Season-Opening Stretch Of 2012 Has Been Red Hot

Season-Opening Stretch Of 2012 Has Been Red Hot

With five races in the books, the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads into the first break of the season leaving fans begging for more. Not since 1995 have four of the first five races of the season been won by drivers who are not full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The great competition has broadened the spotlight on the brightest stars of the NNS.
Leading the series points-eligible brigade is Richard Childress Racing driver Elliott Sadler. He sits atop the series standings, 18 points ahead of 2011 series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sadler has posted one pole, two wins (Phoenix and Bristol), four top fives and five top 10s. He leads the series in season-to-date Driver Rating with 115.2. 
Stenhouse isn’t far off Sadler’s pace. He’s posted one win (Las Vegas), three top fives and four top 10s, picking up where he left off last season, contending for a championship. He’s second to Sadler in season-to-date Driver Rating (114.7) but does lead the series in Average Running Position with a 6.524.
Stenhouse’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate and 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne also is having a great start to his season. He is fourth in the standings, 34 points behind Sadler. Bayne has posted one top-five and three top-10 finishes this season with a season-to-date Driver Rating of 102.1. 
Two of the newest faces to the series, Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Austin Dillon, third in the standings, and Cole Whitt, sixth, have been at or near the top echelon so far. Dillon is 27 points behind RCR teammate Sadler in series driver standings having posted three top fives and four top 10s. In doing so, he leads the rookie of the year standings – but just 15 points ahead of Whitt.  Whitt, driving for JR Motorsports, has posted one top five and two top 10s with a season-to-date Driver Rating of 83.9.
Sam Hornish Jr. has started strong as well this season for Penske Racing, currently fifth in the standings with two top-10 finishes.  His season-to-date Driver Rating is 91.6.

NASCAR Ladder System Proving Its Worth

Like other major sports with minor leagues and college athletics, NASCAR has a ladder system to identify the best and brightest drivers through strong competition across its developmental series. To be the best you have to beat the best, and the start of 2012 has given examples of how well the system works.
Numerous NASCAR Sprint Cup stars got their starts in NASCAR developmental series and currently comprise the majority of the top five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings heading to Martinsville. Greg Biffle, the NSCS standings leader, is a former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2000) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (2002) champion. Kevin Harvick, second in the standings, is a two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion (2001, 2006) as is third-ranked Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998-99) and fifth-ranked Martin Truex Jr. (2004-05), the latter in the midst of a breakout NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Competition Update: Five Races Into 2012 Season

0.259 seconds – The closest margin of victory (Phoenix) in the first five races this season.
1 – Point Standings leader throughout the first five races – Sadler
4 – Different drivers to win: Sadler (2; Phoenix and Bristol), Stenhouse (1; Las Vegas), James Buescher (1; Daytona) and Joey Logano (1; Auto Club Speedway).
4 – Different Coors Light pole winners: Logano (2; Bristol and Auto Club), Danica Patrick (1; Daytona), Sadler (1; Las Vegas) and Denny Hamlin (1; Phoenix).
12 – Different drivers have accumulated at least one Bonus Point – led by Sadler with 11.
41 – Number of Leaders: Daytona (16), Phoenix (5), Las Vegas (8), Bristol (5) and Auto Club (7). Forty-one is the sixth largest number of leaders in the first fives races behind 2010, 2007 (46 leaders); 2006 (44); 1997 (43); and 2008 (42).
74 – Number of Lead Changes: Daytona (38), Phoenix (8), Las Vegas (8), Bristol (5) and Auto Club (15). Seventy-four lead changes ties with 2006 for the third most lead changes in the first five races of the season behind 2007 (77 lead changes) and 1997 (76 lead changes).

NASCAR Nationwide Series, Etc. When racing resumes at Texas next month, the top 30 automatic qualifiers will be derived from 2012 owner points vs. 2011 owner points that were in play for the first five races. ML Motorsports and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Johanna Long find themselves in 31st, two points out of the cutoff spot. The No. 70 Chevrolet will have to qualify on time at Texas. … DeLana Harvick, owner of the No. 2 Chevrolet, leads the owner standings by 18 points over the No. 6 Ford of Jack Roush. … On March 27, Austin Dillon, his younger brother and NASCAR Camping World Truck competitor Ty and their team owner – and grandfather – Richard Childress toured the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and attended the 8th Annual Armed Forces Foundation Congressional Gala in Washington, D.C. Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch also were scheduled to attend. … TriStar Motorsports driver Tayler Malsam, crew chief Eddie Pardue, team president Mark Smith and Jeffrey Loch, President and CMO of G-Oil, which sponsors the No. 19 Toyota, will visit with Two Guys Garage host Kevin Byrd this week to shoot an episode to air on SPEED later this spring.