Not One, But Two Championships on the Line at Kentucky

Not One, But Two Championships on the Line at Kentucky

For the first time in 15 races the NASCAR Nationwide Series has a new sheriff in town. And he is very familiar with calling the shots. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – the reigning series champion - captured his fifth victory of the season en route to overtaking the series standings lead by nine points over Elliott Sadler.

But that is not the only championship on the line as the series heads to Kentucky for the final stand-alone race of the season.

Joe Gibbs Racing (No. 18 Toyota) currently holds a four-point advantage over Roush Fenway Racing (No. 6 Ford) in the quest for the NASCAR Nationwide Series owner’s title. Drew Herring will make his first start of the season this weekend behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota for JGR. In eight previous starts in the series, he has scored two top-10 finishes.

Don’t Count Out Dillon in Championship Hunt

Austin Dillon’s rookie season has been impressive to date. In 26 races, he has secured one win, two poles, 13 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes and sits third in the champion standings, only 34 points out of the lead. He returns to the site of his first series victory – a dominating performance - at Kentucky looking to regain momentum in the championship hunt. In the event that Dillon pulls off the unthinkable, he would become the first driver to win back-to-back championships in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Former Champion Nemechek Still Making Waves

Former series champion Joe Nemechek is turning a lot of heads this year with his family-owned race team NEMCO Motorsports. Nemechek currently sits ninth in the championship standings despite having only competed in 25 of the possible 26 races this season. The team did not enter June’s race at Road America. The Florida native arrives in the Bluegrass State for the Kentucky 300 fresh off four straight finishes of 16th or better. After 25 races (of a possible 26) this season, he has had 18 finishes inside the top 20.The 1992 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion has made four NNS appearances at Kentucky.

More To Watch:

The Kentucky 300 will mark the first time the NASCAR Nationwide Series has visited Kentucky Speedway twice in one season. The series has visited the 1.5-mile tri-oval since 2001. Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Austin Dillon won his first NNS victory at the speedway in June. Kurt Busch, second in June, and Sam Hornish Jr. will attempt the double this weekend competing in both the NNS race at Kentucky Speedway (Sparta, Ky.) on Saturday afternoon and the NSCS race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Loudon, N.H.) on Sunday. Additional double-duty drivers running in both Nationwide and the NCWTS include James Buescher and most recent truck series winner Ryan Blaney.