Nationwide Series

Will Drafting At Talladega Be A Speed Bump For Elliott?

Although Chase Elliott has rattled off a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes, the NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader and Sunoco Rookie of the Year frontrunner sees his first series trip to Talladega Superspeedway for this weekend’s Aaron’s 312 as bit of a roadblock … at least based on his performance at Daytona International Speedway.

“I thought my performance at Daytona was pretty pitiful, honestly,” Elliott said about his respectable 15th-place finish in the season opener. “I didn’t feel like I did a very good job learning the draft as quickly as I needed to. So hopefully I can step up for the guys (at Talladega). The biggest thing there is just trying to stay out of trouble. It’s much easier said than done.”

His performance over the past three weeks has more than made up for his Daytona finish; however, some would be envious of the thought that a 15th-place finish was their worst result of the season. At Texas, Elliott, the son of 1988 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bill Elliott, shocked the NASCAR world with his first series win, only to do it again the following week at Darlington. He followed up his consecutive victories with a runner-up finish last weekend at Richmond where he gave Kevin Harvick a run for his money over the final laps.

During that time span, the younger Elliott has increased his points lead over JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith from three points (after Texas) to 19. In addition, he holds a 34-point advantage over Ty Dillon in the rookie race.   

Regardless of how Elliott fares this weekend at Talladega where drafting prowess always provides a decided edge over competitors, there is still enough season left in which he can bounce back if he were to stumble. And unlike NASCAR’s other two national series that return to the 2.66-mile track in October, this is the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ only visit to Alabama. The series, however, does have its annual July trip to Daytona coming up, but another top-15 finish there would leave Elliott in a good position. 

 

Wallace And Hornish Return To Nationwide

It’s been a while since Darrell Wallace Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. faced on-track competition in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. This weekend in the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway both drivers will have the opportunity to dust off the cobwebs and compete for the win in top-notch equipment.

Wallace ran four Nationwide races during the 2012 season, finishing in the top 10 three times. His only non-top-10 finish was a 12th at Dover in his last appearance. Despite success in his limited exposure to the series, he didn’t get the chance to compete in 2013. This weekend at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, he will drive the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, normally piloted by Matt Kenseth, who has six top 10s in the race car. In Wallace’s only national series start at Talladega – last fall in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – he finished 17th after leading four laps.

Hornish finished runner-up in the standings to champion Austin Dillon last season while driving the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske. Unable to latch onto a team with proper funding and sponsorship in place, the Ohio native sat out the first eight races of 2014 (though he did run the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, subbing for an ill Denny Hamlin). He returns to action at Talladega driving the No. 54 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Not only is Hornish looking to finish strong this weekend, he’s hoping to turn heads and persuade some team owners to give him a second look. In three series starts at the track, his best finish is 12th.

 

Don’t Judge A Driver By His Finishes

Results aren’t always what they seem. At least that’s the case for NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Chris Buescher.

Before last weekend’s race at Richmond where Buescher finished seventh, the Texas native had an average finish of 19.2 in his first six events of 2014. He failed to qualify for the season opener at Daytona.

Buescher made his first start of the season at Phoenix, finishing 15th. The following weekend he turned in a ninth-place performance. Buescher followed those up with a 16th and 14th in the next two events. In the two races prior to Richmond he ran strong but accidents in both events left him with less-than-desirable finishes – 27th at Texas and 34th at Darlington – that weren’t indicative of how well he was running.

Although he’s never made a start in a NASCAR national series race at Talladega, he has two starts in the ARCA Racing Series, finishing fifth and 17th.  

 

NASCAR Nationwide Series Etc.

In addition to Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Darrell Wallace Jr., 10 other drivers will also attempt to start their first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega. They are Dakoda Armstrong, Tanner Berryhill, Ryan Blaney, Chad Boat, Matt Dibenedetto, Joey Gase, Dylan Kwasniewski, Tommy Joe Martins, Ryan Reed and Ryan Sieg. … When Sam Hornish Jr. fills in for Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota this weekend at Talladega it will be the first Nationwide race the Las Vegas native hasn’t started since September 14, 2013, at Kentucky Speedway. Drew Herring filled in for Busch at Kentucky, finishing sixth.