NASCAR Notebook: Music City Momentum

Austin Dillon expressed frustration after leading the most laps but finishing second to Matt Crafton in last weekend’s race at Iowa. Still, the 21-year-old driver makes his second trip of the year to Nashville Superspeedway in much better shape points-wise than in April.

Dillon’s Iowa Speedway performance boosted the series sophomore to second in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points entering Friday night’s Lucas Deep Clean 200 – five spots higher than he ranked in the spring and best of 2010. Johnny Sauter continues to head the standings for the fourth consecutive race, 22 points up on Dillon.

Dillon hopes to improve April’s 11th-place Nashville finish. He was ninth in last year’s second race.

Dillon has seen victory slip away in three recent races. Click here for audio from Dillon’s NASCAR national teleconference on Tuesday.

“We’ve given them away lately; disappointing but good for points,” said Dillon, who won twice as the Sunoco Rookie of the Year in 2010. “It’s disappointing. We just can’t finish … (Iowa), Kentucky and Texas.”

Iowa proved redemptive for Crafton, who snapped a 79-race winless streak dating to 2008 and leapt three spots to the top-five in points. Crafton led the standings earlier this year but four straight finishes outside the top 15 – two of them outside the top 25 – made his championship hopes problematic. He finished sixth in Nashville’s spring stop.

“It’s a huge momentum builder,” said Crafton after collecting his second series victory. He was sixth at Nashville in the spring, a position ahead of ThorSport Racing teammate Sauter. “I’d say the biggest thing after a weekend like we had is just trying to keep that momentum.”

No Arguing Nashville Superspeedway’s Championship Pedigree

This can be said about Nashville Superspeedway’s winner’s trophy, the iconic Sam Bass-designed Gibson guitar: It’s one of the most sought-after pieces of NASCAR Camping World Truck hardware.

Six series champions counting 115 victories have won at least one. Johnny Benson is the only titleholder with two.

• The past three winners – Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Benson – captured Nashville Superspeedway’s late-summer race on the way to the series champion’s table in Miami Beach.
• Mike Bliss, his face seriously rearranged after chasing a fly ball into the outfield fence during the previous day’s driver/media softball game, won both Nashville and the championship in 2002.
• Bobby Hamilton was the track’s 2004 winner and series champion.
• Travis Kvapil, the 2003 champion, won Nashville’s 2007 race.
Bodine and Ron Hornaday Jr. are the only NCWTS concrete track winners expected to compete in the Lucas Deep Clean 200.

Buescher, Piquet Return To Site Of Early-Season Success

If you guessed Kyle Busch owns the season’s greatest number of top-10 finishes – eight – you’d be wrong. The leader is James Buescher, who logged his ninth top 10 at Iowa Speedway.

Buescher, holding steady in fourth place, 36 points behind leader Sauter, has finished among the top 10 in seven consecutive races beginning at Nashville in April – most by a series regular. Busch has finished no worse than sixth in a partial season of eight starts.

At age 22 and still seeking his first series victory, Buescher could become Nashville Superspeedway’s youngest winner. Carl Edwards was eight days shy of his 24th birthday when he won in 2003.

Nelson Piquet Jr. also is eager to return to Nashville where April’s second-place finish stands as the Brazilian rookie’s best series result to date.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Notes

David Starr spun his No. 81 Zachry Toyota during qualifying, started last in the 32-truck Coca-Cola 200 field but ended up posting his fourth top-10 finish and first back-to-back top 10s of the season. One more top 10 will match Terry Cook’s ninth-best, all-time total of 112. … Josh Richards moves into Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota in Nashville for the first of consecutive starts for the current owners championship points leader. … Dillon will do double duty this weekend with an added stint in Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Nationwide Series No. 33 Chevrolet. Fellow KHI competitor (and NNS points leader) Elliott Sadler also will double up, taking over the No. 2 Chevrolet driven to the Iowa Keystone Light Pole by David Mayhew, who finished third. … Nashville’s last three races were won from the pole. Drivers starting from the No. 1 position also won the track’s first two races.

Nationwide Series: Annett, Viers Finding Stride At The Right Time

Michael Annett joined Rusty Wallace Racing at the beginning of the season and started a new chapter in his career. An accident-plagued season-opener relegated him to a 39th-place finish, which set the stage for a slow start. Over the first 12 races of the season his average finish was 21.0. But in late May, his team owner, Rusty Wallace, made a crew chief change, bringing Rick Viers to lead the 62 team. What has transpired has been one of the biggest turnarounds of the season thus far.

Since Viers took over, Annett, 25, has posted five top-10 finishes, and the last four have come in succession, including his season best sixth upon his return to Daytona in July. He’s also moved into the top 10 in the standings and is currently ninth.

“Michael is a talented driver, and I really believe in him,” Viers said. “I’ve been providing him with as much experience and knowledge as I can, and things have just clicked. We’ve got strong communication as a team, and I think these solid finishes have really given Michael and the whole team the confidence that they needed. We’ve learned a lot in the last several races, and we feel really good about the season ahead. This is just the momentum this team needed.”

Viers has a knack with young drivers. He served as Trevor Bayne’s crew chief once he joined Roush Fenway Racing last year and also had worked with Clint Bowyer as he started his transition from the NASCAR Nationwide Series to NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Title Picture As Clear As Mud

With 15 races remaining in the season, the championship is still up for grabs.

Three drivers still have a viable shot at making a run for this championship. Elliott Sadler, the current points leader, is seven points ahead of second-place Reed Sorenson and 18 points ahead of third place Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Over the last six races, the points lead has been exchanged between Sadler and Sorenson twice and except for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s one-time lead during that stretch, the top spot has belonged either to Sadler or Sorenson. So far this season, each driver has led the standings five times.

Sorenson’s first NASCAR national series victory came at Nashville in 2005. He was eighth in April while Sadler was 13th in that race, his first time at the track. Sorenson does have the best pre-race driver rating of the championship contenders with a 108.2.

Stenhouse continues to work his way back into contention for the championship. He finished fourth last Saturday at New Hampshire posting a series leading 14 top-10 finishes, the best finisher among series driver championship contenders. Stenhouse finished fifth earlier this season at Nashville, once again making him the highest-finishing driver championship contender.

Herring’s Near-Death Tale Puts Racing In Perspective

Drew Herring, who will drive the No. 18 Toyota at Nashville this weekend, knows he’s fortunate to be able to race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. However, Herring also knows that there is more to life than just getting to race; like getting to live it. Herring is still pursuing his racing dreams despite nearly losing his life in a hunting accident when he was just 17 years old.

Herring and a number of friends were out raccoon hunting when a wild raccoon, scared by another hunter’s shot, came out of a tree right on top of Herring and several of his friends. As everyone tried to scrabble out of the way of the wild animal, Herring and a friend ran into each other and lost their balance, falling to the ground. When they hit the ground, his friend’s .22-calibur discharged, shooting Herring through the side. The bullet hit Herring’s stomach, colon and pancreas.

Fortunately, after spending nine days in the hospital, Herring made a full recovery. Now, he’s back on track to go after his passion, racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, while celebrating life each and every day.

The Garage Area Will Have That Local Tennessee Flair

NASCAR Nationwide Series flagman Kevin Moss is from Mt. Juliet as is Stewart Cooper, crew chief for the No. 30 Turner Motorsports’ Chevrolet of driver Mikey Kile. Stewart Cooper’s passion for racing, honed in his hometown of Mt. Juliet, was the springboard that helped him land crew chief opportunities in each of NASCAR’s national series. He attributes his success to his personal mentor and former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Bobby Hamilton, a legend in the Nashville area. Cooper and his buddies started a small-scale racing operation from Hamilton’s Mt. Juliet shop as teenagers. Now, he calls the shots for several Turner Motorsports drivers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Garlic is ideal for improving circulation, if consumed fresh daily. Expert clew says: when glacialridgebyway.com purchase levitra low body resistance, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, mycoplasma, chlamydia and Candida and pathogens will be carried into a retrograde vasectomy invade epididymis to cause inflammation. Others get it up just fine, but can’t keep it up very long. And there’s a good reason why many of us know that using The World’s Strongest Acai is one of the best nutritious and versatile foods in the salad, for example carrots, olives, cabbage, beetroots and cucumbers.
Sam Bass Gibson Guitar Is Big Highlight For Drivers This Weekend

One of the most coveted trophies amongst drivers in all of NASCAR’s national series is the custom Sam Bass Gibson Les Paul guitar trophy that is awarded to the winner at Nashville Superspeedway. But getting that trophy can be trickier than usual as Mike Kelley, crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse explains, “The track’s concrete so it throws a lot of little things at you,” Kelley said. “Brakes are important there but you’ve got to have a good enough aero-balance because it’s high speed. There’d be nothing better than to go back there and come out of there with a win and get Ricky (Stenhouse) one of those guitars.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series Notes – Nashville

Possible upcoming milestones this week at Nashville: Elliott Sadler will make his 150th series start, Tim Andrews will attempt to make his 25th series start and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will look to post his 25th series career top-10 finish.

Sprint Cup Series: Rare Stakes – Next Win Could Mean Chase Spot, Big Bucks

On a list of important activities, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers rank winning somewhere between eating and breathing.

Yet, starting next weekend in Indianapolis, victories will grow in stature – possibly a million times over.

Here’s why …

Only seven races remain before the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is set. After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top-10 drivers will be locked in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20. Currently, only one driver ranked 11-20 has a win (David Ragan), so there’s a very real possibility that a victory will turn into a playoff appearance.

For those in the top 10, a win could mean bonus points. After Richmond, all Chase drivers will have their points reset to 2,000. But only the top 10 drivers will get three bonus points for each victory they had in the regular season.

Then there’s the major program from series title sponsor Sprint – the Sprint Summer Showdown presented by HTC EVO 3D. Any driver who wins between Indianapolis and Bristol (the next five races) will become a finalist for the Labor Day weekend race in Atlanta, the AdvoCare 500. If one of those eligible drivers wins the Atlanta race, then the driver, the driver’s charity and one lucky race fan each collect $1,000,000. Fans can enter for their shot at $1,000,000 each week at sprint.com/speed.

So, simply put, a win has rarely ever been so important.

Judging by this season, the remaining race winners are anybody’s guess. There have been 13 different winners in the 19 races this season – matching the total of all 36 races last season.

And yet, six winners from last year remain winless this season. Four of those drivers are outside the top 10, and inside the top 20. Consider them poster boys for the Wild Card.

Tony Stewart, 11th in points: Though in a points tie for 10th place, Stewart loses the tie breaker. Denny Hamlin gets the nod via his win at Michigan. Figure Stewart will either land a top 10 spot – and a win. He’ll be one-to-watch at both Indianapolis (where he has two wins) and Watkins Glen (a series-high five wins). The defending champion at Atlanta, he has to be the Sprint Summer Showdown favorite.
Clint Bowyer, 12th in points: Bowyer has struggled of late, coming off three consecutive finishes outside the top 10. His average finish in the last three: 29.3. If he can sneak into the Chase, watch out. Both his wins last season came during NASCAR’s playoffs (Talladega and New Hampshire).
Greg Biffle, 15th in points: One of the two drivers in this category with a new crew chief – Matt Puccia. Biffle had two wins last season, including Pocono, which awaits in three weeks.
Juan Pablo Montoya, 17th in points: Montoya’s Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team announced a crew chief change on Tuesday. Jim Pohlman, who has been with the team since 2006, takes over. Montoya is the defending champion at Watkins Glen, which comes up next month.
David Reutimann, 24th in points: Solid on intermediate tracks, both of Reutimann’s career wins (Charlotte and Chicagoland) have come on tracks 1.5-mile in length. Two intermediate ovals await between now and the Chase: Michigan and Atlanta.
Jamie McMurray, 29th in points: At the outset of 2011, McMurray was the darling pick for a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spot. Thus far, that prediction hasn’t panned out. There’s reason for optimism: He won the next race on the schedule last season – Indianapolis.

A couple other notes on the competition coming out of New Hampshire and heading into the final open week of the season …
– Four manufacturers make up top five in the points standings.
– The top-five drivers in points all represent different teams.
– The New Hampshire race flirted with records for leaders and leaders. There were 14 different leaders and 21 lead changes. The two records: 15 leaders and 23 lead changes.
– 2011 stayed atop the record books, with an average of 14 leaders and 30 lead changes per race, all-time series highs through 19 races.

The Chase To Beat Jimmie Johnson

By recent standards, Jimmie Johnson isn’t exactly having a championship season. Yes, the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion ranks second in the standings (and he’s only seven points out of first) after 19 races. But statistics can be deceiving – especially in light of his pit crew issues following a come-from-behind top-five finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Johnson only has one victory this season, at Talladega, and was .002 seconds (the MOV) from going O-fer in 2011.

Johnson knows he and his Hendrick Motorsports team will have to do better if championship No. 6 is in the cards in 2011.

At least three rivals have to believe they can dethrone Johnson:
• Kyle Busch dropped from first to fourth after New Hampshire tire trouble. But he has two more wins than Johnson – three – and has more than doubled the champion in laps led. Busch leads virtually every Loop Data category this season.
• Kevin Harvick, one of Johnson’s primary antagonists during last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, also has out-paced the champion with three victories – wins that will translate into crucial bonus points – three for each victory – at the beginning of this year’s Chase.
• Carl Edwards is the current points leader, a position he’s occupied through the majority of the season. Edwards is both fast and consistent, matching Busch in top fives (10) and leading the series in top-10 finishes with 13.
• Kurt Busch is the highest-ranked (third) former champion in the current top 10 not named Johnson. Busch, winner at Infineon Raceway, potentially is headed for his best season since joining Penske Motorsports adding three Coors Light Poles to a log of 11 top 10s.

With nine of the current top 10 having won at least one race – and the final two Chase spots seeding by “wild card” victories, it’s doubtful anyone will limp into this year’s championship playoff. Although Denny Hamlin started slowly – he didn’t win until last month in Michigan – last year’s runner-up to Johnson has led seven of the last eight races. Hamlin has come all the way from 20th to 10th entering next week’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt Has Work To Do To Wrestle A Chase Berth

There’s good and bad news for fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and there are a few.
First the good: he’s in the top 10 (ninth) with seven races remaining in the Race to the Chase.

The bad: Based on recent finishes, Earnhardt will struggle to stay there – his points cushion from the Chase cutoff has shrunk from 71 after Pocono to just seven.

Even worse: He’s the only member of the current top 10 without a victory and thus no current Wild Card entry into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Earnhardt four times in 2011 ranked as high as third in the points, most recently following last month’s race at Pocono Raceway, where he finished sixth.

Since then, Earnhardt has finished in the top 15 just once with two runs of 30th or worse.

With a pair of runner-up finishes earlier in the season, it’s not a stretch to say that Earnhardt (a) can break a 112-race winless streak and (b) can qualify for the Chase either through ranking or Wild Card. Of the seven tracks remaining, Earnhardt has won on four: Atlanta, Bristol, Michigan and Richmond.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Notes – Off Week

During the last off-week of the season, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon will be visiting Africa on a goodwill, fact-finding trip. He will join a group (including actress Ashley Judd) put together by the Clinton Global Initiative to visit a refugee camp in the Congo. Gordon is also trying to schedule a trip to Rwanda in the offseason on behalf of the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation. He has been documenting his trip on his personal Twitter account: @JeffGordonWeb. … Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are two drivers who will not be taking the weekend off, but rather competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Nashville Superspeedway. … Up Next: The series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Jeff Gordon leads the series in wins (four) and poles (three). Gordon, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin are the only four active drivers to compete in all 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at IMS. … Tony Stewart has made 12 starts at Indianapolis and leads the series with the best average finish with an 8.2. … Joey Logano is heating up. He has scored more points than any other driver in the last four races (151); he is now 18th in the standings, vying for one of the Wild Card spots to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Of course, he’ll need a win to land one.