NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Monster Battle Brewing
One-third of the way through the season, the feeling that the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will finish in epic fashion is beginning to surface.
Two weeks ago following his third consecutive victory at Iowa, reigning champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. seemingly was on cruise control, 34 points in front of second-place Elliott Sadler. After last Saturday’s race at Charlotte where Sadler grinded out a fifth-place finish versus Stenhouse’s 26th due to a broken driveshaft, Stenhouse’s advantage has slipped to 13 points over Sadler. There’s not much difference between them recently at Dover either: Stenhouse was fourth in this race last year; Sadler sixth.
As Stenhouse and Sadler focus on their confrontation this weekend on the concrete surface at Dover, Austin Dillon is lurking in third place, 28 points out of first. Dillon, the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and current Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings leader is the highest-ranked rookie in the points since David Ragan in 2007. He’ll be making his series track debut on Saturday.
Double Trouble
After a white-hot start to the season that saw three NASCAR Nationwide Series and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship contender win three the first four races, double-duty drivers seem to have realized the gauntlet had been thrown. Over the last seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races, double-duty drivers have won five. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Texas is the last victory by a non-Cup driver at a combination event this year.
Among those double-duty wins, Joey Logano has three. The former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion will be in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover. He’s been second twice among his six series races at the Monster Mile – where he made his NASCAR national series debut in this race in 2006, finishing sixth.
Kurt Busch is the other full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver of note. He has one of the double-duty wins this year, which also was the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He’ll be in the No. 54 at Dover where his younger brother has three wins, tied for most among all series drivers.
Building on Truex Tradition at Dover
In true little-brother fashion, Ryan Truex had to follow in big brother’s footsteps. Martin Truex Jr. won consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series titles before moving on to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where he’s currently sixth in the standings in what many consider his breakout year.
Now Ryan Truex, 20, is steadily working to make his own name. He’s also won his own back-to-back titles, in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, wrapping each of them up at his home track at Dover. But the Mayetta, N.J. native is still chasing big brother, who has three wins (two in the Nationwide Series and his lone Sprint Cup win to date) at the Monster Mile.
Ryan Truex has had limited Nationwide Series starts over the last three seasons and this year has four starts for three different teams. But his best finishes have come with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he’s registered five of his six top 10s in addition to his career-best fourth-place finish. He’ll be driving the No. 20 Toyota for JGR this weekend, teaming with Joey Logano, who’s also hungry for his first Dover win. He finished eighth for JGR last fall at Dover.
NNS Dover ETC: Westport, Conn. native Parker Kligerman who was eighth in his series season debut two weeks ago at Iowa, races close to home this weekend in the in the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge, driven to Victory Lane last Saturday at Charlotte by 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski. Meanwhile Brad Sweet gets another turn in the No. 38 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet. He shares the ride with his World of Outlaws boss Kasey Kahne, who won the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday night at CMS. … Danica Patrick is a career-best ninth in the standings and makes her second Nationwide Series go-round at Dover this weekend, her third overall. She finished sixth in the K&N Pro Series East in 2010 prior to her Nationwide track debut where she was 35th. … Kevin Lepage, from Shelburne, Vt., also races near home this weekend. He won his first Nationwide Series pole at Dover in 1998. … Tim Bainey Jr. makes his series debut at Dover. He also made his first truck series start there in 2009, finishing a career-best 15th. Bainey, 34, is from Phillipsburg, Pa.
Monster Battle Brewing
One-third of the way through the season, the feeling that the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship will finish in epic fashion is beginning to surface.
Two weeks ago following his third consecutive victory at Iowa, reigning champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. seemingly was on cruise control, 34 points in front of second-place Elliott Sadler. After last Saturday’s race at Charlotte where Sadler grinded out a fifth-place finish versus Stenhouse’s 26th due to a broken driveshaft, Stenhouse’s advantage has slipped to 13 points over Sadler. There’s not much difference between them recently at Dover either: Stenhouse was fourth in this race last year; Sadler sixth.
As Stenhouse and Sadler focus on their confrontation this weekend on the concrete surface at Dover, Austin Dillon is lurking in third place, 28 points out of first. Dillon, the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and current Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings leader is the highest-ranked rookie in the points since David Ragan in 2007. He’ll be making his series track debut on Saturday.
Double Trouble
After a white-hot start to the season that saw three NASCAR Nationwide Series and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship contender win three the first four races, double-duty drivers seem to have realized the gauntlet had been thrown. Over the last seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races, double-duty drivers have won five. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Texas is the last victory by a non-Cup driver at a combination event this year.
Among those double-duty wins, Joey Logano has three. The former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion will be in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover. He’s been second twice among his six series races at the Monster Mile – where he made his NASCAR national series debut in this race in 2006, finishing sixth.
Kurt Busch is the other full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver of note. He has one of the double-duty wins this year, which also was the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He’ll be in the No. 54 at Dover where his younger brother has three wins, tied for most among all series drivers.
Building on Truex Tradition at Dover
In true little-brother fashion, Ryan Truex had to follow in big brother’s footsteps. Martin Truex Jr. won consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series titles before moving on to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where he’s currently sixth in the standings in what many consider his breakout year.
Now Ryan Truex, 20, is steadily working to make his own name. He’s also won his own back-to-back titles, in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, wrapping each of them up at his home track at Dover. But the Mayetta, N.J. native is still chasing big brother, who has three wins (two in the Nationwide Series and his lone Sprint Cup win to date) at the Monster Mile.
Ryan Truex has had limited Nationwide Series starts over the last three seasons and this year has four starts for three different teams. But his best finishes have come with Joe Gibbs Racing, where he’s registered five of his six top 10s in addition to his career-best fourth-place finish. He’ll be driving the No. 20 Toyota for JGR this weekend, teaming with Joey Logano, who’s also hungry for his first Dover win. He finished eighth for JGR last fall at Dover.
NNS Dover ETC: Westport, Conn. native Parker Kligerman who was eighth in his series season debut two weeks ago at Iowa, races close to home this weekend in the in the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge, driven to Victory Lane last Saturday at Charlotte by 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski. Meanwhile Brad Sweet gets another turn in the No. 38 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet. He shares the ride with his World of Outlaws boss Kasey Kahne, who won the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday night at CMS. … Danica Patrick is a career-best ninth in the standings and makes her second Nationwide Series go-round at Dover this weekend, her third overall. She finished sixth in the K&N Pro Series East in 2010 prior to her Nationwide track debut where she was 35th. … Kevin Lepage, from Shelburne, Vt., also races near home this weekend. He won his first Nationwide Series pole at Dover in 1998. … Tim Bainey Jr. makes his series debut at Dover. He also made his first truck series start there in 2009, finishing a career-best 15th. Bainey, 34, is from Phillipsburg, Pa.
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