NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Sign of the Times
This is definitely not your father’s NASCAR Nationwide Series.
It’s early, but race after race it seems like the days of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers dominating NASCAR Nationwide Series races are fading.
For those currently embedded in today’s pop culture, here’s this: The series today is full of young, Twitter-happy, outgoing drivers who drive sporty cars, some of the muscle-car variety.
And they’re winning races. In bunches.
Over the last nine events, seven have been won by drivers who don’t receive championship points in NASCAR Sprint Cup. Six of those victories have come courtesy of NASCAR Nationwide Series driver championship contenders – including last Friday night’s win at Texas by reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The other win was the season opener at Daytona by NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular James Buescher, who’s scheduled to compete in nearly half the NASCAR Nationwide races this year as well.
An average of 5.6 full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers has competed in each NASCAR Nationwide race this year.
Matching Pair
After his win at Texas, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. cut significantly into Elliott Sadler’s points lead. Heading into this open week, Sadler’s advantage has been trimmed from a season-high 25 points over second-place Stenhouse to just four.
But taking a closer look at their stat line, the rivals’ closed quarters shouldn’t be a surprise.
Each driver has two wins, four top fives and five top 10s in the first six races. The difference comes down to Sadler’s 12 bonus points to Stenhouse’s 11 and the one Did Not Finish (DNF) by Stenhouse after an incident on the last lap at Daytona.
Stenhouse isn’t the only big mover in the standings. Danica Patrick, in her first full series season, is knocking on the top-10 door. Following a season-best eight-place finish (also her second-best career result) she’s now 11th in the standings, 15 points out of 10th – a nice comeback considering she was 26th following Daytona.
For Some, A Bad Break
When momentum comes calling, the last thing a driver wants is a break. Just ask Michael Annett.
He posted his second top-10 finish of the year (ninth) last Friday night at Texas and in the process, moved up to fifth in the standings. That marks the highest ranking the Des Moines, Iowa native has attained in his NASCAR national series career. His previous best was eighth following the Phoenix race last fall.
Annett has overcome his share of adversity in the last year, and his diligence is paying off. His 2011 season started off with a legal issue just prior to Daytona, followed by a slow start to the year. But he found his stride in midseason and ended up a career-best ninth in the points.
This year he’s changed teams, bringing Richard Petty Motorsports into the series for its first fulltime season. He’s also sporting the iconic No. 43 on his Ford Mustang.
OPEN WEEK ETC:Following this open week, the series resumes racing at Richmond on April 27, which also is Austin Dillon’s 22nd birthday. He’s the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings leader and is third in the standings. … Action sports icon Travis Pastrana is set to make his long-awaited NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Richmond. Additionally Ryan Blaney, 18, son of NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney, also is ready for his series debut in that race. … Brian Scott can use a break – in more ways than one. Poised for a solid season, 2012 has been anything but. He’s had three DNFs including engine failure at Texas. As a result, his No. 11Toyota is 30th in owner points, teetering on the edge of losing its automatic qualification.
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