Joey holds off the field to win the Copart 300 Nationwide Series race

The Nationwide Series leader, Kyle Busch, had a bad day all around as he had to bring in a substitute driver on Lap 39 as he was fighting the flu and couldn’t continue. His substitute driver Denny Hamlin didn’t have any better luck as he collided with Greg Biffle coming off of Turn 4 on Lap 141 and had to leave the race with a car that couldn’t continue to race.

The racer just behind Kyle Busch in the Nationwide Series standings, Carl Edwards, finished third and moved to within 155 points of Kyle Busch, while Brad Keselowski finished fifth in the Copart 300 and moved to within 227 points of Kyle Busch in the race for the Nationwide Series title.

Controversy is swirling around the rumour mill about NASCAR analysing Greg Biffle’s radio conversations during the race. The contention is that he was actually silly enough to mention that he might put the No. 20 car into the wall when he got a chance. Unfortunately, according to sources, this was a lap before actually doing so. This all could be a coincidence or just rumour, but they’re looking into it, so there must be something in the story.

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Logano Wins Copart 300

Joey Logano wins the Kansas Lottery 300 six days after his spectacular crash on same track

Kyle Busch was in the lead for the majority of the race, leading for a total of 173 of the scheduled 200 laps on Dover Speedway and setting a new record for total laps in the lead during a Nationwide Series season with the laps he was in the lead in this race. Despite finishing second to Logano for the fourth time this season, Kyle Busch extended his lead the Nationwide Series standings to 245 points over Carl Edwards, who finished seventh in the Kansas Lottery 300 and 307 over Brad Keselowski, who finished third.

This win for Joey Logano will keep his critics quiet and reduce the laughter he probably feels he hears after his spectacular crash six days ago on this same track. It was a pleasure to watch his young racer put his demons behind him and quiet his critics with a win so soon after his crash. He showed no hesitation at any point of the race and when his moment came he grabbed a hold of his opportunity and took full advantage.

The final outcome is certainly a disappointing one for Busch, who hasn’t won on the Nationwide Series in his last ten tries, but has finished second five times during these ten races. He just lost to a faster car and very determined young racer who wasn’t going to let anything keep him from winning. Joey Logano deserves all the credit we can give him for taking his lumps and then jumping to his feet to get back in the there and take his swings. In life and sports it’s not what you do when your winning that tells us the most about you as a person, it’s what you do when every one is against you and things aren’t going your way that determines your character and Joey Logano appears to have the attitude of a winner.

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Logano Quiets the Critics

Joey Logano is a young and hungry NASCAR racer with winning on his mind

After rolling eight times across the track of Dover in front of thousands of fans, it’s easy to get noticed the next time you head out onto a race track and when he takes his car out onto the track Friday, he’ll be someone to keep your eye on. If this crash scared Logano, you’d never know it by his calm and controlled demeanour. This isn’t the first time he has crashed and it’s something any professional racer is going to experience during their career, unless they’re really lucky. His crash in the Budweiser Shootout earlier in the season was a harder crash than his crash at Dover, but a spectacular eight spin crash is always going to get more attention than a less spectacular crash.

Joey isn’t the only NASCAR driver to find himself in a situation that makes the adrenalin flow, Edward’s crash at Talladega, McDowell’s crash at Texas and Gordon’s crash at Las Vegas were all spectacular crashes that left the racers with no major injuries, which is a testament to the safety features of NASCAR.

Joey only experienced a little bit of stiffness after the crash, but thanks to the safety devices that NASCAR has built into their current Sprint Cup Series car, he can walk around and smile about the crash. He’ll have to quickly forget about his crash if he’s going to be effective on the track in the future and knowing the safety features that protect you work, will make forgetting about the crash and concentrating on driving easier.

Keep an eye out for Logano on the track if you’re watching a Sprint Cup Series race in the future, he’s definitely a young racer with a bright future in NASCAR, and one who will be winning his share of races in the future.

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Joey Logano Gets Noticed

Carl Edwards had to settle for sixth in the Dollar General 300 Nationwide Series race

In fact, Logano was running so good he was able to increase his lead and crossed the finish line almost three seconds ahead of Busch, who always seems disappointed when he doesn’t win. Despite finishing second Kyle Busch increased his lead in the Nationwide Series to 192 points over Carl Edwards, who finished sixth in the Dollar General 300. This win is the third of 2009 for Logano on the Nationwide Series and his first on the 1.5 mile oval of Chicagoland Speedway. Logano’s Toyota was definitely handling a little tighter in the corners than his teammates, which allowed him to come off the corners with more speed and keep it through the stretches.

The day was a troublesome one for JR Motorsports as both Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman ran out of fuel before pitting on Lap 57. Keselowski lost two laps trying to restart his car and ended up finishing 18^th after rallying near the end, while Newman lost a lap because of his fuel problems and finished 22^nd.

Brian Vickers had a good race and was able to finish third; Jason Leffler tried to rally for fourth but had to settle for fifth, while Kevin Harvick held off a late charging Carl Edwards for fifth. Greg Biffle had a pretty fast car all day but had a few pit problems and settled for seventh, David Reutimann took eighth, Mike Bliss finished ninth, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top ten.

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Joey Logano Wins the Dollar General 300

Joey Logano has NASCAR's greats in his sights

Nervous minutes before Joey Logano had been sitting against his No. 20 race car, trying to look cool and collected as he waited to hear if he was going to capture his first win due to the intervention of Mother Nature. The gathering crowd around Joey Logano and the No. 20 pit box was restless as the cars sat on pit road under a red flag waiting for the storm to begin, and they didn’t wait long.

Sunday was about Joey Logano though, a racer who has battled through a rookie season that has been far from easy on a racer who is probably getting use to getting there by the tough route. A young racer who earned the somewhat auspicious nickname of “Sliced Bread” for his exploits in NASCAR’s support series. Sunday’s victory marks only the fourth time in seventeen starts this season that Joey has been able to crack the top ten and what a way and place to accomplish the feat.

New Hampshire, the track where he witnessed his first Cup race as a fan, where he drove to victory in developmental series races, and the place he made his debut in the major league of racing. A humbling and frustrating 32^nd place-debut that made him realize he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to win. Sunday though was his day, his first of many to come if he has his way, but a triumphant homecoming that no one really expected, especially with his early problems in the race.

One thing for sure about this 19 year old racing fanatic, he’s going to surprise at times, and has always been a bit of a wild card. We can look forward to him providing us with amazing thrills and a few spills over his career and maybe a few years from now, we’ll be talking about him as one of the best. This is one of the best things about NASCAR; you just never know whose going to rise to the top of the ladder.

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NASCAR’s New Blood

Kyle Busch wins the Camping World RV Sales 200

Staying back in the pack and letting others set the pace turned out to be the recipe for success, as he waited for the last green flag to make his attack. Slipping in behind his Joe Gibbs team mate Joey Logano, he waited for his chance and then made his pass for the lead on Lap 165 of the scheduled 200. Staying in front of Logano in the corners and out of the straight stretches, Busch was able to put a little road between him and Logano, until the final ten laps. Pulling up behind Busch’s No. 18 Toyota as he was trying to fight his way through lapped traffic, Logano was able to stay on Busch’s bumper until the final lap, when Busch was able to pull away, and eventually beat his team mate to the line by 0.617 seconds. The win was Kyle Busch’s 26^th career win in the series, which puts him fifth best all-time, just behind Jeff Burton.

Brad Keselowski finished strong and took third place; Mike Bliss was right on Keselowski’s bumper, while Kevin Harvick drove home in fifth in his own No. 33 Chevrolet. Carl Edwards had a tough day but managed sixth, Greg Biffle was steady and finished seventh, Scott Speed finished eighth, Erik Darnell took ninth, and the top ten was rounded out by Jason Leffler.

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Kyle Busch Wins the RV Sales 200

Joey Lagano looks cool, clean, and ready to race

Logano had become the first NASCAR driver to take the pole position two years in a row at the 1.5 mile venue in Kentucky, earlier in the day. The Kentucky Speedway seems to suit Logano’s driving style and car and we’re sure he would love to race on this track every week. Logano managed to pull ahead of team mate Kyle Busch with only 10 laps left in the 300 mile competition and then stayed in front long enough to take the win. This gives him and his team mates two poles and two victories in two tries at the Kentucky Speedway, a perfect record that’s going to be hard to continue in the future.

The victory was a battle that saw Kyle Busch take the lead six different times during the competition and he was in front for the most laps of the race for the seventh consecutive race in a row. Kyle Busch lead for 162 laps of the 300 scheduled laps around the Kentucky Speedway but would in the end he couldn’t hold off a faster car. Kyle Busch didn’t have too much time to ponder his second place finish as he had to leave immediately after the race to compete in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race.

Speeding on pit road was a common theme in the Meijer 300 as NASCAR handed out 27 pit road speed penalties during the race, including one to Logano on lap 71 that had him restarting 15^th, but his car was strong and he worked his way up through the field to second place with just 93 laps left. The red flag came out with 15 laps remaining, which allowed Logano to close ground on Busch following the restart, and then slip past him moving into Turn 3 of lap 190.

Brad Keselowski held on to finish third, Brendan Gaughan was satisfied with his fourth place finish, and Justin Allgaier took fifth. Jason Leffler finished sixth, Michael Annett seventh, Burney Lamar eighth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came ninth, and the top ten was rounded out by Kelly Bires.

The next Nationwide race is the Milwaukee Mile on June 20 in the Northern Tool.com 250. Check information below on times to watch or listen to the race.

ESPN 2, 7:30 PM

Radio MRN, 8 PM

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Joey Logano Wins the Meijer 300

Biffle’s No. 16 car posted the fastest time during the practice round, cutting up the Kansas Speedway at 167.385 MPH. Biffle is tied for second in the Chase standings, along with Johnson, who finished the practice round with a top speed of 166.528. Edwards posted the third-best top speed in the No. 99 car at 167.271.

So what are we looking at this afternoon? Well, the Kansas Speedway has been notorious for being extremely hard to win for those 12 drivers involved in the Chase. It’s all been almost expected to see a wreck that will impact the race standings. So, here’s my prediction. With the history of the track hard to ignore, I’m staying on the side of caution. Both Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart looked impressive in practice Saturday, however both are starting near the back of the pack. With so much to make up, I don’t feel comfortable choosing either as a hands-down winner. But I do feel comfortable picking either Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon.

Martin starts alongside Johnson on the front row after Montoya was disqualified. Gordon will start in the 13th position. Yet, it’s hard to ignore Biffle and his chase for a third-straight win. So, here are my top three finishers for today’s race. Gordon will win, followed by Martin and Biffle fighting for second.

Now, time to sit back and wait for that green flag.

Post from: EveryJoe

Camping World RV 400 Preview

Tony Stewart says “Sliced Bread” is a good replacement for him.

Jeff Foxworthy is coming out with a new animated show about a NASCAR family. We can only hope it doesn’t bomb like “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” did.

Bruce’s NASCAR Bits and Pieces wonders where A.J. Allmendinger will be ending up after being let go by Red Bull.

From the Marbles compares Jimmie Johnson to some other great sports dynasties of the past.

The NASCAR Insiders talk about what the Chase for the Cup has done to the sport. I have to agree with them. I was worried what the Chase would do to the sport, however, it seems it is working out just fine.

Fox 4 news station in Kansas City is covering this weekend’s race.

EA Sports revealed its Fall lineup for mobile games and it includes NASCAR 09.

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Links for Friday 9/26

Saturday’s running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal was an historic night for the Nationwide Series, and NASCAR in general. As the rainy weather crept its way onto the tracks, the race was red flagged, and for the first time ever in a NASCAR points race, the teams switched over to grooved tires to run the remainder of the race.

The rain was eventually stopped 26 laps short due to poor visibility, and in the end, it was Canadian native, Ron Fellows, out in front of the pack when the race was officially called. Throughout the majority of the race it appeared as though Marcos Ambrose was going to run away with things, leading a race high 27 laps, but a late pit road speeding penalty cost him, and Fellows was there to take advantage.

For Fellows, who was driving the no. 5 entry for the Dale Earnhardt Jr. owned JR Motorsports, it was his fourth career road course victory in 13 Nationwide Series starts, and he also became the first Canadian to ever win a major NASCAR event in Canada.

Fellows was followed to the line by another Canadian native, Patrick Carpentier, who finished 2nd. Ambrose was able to recover from his earlier mistakes on pit road and came back to finish 3rd. 4th place went to Ron Hornaday, and 5th was Boris Said.

Carl Edwards – now 2nd in points – finished 6th, while the series points leader, Clint Bowyer, crossed the finish line in 9th. Brad Keselowski dropped the 2nd position in the points race to Edwards with a 12th place run, dropping Brad down to 3rd overall.

Jacques Villeneuve and Joey Logano dropped about 10 positions in the running order each when they wrecked into other cars during the final caution period.

“I hit a lapped car with no brake lights. I have no idea who it was,” Logano said. “I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me down the straightaway, under caution. Somebody stopped. I locked up all four and boom! … It’s just not right.”

They each went onto finish 16th and 17th respectively.

It should be noted, however, that the accidents during the final caution were caused by poor visibility, and were not tire-related. In fact, there were really no tire issues the whole race, which should serve as a huge pick-me-up for Goodyear after the debacle that they went through last week at Indy.

Complete Results of the NAPA Auto Parts 200     /     Current Nationwide Series Points Standings

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Ron Fellows Beats the Rain in Canada