. (25) Tim George Jr., Chevrolet, 197, $8,450.
23.  (1) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 197, $10,625.
24. (32) Wayne Edwards, Chevrolet, 196, $7,250.
25. (34) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 194, $7,375.
26. (35) Benjamin Reynolds, Chevrolet, 194, $7,200.
27. (20) August Grill, Chevrolet, Battery, 188, $7,150.
28. (33) Todd Peck, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 179, $7,125.
29. (27) Ryan Lynch, Chevrolet, 173, $7,100.
30. (31) Jennifer Jo Cobb, RAM, Radiator, 171, $7,575.
31. (13) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, Accident, 94, $7,050.
32. (28) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Accident, 94, $7,025.
33.  (7) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 68, $7,000.
34. (30) Chris Jones, Chevrolet, Brakes, 5, $6,975.
35. (36) Chris Lafferty, Ford, Transmission, 3, $6,950.
36. (29) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, Overheating, 2, $6,909.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 88.285 mph.
   Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 56 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 0.168 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 9 for 54 laps.
   Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: P. Kligerman 1-28; J. Buescher 29-35; P. Kligerman 36; D. Herring(i) 37-55; J. Lofton 56-60; P. Kligerman 61-138; J. Sauter 139-150; R. Blaney 151-200.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): P. Kligerman 3 times for 107 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 50 laps; D. Herring(i) 1 time for 19 laps; J. Sauter 1 time for 12 laps; J. Buescher 1 time for 7 laps; J. Lofton 1 time for 5 laps.
   Top 10 in Points: T. Dillon # - 561; T. Peters - 553; J. Buescher - 550; P. Kligerman - 530; M. Crafton - 518; J. Coulter - 515; J. Lofton - 511; N. Piquet Jr. - 492; J. White - 448; R. Hornaday Jr. - 447.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins at Chicagoland, assumes Nationwide points lead

Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

  
Sept. 15, 2012 (EDITORS: Updates with quotes, results)

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. -- It was a statement victory for defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won Saturday’s Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway and simultaneously wrested the series lead from Elliott Sadler.

The victory was Stenhouse’s fifth of the season and the seventh of his career. He crossed the finish line 2.402 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, who fell one spot short of posting his first victory in the Nationwide car he owns.

Austin Dillon ran third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard. Sadler finished eighth and fell from the top spot in the standings after holding it for a total of 21 weeks in two different stretches this season, including the last 14. With seven races left, Stenhouse leads Sadler by nine points.

Stenhouse’s No. 6 Ford came to life over the final 29-lap green-flag run, giving team owner Jack Roush his first victory at the 1.5-mile track in any of NASCAR’s top three touring series. In winning the race, Stenhouse overcame two mistakes: stalling the car on pit road and an adjustment that adversely affected the handling.

Stenhouse, however, was cautious in claiming the upper hand toward a second straight title.

“The last four races, I think, we’ve finished second, first, second and first, so I think we’ve got good momentum,” Stenhouse said. “But in this business, in this sport, anything can change at any time. You’ve got to keep your guard up, and you’ve got to keep not making mistakes.

“We’re very fortunate that we overcame the mistakes that we had today, both on pit road -- a wrong adjustment and a stalled car. We overcame that today, and that’s what we need to keep doing. But as we keep going, we’ve got to make sure we don’t make those mistakes. I feel like the 2 car (Sadler) is not done winning, and I don’t feel like we’re done winning either. We’re just going to have to stay on our ‘A’ game.” 

Ninth-place finisher and polesitter Joey Logano took the lead under caution on Lap 124 for Benny Gordon’s accident in Turn 3. Logano beat Dillon off pit road by six inches and led the field to a restart.

Stenhouse lost seven spots when his car stalled in the pits and took the green flag in the 11th position but gradually worked his way back through the field. By the time the race reached Lap 150, Stenhouse had passed Sadler for the third position.

Busch grabbed the top spot shortly after the restart on Lap 130 and pulled away to a lead of 1.5 seconds as Logano faded. Busch, Dillon and Stenhouse staged a three-car breakaway during that green-flag run, but a caution for Jason Bowles’ spin in Turn 3 on Lap 167 shuffled the running order.

With a 12.5-second stop for four tires and fuel, Sadler was first off pit road on Lap 168 and led Busch to a restart on Lap 172. Busch quickly reassumed the lead while Sadler dropped back to sixth by Lap 177. 

Stenhouse, however, moved past Busch on Lap 180 and quickly established an advantage of more than a second.

The racing action aside, the real drama surrounded the Richard Childress Racing teams of Dillon and Sadler. Though he has been in or near the championship lead for the entire season, Sadler announced recently that he will leave RCR at the end of the season.

As Sadler and Dillon raced hard in traffic, Dillon’s crew chief, Danny Stockman, radioed to Dillon, “You will not help the 2 car tonight.” Dillon is third in points, 34 behind Stenhouse and still a contender for the championship, but the emphatic nature of Stockman’s admonition was surprising. 

“We were just racing hard for the championship right there,” Dillon said. “We were racing hard by Sam (Hornish Jr.), or whoever it was, and the 2 went with the other guy when we could have used a push. That’s all it is, racing hard for a championship…

“Everybody’s worked up about it, RCR as a group working for a championship. We’re both wanting to win. We had to beat the 6 (Stenhouse), so we couldn’t help each other at all today. Did it hurt us? Not much, because the 6 was that much faster. It’s just racing hard. I don’t know what else to say--just part of the game, I guess.”

After the race, Sadler was mystified.

“I don’t know what that means, ‘Do not help the 2,’” he said when told of the exchange between Stockman and Dillon. “We share really good notes, and we always have, so I don’t know.”

RACE RESULTS

  1. (3) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 200, $92143.
  2. (6) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200, $54750.
  3. (2) Austin Dillon #, Chevrolet, 200, $55093.
  4. (16) Brad Keselowski(i), Dodge, 200, $31265.
  5. (7) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 200, $27790.
  6. (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 200, $31408.
  7. (8) Michael Annett, Ford, 200, $29608.
  8. (5) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, $28958.
  9. (1) Joey Logano(i), Toyota, 200, $29950.
10. (42) Brian Scott, Toyota, 200, $31083.
11. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, $26258.
12. (12) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 200, $25508.
13. (9) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 200, $24958.
14. (13) Cole Whitt #, Chevrolet, 200, $24448.
15. (18) Brad Sweet #, Chevrolet, 199, $24488.
16. (25) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 199, $24178.
17. (20) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 199, $23493.
18. (19) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 198, $23233.
19. (21) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 198, $23223.
20. (11) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 196, $23488.
21. (17) Johanna Long #, Chevrolet, 196, $22703.
22. (34) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 195, $22593.
23. (22) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 195, $15990.
24. (24) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 194, $22343.
25. (30) Eric McClure, Toyota, 194, $22683.
26. (37) Juan Carlos Blum, Chevrolet, 193, $22098.
27. (35) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, 192, $21988.
28. (15) Jason Bowles #, Toyota, Engine, 153, $21868.
29. (14) Benny Gordon, Toyota, Suspension, 122, $21718.
30. (31) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 68, $21908.
31. (27) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 30, $15005.
32. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Engine, 30, $14895.
33. (36) Timmy Hill, Ford, Vibration, 28, $14785.
34. (38) Tony Raines(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 26, $14675.
35. (40) Joey Gase #, Chevrolet, Handling, 23, $14565.
36. (29) Blake Koch, Toyota, Vibration, 19, $14455.
37. (33) Scott Riggs(i), Chevrolet, Ignition, 19, $14335.
38. (32) Matt Carter, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 15, $14275.
39. (41) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, Overheating, 12, $13940.
40. (28) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Vibration, 11, $13830.
41. (23) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 10, $13725.
42. (26) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Overheating, 9, $13520.
43. (43) Tim Andrews, Ford, Ignition, 9, $13413.

RACE STATISTICS

Average Speed of Race Winner:  138.373 mph.
Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.402 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  5 for 20 laps.
Lead Changes:  17 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   J. Logano(i) 1-7; S. Hornish Jr. 8; J. Logano(i) 9-59; A. Dillon # 60; K. Busch(i) 61-62; A. Dillon # 63; K. Busch(i) 64-69; A. Dillon # 70-95; R. Stenhouse Jr. 96; M. Annett 97; J. Allgaier 98-100; J. Nemechek 101; A. Dillon # 102-125; J. Logano(i) 126-134; K. Busch(i) 135-168; E. Sadler 169-171; K. Busch(i) 172-179; R. Stenhouse Jr. 180-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  J. Logano(i) 3 times for 67 laps; A. Dillon # 4 times for 52 laps; K. Busch(i) 4 times for 50 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 2 times for 22 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 3 laps; E. Sadler 1 time for 3 laps; M. Annett 1 time for 1 lap; J. Nemechek 1 time for 1 lap; S. Hornish Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: R. Stenhouse Jr. - 982; E. Sadler - 973; A. Dillon # - 948; S. Hornish Jr. - 925; J. Allgaier - 875; M. Annett - 837; C. Whitt # - 767; M. Bliss - 722; J. Nemechek - 634; B. Scott - 633.

--30--

 

AN EXPERT’S OPINION: FOCUSING ON WHAT’S CONTROLLABLE KEY FOR TITLE CONTENDERS

N EXPERT'S OPINION: FOCUSING ON WHAT'S CONTROLLABLE KEY FOR TITLE CONTENDERS

FONTANA, Calif. (Tuesday, September 11, 2012) - Amid the weeklong distractions of the MAV TV 500 INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway - the media questions, photo sessions, public and sponsor events - which IZOD IndyCar Series championship contender is the best mentally prepared?

Both Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay are physically primed for the grueling 250-lap race on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval Sept. 15. How they mentally approach the title-deciding test will play a key role in their on-track performance, which likely will decide who will raise the Astor Cup in Victory Circle.

"The distractions increase because there are a lot of people talking about the event, what the performance means and all of those dynamics when in reality the drivers just have to focus on what they have control over," said Dr. Chris Carr, the Sport and Performance Psychologist and Coordinator for Sport and Performance Psychology at St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis.

"In motorsports in particular, that's not just true for the drivers. It's true for everybody - the pit crew, the engineers, the set-up you have on the car -- everyone making sure their execution is on those controllables."

This is Power's third consecutive season in which he's been involved in the title-deciding race, while Hunter-Reay has compiled a breakout season with a series-leading four victories to contend for his first championship.

"When I talk to athletes at a very high level and ask them what percent of their sport is mental they're saying 90 percent or more because you haven't advanced to this level without the physical talents and the cognitive talents and equipment abilities," Carr said.

"The key is it will depend on what type of mental training and preparation these drivers have. If you've done a lot of good cardiovascular and muscular skill development, have good stretching, you've got your body fine-tuned based upon a plan you've worked on through the whole season. The mental part - dealing with confidence, composure and focus - that's no different. If you're working a plan, you go to a big event like this and you're plan is prepared for it.

"When it comes to competition, there are a lot of uncontrollable factors - weather, mechanical issues and accidents. The athlete that uses the same pre-race mental routine, that makes adjustments during the race and adapts, they're the one that mentally has the best plan."

Carr, who has worked with medalists from the recent London Olympics among other high school, collegiate and professional athletes, developed five strategies that can help any athlete improve performance by concentrating on confidence, focus, and composure:

• Set goals wisely: Choose a reachable goal, and then plan out what has to happen each day for you to achieve it.

• Visualize your performance: If your goal is a 25-minute 5K, imagine yourself relaxing before the gun despite all the potential distractions, running comfortably, hanging tough and kicking to a fabulous, 24:59 finish. Watch this mini-movie in your head over and over, day after day, so that it becomes ingrained. Success will seem more possible.

• Create a pre-event mental routine: Ask yourself what you need to do before you perform your best. An established routine will become partially subconscious and will help you focus without wasting energy.

• Learn how to manage butterflies: Practice relaxing, whether by meditating, deep breathing, listening to low-key music or some other method. Surges of adrenaline before events can trigger anxiety, which sets off all kinds of chaos in the central nervous system. The key is to prepare for the surge and channel that excitement into greater focus.

• Talk to yourself: Call it a mantra or a cue. Basically, you want to come up with a couple of words or a phrase that you will conjure up during your performance. It can be anything that cuts through the distractions and focuses your mind.

 

Clint Bowyer wins Richmond as Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon make Chase

Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

 
Sept. 8, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. -- Clint Bowyer had a gulp of gas just big enough to win the race. Rick Hendrick had Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon as a pair of Chasers.

In a rain-interrupted race of accumulating tension, Bowyer made it to the finish line 1.198 seconds ahead of Gordon, who knocked Kyle Busch out of the final wild-card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the closing laps of Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

The victory was Bowyer's second of the season, his second at Richmond and the seventh of his career. He and teammate Martin Truex Jr. are the first two Michael Waltrip Racing drivers to make the 12-driver Chase field.

MWR teammate Mark Martin ran third Saturday, followed by Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth, but the big story was Gordon's miracle comeback that put all four Hendrick Motorsports cars in the Chase. Gordon joined Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in NASCAR's 10-race playoff.

For Busch, it was a failed pit strategy that led to his ouster from the second wild-card spot, a position he held entering the race and for the vast majority of Saturday night's event. When a light rain caused the sixth caution on Lap 275, Busch stayed out while others came to pit road for fuel. A slow pit stop under green on Lap 334, thanks to a dropped lug nut on the right-rear wheel, did further damage to his chances and allowed Gordon to sneak into the Chase by a three-point margin.

Several times in the last 11 laps, the second provisional wild-card spot changed hands between Gordon and Busch, who entered the race with a 12-point lead over Gordon. When Busch passed Martin Truex Jr. for the 15th position on Lap 390 of 400, he had the berth. When Gordon passed Mark Martin on Lap 394, he took it back.

Ultimately, Busch dropped positions to Marcos Ambrose and Hendrick driver and pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was on a late-race mission to help his teammate make the Chase.

"We missed," Busch said tersely after the race was over. "Plain and simple."

Team owner Joe Gibbs advised his mercurial driver to handle his disappointment the right way.

"There's no right way to handle this situation," was Busch's rejoinder.

Gordon started second but quickly faded. By the time rain halted the race on Lap 152, he was a lap down and going nowhere. Under the caution that preceded the red flag, however, his crew cut the chain to the rear sway bar to disconnect it, and the handling of the No. 24 Chevrolet improved dramatically.

"I felt like I won the race tonight," Gordon said. "When that was over, when they told me I was in the Chase, we made it -- I mean, I was ecstatic. I was going nuts. To me, after you have that kind of effort, fall back, then come up there and finish second, almost win the race, make it by (three points), man, I don't see any reason why we can't go over these next 10 races and be a real threat for the championship."

Bowyer recovered from a spin just past the midpoint of the race and rallied for the win. On Lap 234, contact with Juan Pablo Montoya's Chevrolet deflated Bowyer's left-rear tire. Fighting for control, Bowyer looped his car near the start/finish line.

"Thank you, Juan Pablo, for wrecking me and then winning me the race--thank you!" quipped Bowyer, who was then in position to gamble on fuel mileage. "We had a bad race last weekend (at Atlanta) and had a lot of adversity we had to bounce through, were kind of bummed out as a team, as a whole, coming into this race.

"It's a good way to get things bounced back headed into this Chase. You can't ask for a better race team, my teammates, MWR, everybody that's a part of this. It's just unbelievable."

The consolation for Joe Gibbs Racing is that Denny Hamlin begins the Chase as the No. 1 seed on the strength of four victories in the first 26 races. But that provides little solace for Busch's crew chief Dave Rogers, who made the decision to keep his driver on the track when a pit stop would have been the safe play.

"We missed it -- my fault," Rogers radioed to Busch. "One hundred percent my fault."

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (4) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 400, $226,114.
 2.  (2) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $203,546.
 3.  (6) Mark Martin, Toyota, 400, $128,785.
 4. (28) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 400, $174,685.
 5. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400, $152,221.
 6. (20) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 400, $135,335.
 7. (10) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 400, $125,530.
 8. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 400, $126,218.
 9. (23) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, $93,885.
10. (13) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, $135,096.
11. (11) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 400, $122,210.
12. (21) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 399, $89,035.
13.  (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 399, $122,296.
14.  (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 399, $92,435.
15. (22) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 399, $106,593.
16. (15) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 399, $120,118.
17. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 399, $119,301.
18.  (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 399, $122,951.
19. (12) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 399, $102,880.
20. (24) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 399, $107,476.
21.  (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 399, $103,174.
22. (26) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 398, $106,693.
23. (25) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 398, $83,385.
24.  (3) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 398, $101,293.
25. (29) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 397, $99,568.
26. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 397, $111,571.
27. (32) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 397, $96,568.
28. (30) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 396, $93,843.
29. (42) Casey Mears, Ford, 396, $83,507.
30.  (8) Joey Logano, Toyota, 396, $83,335.
31. (35) David Gilliland, Ford, 395, $73,210.
32. (27) David Ragan, Ford, 395, $70,560.
33. (33) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 395, $70,435.
34. (37) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 393, $70,310.
35. (39) Ken Schrader, Ford, 393, $78,160.
36. (36) Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet, 390, $79,510.
37. (31) David Stremme, Chevrolet, Brakes, 127, $69,880.
38. (34) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Brakes, 90, $69,728.
39. (38) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Brakes, 78, $66,900.
40. (40) Mike Bliss, Toyota, Wheel Bearing, 70, $66,775.
41. (19) Michael McDowell, Ford, Brakes, 63, $66,625.
42. (41) Josh Wise, Ford, Brakes, 57, $66,500.
43. (43) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Power Steering, 57, $66,860.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 100.019 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 58 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 1.198 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 6 for 41 laps.
   Lead Changes: 17 among 10 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: D. Earnhardt Jr. 1-6; J. Gordon 7-8; D. Earnhardt Jr. 9-47; M. McDowell 48; D. Earnhardt Jr. 49-58; D. Hamlin 59-84; D. Earnhardt Jr. 85-93; D. Hamlin 94-155; D. Earnhardt Jr. 156-158; D. Hamlin 159-231; J. Johnson 232-233; D. Hamlin 234-241; M. Truex Jr. 242-248; D. Hamlin 249-281; K. Kahne 282-284; T. Stewart 285-299; R. Newman 300-312; C. Bowyer 313-400.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Hamlin 5 times for 202 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 88 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 5 times for 67 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 15 laps; R. Newman 1 time for 13 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 3 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 2 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 2 laps; M. McDowell 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 12 in Points: G. Biffle - 914; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 902; M. Kenseth - 897; J. Johnson - 880; B. Keselowski - 868; M. Truex Jr. - 862; C. Bowyer - 858; D. Hamlin - 850; K. Harvick - 841; T. Stewart - 810; K. Kahne - 784; J. Gordon - 777.

--30--

Kevin Harvick asserts superiority in Nationwide win at Richmond

Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

 

Sept. 7, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. -- Assuming the lead on a late restart in Friday night's Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway, Kevin Harvick ended a 30-race NASCAR Nationwide Series drought dating to the fall race at Richmond in 2010.

Harvick beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to the finish line by 1.944 seconds to win for the fifth time at the .75-mile short track and for the 38th time in the series, tying Carl Edwards for third on the all-time victory list.

Kurt Busch ran third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Michael Annett.

"It's been a great year in this Nationwide car," said Harvick, who led a race-high 141 laps. "I know we haven't won the races that we needed to, but, man, we've led a ton of laps and been in contention to win just about every race I've been in this car this year.

"Sometimes you go through slumps like that, and when you break 'em, it just makes it that much sweeter."

Busch lost the lead on Lap 226 after he tapped the rear bumper of Dexter Stacey, causing Stacey to spin off Turn 4. Harvick nosed ahead as Busch avoided the spinning car and had the lead when NASCAR threw the seventh caution on Lap 227.

"We had a brake vibration that wouldn't allow me to get to the bottom of the corner easily," said Busch, who had grabbed the top spot on lap 202. "I could get there, but a lot of feedback in the pedal and a vibration made it tough to get down to the bottom of the corner.

"When you have that, it's tough to race guys exactly clean, and you're right on the ragged edge the whole moment. When I had Harvick behind us, when we were leading, if I could hit it perfect, we were going to hold him off. If I was off just a fraction, he was right there. When I drove down into (Turn 3), and the lapped car (Stacey) chose inside, I chose inside, and I was like, 'This isn't going to be good.' "

After the caution for Stacey's spin, Harvick pulled away on the ensuing restart on Lap 234, with Stenhouse taking second from Busch.

The championship battle took a sudden turn on Lap 186, with Stenhouse and Elliott Sadler racing side-by-side through Turn 3 and 4. Sadler, on the inside during a sustained fight for the second position that already had lasted seven laps, broke loose beneath Stenhouse and backed his Chevrolet into the outside wall, crushing the rear deck.

Sadler lost a lap and restarted 28th on Lap 193. He rallied to finish 12th and retained the championship lead by one point over Stenhouse, the defending champion.

Sam Hornish Jr.'s waning championship hopes suffered a serious blow on Lap 156. Maneuvering to avoid the No. 51 Chevrolet of Ty Dillon, Hornish took a shot from the No. 22 Dodge of his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Blaney.

After cutting his left-rear tire, Hornish spun into the outside wall in Turn 1 and slid back down the track into the path of the No. 41 Ford of Timmy Hill. The collision tore the rear deck off Hornish's car and scattered debris through Turns 1 and 2.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for four minutes to clean the track, and when the field restarted on Lap 164, Harvick assumed his customary position at the front of the pack, before Busch took a turn at the point.

Hornish finished 30th and is fourth in the series standings, 50 points behind Sadler.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (3) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 250, $41,325.
 2.  (1) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 250, $44,843.
 3. (17) Kurt Busch, Toyota, 250, $21,200.
 4.  (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 250, $18,600.
 5. (13) Michael Annett, Ford, 250, $24,043.
 6.  (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 250, $25,143.
 7. (11) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 250, $21,853.
 8. (14) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 250, $21,613.
 9. (27) Ryan Blaney, Dodge, 250, $21,393.
10. (20) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, 250, $22,168.
11. (15) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 250, $23,868.
12. (12) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 250, $20,993.
13. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250, $20,943.
14. (19) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 250, $20,893.
15.  (9) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 250, $21,818.
16. (33) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 250, $20,968.
17.  (5) Travis Pastrana, Ford, 250, $14,225.
18. (28) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 250, $14,175.
19. (30) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 250, $20,593.
20. (23) Brad Sweet, Chevrolet, 250, $21,218.
21. (31) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 250, $20,493.
22. (39) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, 250, $13,925.
23. (21) Jason Bowles, Dodge, 250, $20,308.
24. (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 249, $20,193.
25. (26) Paulie Harraka, Ford, 249, $14,150.
26. (41) Eric McClure, Toyota, 249, $20,043.
27. (40) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 248, $13,525.
28.  (7) Brian Scott, Toyota, 246, $19,843.
29. (24) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 218, $19,793.
30.  (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 162, $19,993.
31. (32) Timmy Hill, Ford, Accident, 153, $19,638.
32.  (8) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, Accident, 109, $19,553.
33. (35) Kevin Lepage, Ford, Power Steering, 51, $13,025.
34. (42) Derek White, Toyota, Battery, 45, $19,458.
35. (34) Tanner Berryhill, Toyota, Accident, 35, $12,940.
36. (37) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Overheating, 28, $12,880.
37. (43) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Brakes, 18, $12,820.
38. (38) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 15, $12,741.
39. (36) Matt Carter, Chevrolet, Clutch, 11, $12,620.
40. (29) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Brakes, 7, $12,580.
41. (25) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 7, $12,515.
42. (16) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Overheating, 6, $12,470.
43. (18) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $12,409.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.724 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 02 Mins, 39 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 1.944 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 7 for 45 laps.
   Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: R. Stenhouse Jr. 0; A. Dillon 1-14; R. Stenhouse Jr. 15-70; K. Harvick 71-187; M. Wallace 188-189; J. Buescher 190-192; R. Stenhouse Jr. 193-201; K. Busch 202-226; K. Harvick 227-250.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 2 times for 141 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 2 times for 65 laps; K. Busch 1 time for 25 laps; A. Dillon 1 time for 14 laps; J. Buescher 1 time for 3 laps; M. Wallace 1 time for 2 laps.
   Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler - 936; R. Stenhouse Jr. - 935; A. Dillon - 906; S. Hornish Jr. - 886; J. Allgaier - 841; M. Annett - 799; C. Whitt - 737; M. Bliss - 691; J. Nemechek - 605; B. Scott - 599.

--30--

No Slowing Down for Grissom as he Wins His Fifth PASS South Series Event This Season Making History Along the Way

 

No Slowing Down for Grissom as he Wins His Fifth PASS South Series Event This Season Making History Along the Way

 

Charlotte, NC 9/3/12- It’s hard to believe that a driver in his rookie season in a series as tough as the PASS South super late model series would be rewriting history books, but that’s exactly what Kyle Grissom has done so far in 2012. Grissom, from nearby Concord, North Carolina, made it three wins in a row Saturday night at the Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina. Grissom’s win was his fifth of the year, breaking the record for most wins in a single season by a PASS South Series driver previously held by Ben Rowe who won four events in 2009 in route to the series championship that same season.

“This one wasn’t easy tonight. Jay Fogleman did everything he could except wreck me to try to get the win tonight, I was just fortunate to get a good jump on that final restart and bring it back around to the finish,” stated Grissom in victory lane. “If it had been anyone else racing me that hard other than Jay I would have probably ended up with a wrecked racecar.”

“Greg (Marlowe) and the guys gave me another great car that handled through the turns which allowed us to jump out front to the lead and stay out of some of the wild stuff that happened behind us tonight. I have to thank Harrison’s Workwear, without their support we couldn’t do this, and all my crew guys that work hard to keep us up front,” added Grissom.

Fogleman managed the second place finish despite starting a little deeper in the field than Grissom, who took the green from the outside of the front row. The veteran driver from Durham, NC was behind the wheel of Dick Woodman’s machine for this event due to the fact that his fleet of racecars were north of the border in preparation for several PASS National events. The transition to Woodman’s machine didn’t faze Fogleman one bit, in fact he made the mention of learning quite a bit of information during his runner-up run over the 125 lap event.

“I thought we had a chance at the win tonight because we had such a good car throughout the race. Kyle (Grissom) just got away from us there at the end and I wasn’t going to wreck him to win because that’s not how I race,” said Fogleman. “Dickey Woodman really helped us out this weekend letting us run his car here tonight. I really learned a lot too because my cars have a little bit more motor than most guys, so I normally really have to save twice as hard as the next guy but with Dickey’s car we could go to the front early and stay there. It might be something we look at going forward.”

Brandon Ward recovered nicely from an early race pit stop that forced his #62 machine to come from the back of the pack to finish third. Alex Fleming turned some heads with an impressive fourth place finish after battling back from being two laps down due to electrical problems forcing his motor to shut on and off throughout the mid portion of the event. Preston Peltier rounded out the top five passing the most cars along the way after multiple pit stops throughout the event putting his #26 Johnson Motorsports owned machine to the rear of the field on no less than five different occasions.

Next up for the “BIG BOYS WITH THE BAD FAST TOYS” PASS South Super Late Model Series will be Over the Mountain 150 at the Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday night September 22^nd; the final tune up for the All American 400 event at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in October. For more information on the PASS South Series or any of the PASS sanctioned series visit http://www.proallstarsseries.com/.

PASS South-Labor Day Classic 125

Caraway Speedway-Sophia, North Carolina

Official Results

 

1)      #31 Kyle Grissom

2)      #4 Jay Fogleman

3)      #62 Brandon Ward

4)      #05 Alex Fleming

5)      #26 Preston Peltier

6)      #74 Chrissy Wallace

7)      #48 John Batten

8)      #19a Jordan Anderson

9)      #18 Bill Catania

10)   #09 Randy Gentry

11)  #19 Nate Caruth

12)  #84 Tyler Audie

13)  #29l Andy Loden

14)   #2 Gray Gaulding

15)  #115 Jody Lavender

16)  #71 Jimmy Doyle

17)  #50 Karl Weber

18)  #118 Bradley McCaskill

19)  #29 Landon Cling

20)  #12 Scott Hensley

 

Chris Ragle
TEX Motorsports Marketing/Pro Photo Productions
www.texmotorsports.com
www.prophotoproductions.com