The Brickyard Opens Its Doors To The NASCAR Nationwide Series

The Brickyard Opens Its Doors To The NASCAR Nationwide Series

Eighteen years after Indianapolis Motor Speedway first welcomed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to its historic track, it is once again opening its doors to another national NASCAR series – the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

On Saturday, July 28, the nation’s No. 2 motorsports series will take the green flag at the iconic 2.5-mile oval in the series’ inaugural event at the track. Among those slated to appear in the event is the winner of last year’s NASCAR premier series race, Paul Menard.   

The inaugural event at the famed track is the fifth time since 2005 that a new track has been added to the series’ schedule, the most recent being Road America in 2010. The event is a homecoming of sorts for Joe Balash, the NASCAR Nationwide Series director, who is a native of Hobart, Ind. As a youngster, Balash and his friends watched Indianapolis 500s through fences and makeshift scaffolding that they built.  

In addition, ML Motorsports, owned by Mary Louise Miller, is based in Warsaw, Ind. The team’s main driver, Johanna Long, will pilot the No. 70 Chevrolet. In 12 series starts this season, Long has a best finish of 12th (at Daytona in July) and currently sits in 18th place. 

Danica Patrick Has Competitive Edge At The Brickyard

Danica Patrick returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a track where she is in the record books as the only female ever to lead an Indianapolis 500 and the highest-finishing female in the event’s history.

When Patrick returns to the Brickyard this weekend, however, she will be at the helm of a 3,450-pound stock car rather than a much lighter IndyCar (1,525 pounds). In seven races in the IndyCar Series at Indy, Patrick has six top 10s with a best finish of third in the 2009 race. 

Currently in her first full NASCAR Nationwide Series season, Patrick has one top-10 finish (eighth at Texas), one Coors Light Pole (Daytona) and has led 18 total laps this year. Her best series finish came last year at Las Vegas, where she finished fourth. She is currently ninth in the points standings with an average finish of 19.6.

It remains to be seen whether her experience and strong finishes at Indy provide her an edge that many of her NNS competitors don’t have. 

Another driver scheduled to compete in the inaugural event that might have the advantage of experience at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is former Indianapolis 500 champion Sam Hornish Jr. There is also a contingent of 19 other drivers entered in the event who have NASCAR Sprint Cup Series experience at the track. 

Round Three: Dash 4 Cash Hits Indianapolis

 Big money rolls into Indianapolis this weekend when the NASCAR Nationwide Series hits the famous 2.5-mile speedway for the first time in series history. Not only does winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have a level of prestige in itself, but an additional $100,000 up for grabs among Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett should sweeten the pot even more in the third straight Dash 4 Cash race. 

Although Kenny Wallace finished higher (fourth) than Annett (fifth) coming out of the Chicagoland race, Wallace’s car was a post-entry, meaning it was entered following the entry deadline. According to the entry blank/rule book, the driver and car owner of a post-entry do not receive driver and owner championship points. The D4C rules state that the driver must receive driver championship points in the event to be eligible for the bonus or to become eligible for the following D4C race. 

Last weekend’s D4C recipient and race winner Sadler is on a roll this season. He has led the standings for 14 of the 18 weeks of the season including the last seven consecutive weeks. In 18 starts he has posted two poles, three wins and seven top fives and is tied with RCR teammate Austin Dillon for the series’ most top 10s with 14. Sadler extended his points lead with his win at Chicago to 11 points over Dillon. 

Sadler holds one advantage at Indianapolis over the three other Dash 4 Cash eligible drivers: he has competed at the track before. Sadler has made 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Indianapolis, logging 1,452 laps and posting two top-five finishes. 

NASCAR Nationwide Series, Etc.

Ty Dillon, Austin Dillon’s younger brother, is scheduled to compete this weekend at IMS in the No. 51 Chevrolet. This will be Dillon’s second NNS career start. He ranks second in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points. … Last year at this time, Travis Pastrana was set to make his NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series. However, injuries suffered in an X-Games stunt the night before curtailed his inaugural series race until April in Richmond. He’ll finally get his chance at Indy this weekend. … Twelve drivers that entered in the inaugural NNS race at Indianapolis are competing on Sunday in the NSCS race. … In 119 career series races, Annett had yet to produce a top-five finish. In three of his last four races, the Des Moines, Iowa, native has three top fives and currently is sixth in the points. … Milestone Watch: Stenhouse will attempt to post his 50th NNS top-10 finish this weekend at IMS.