NASCAR Nationwide Series Returns To The Road

International Competitors, Former Champs, Open Wheel Stars To Strap In

Seven high-speed turns await the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend, but what is most surprising is Watkins Glen International will see its first different winner since 2001 – guaranteed.

None of the subsequent winners including Kurt Busch, last year’s Glen champion, are entered. To become a first-time Glen winner, however, will require vanquishing Canadian Ron Fellows. The international road-racing star is the only previous winner in the field and will be behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet. 

Fellows has made 11 series starts at Watkins Glen, posting two poles, three wins (1998, ’00, ’01), five top fives and eight top 10s. 

Fellows is not the only international competitor this weekend. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Miguel Paludo, from Nova Prata, Brazil, is in the Turner Motorsports No. 30 Chevrolet that won earlier this year at Daytona and Road America. Victor Gonzalez Jr., from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is in the RAB Racing No. 99 Toyota this weekend.

Making his much anticipated return to the series, Carl Edwards (2007) is one of five former series champions entered this weekend. Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Green and Joe Nemechek are the others. 

Edwards’ last series start came nearly nine months ago on Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Edwards has made seven series starts at Watkins Glen, posting two top fives including his third-place finish last season. Joey Logano, Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne are a few other NSCS competitors scheduled to pull double duty this weekend.

Last but not least, Danica Patrick and Sam Hornish Jr. look to pull from their former open wheel days to make for a successful weekend at The Glen. Hornish finished fifth with Patrick 12th at Road America, the series’ first road course race of the season in June.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Returns To The Road

The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to Watkins Glen this Saturday for the second of three road races.

On June 23, Nelson Piquet Jr. won at Road America. The third road race is at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Aug. 18. The ZIPPO 200 and the next two races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve are wild-card races in the championship title hunt and might come down to road-course experience. 

Points leader Elliott Sadler has the most experience of the four contenders. He has a combined 31 road-course starts in the top two series with one top-five and nine top-10 finishes.  

Last year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 15th at Watkins Glen. In six road-course races, he has one top-10 finish. Stenhouse placed 11th at Road America earlier this year. Sam Hornish Jr. finished fifth at Road America in June. In nine starts between the top two series, he has one top-five and one top-10 finish. Austin Dillon, however, has limited experience on road courses. Saturday’s race will only be his second road-course start. In his first road-course race he finished 18th. 

Sadler Cushions Points Lead With Strong Outing In Iowa

After securing his fourth win of the season in the U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by Enlist Weed Control System, Sadler extended his lead to 18 points over Richard Childress Racing teammate Dillon. Sadler also became the first points-eligible driver in the three national series to earn four wins in his “home” division.

Sadler came to Iowa Speedway clutching a one-point lead over Dillon after finishing 15th in the inaugural Indiana 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

With a strong finish at Watkins Glen in the ZIPPO 200, Sadler can further pad his lead. In three series starts at Watkins Glen, Sadler’s best finish is 10th (2011). He has one top-10 finish in 12 visits to the road course with the premier series. In the first road-course race of the season, Sadler finished 15th. 

Luke Lambert, Sadler’s crew chief, is also competing for his first national series championship.

Reigning series champion Stenhouse is currently third in the standings, 21 points behind Sadler. Hornish, who also will compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, is 34 points off the lead.  

NNS, Etc.

Milestones Watch: 2007 series champ Edwards is 24 laps led away from 6,000 laps led. He is fourth on the all-time NNS lap led list with 5,976. … Timmy Hill will attempt to make his 50th NNS start this weekend driving for Rick Ware Racing. … Pending Streak: Kyle Busch, 2009 series champ and all-time NNS wins leader, is in the midst of the fourth-longest NNS winless streak of his career (12 starts). But what is most in jeopardy is his eight-year pending streak of at least one NNS victory a season – the longest active wins streak in the series (2004-11).  …  For all the Ron Fellows fans, the Fellows 5 promotion begins this weekend. Five questions related to Fellows will be posed to the fans online. One grand-prize winner will be selected for each race (Watkins Glen and Montreal). More details are at JRMracing.com.