Kyle Busch grabs fourth Nationwide win of season

The beginning of the race saw Busch running in front for the first 67 laps with Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski on his bumper. The mid-part of the race was the exciting part of the race as several accidents resulted in several green flag pit stops but the three were still running in the same race order after the race started again on lap 104. Busch stopped for a final time during a green flag stop with 35 laps to go, his crew serviced his Toyota race car in a reserved 14.3 seconds, and after getting under way again was back in front by lap 202. In the end Busch lead four times for a total of 173 laps around the 1.33 mile Nashville Superspeedway and only trailed during his pit stops.

Brad Keselowski finished the race in second, only 0.891 seconds off Busch’s time, and Carl Edwards managed to hang on for third, but still lost ground to Busch in the overall and now trails Busch by 65 points. Mike bliss was able to keep his Chevrolet in one piece until he reached the line and finished fourth, while Jason Leffler seemed to have a problematic Toyota but was able to overcome his problems and finish fifth. Stephen Leicht had a good showing this time and his car ran pretty fast and he finished sixth, while Steve Wallace had a slow start but managed to avoid several close calls to finish seventh. Michael McDowell finished eighth in his Toyota, Erik Darnell took ninth, and Brad Coleman rounded out the top ten in the Federated Auto Parts 300.

The entertainment continued after the race also, as Busch tried to do his best rock and roll impression by breaking the Gibson Les Paul Guitar that was presented to him after the win. He explained later that he wanted to break it up to give a piece to every one on the team, so they could all feel a part of the win. He wasn’t really successful in his attempts, but we’re sure once he gets the trophy back to the shop, he’ll do a better job.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: EveryJoe

Kyle Busch Wins Federated Auto Parts 300

The Nationwide Series Pepsi 300

The win is also the first Nationwide Series victory for the JGR No.20 team and first for crew chief Dave Rogers, since he was suspended last year.

For Joey Logano this is only the second victory of his budding career, he drove to victory for the first time one year ago on the Kentucky Speedway, and was running pretty good last year in the Pepsi 300 Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, before lady-luck turned against him, and he was involved in another cars crash. Logano showed great style and emotion during the win and held his trophy triumphantly above his head with the brightest of smiles before putting it in its case after the race, a Sam-Bass Les Paul Guitar which is a unique trophy awarded to the winner of the Pepsi 300 Nationwide Series race.

The Pepsi 300 turned out to be mainly a battle between Gibbs teammates as Busch and Logano jockeyed back and forth through out the race, leading a total of 172 of 225 of the races laps, which says a lot for the cars, drivers and mechanics of Gibbs racing. Joey Logano and Busch certainly had the most consistent and fastest cars on the track, but Logano’s car ran faster on the short runs, which was a major advantage, while Busch’s car ran a little better on the long runs.

The second place finish allowed Busch to move to within 23 points of the Points Leader on the Nationwide Series, Carl Edwards, who just kept his car between the lines and never really challenged for the lead. The Pepsi 300 was also a good race for Brad Keselowski who was able to keep his car together and be consistent enough to finish third, Kelly Bires finished ahead of Carl Edwards (the current points leader on the Nationwide Series) for fourth. The final six places on the final grid were taken by Jason Leffler, David Ragan, Mike Bliss, Steve Wallace, and Scott Lagasse Jr.

Image: Newscom

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Joey Logano Wins the Pepsi 300

Through 55 years of racing at NASCAR’s top level, the Wood Brothers have established themselves amongst the all-time winningest teams in the sport’s history with an accumulated 97 wins amongst the organization. The organization has housed such legendary names as Cale Yarbrough, David Pearson, Davey Allison, AJ Foyt, Tiny Lund, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, and Dan Gurney. The team made history in the late 70’s when they were invited to the White House by former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter … Yet, Wood Brothers Racing has not visited Victory Lane since Elliott Sadler’s 2001 win at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the organization has been relegated to one of stock car racing’s proverbial laughing stocks in recent years.

With the team struggling, and the evolution of the NASCAR economy seeming to work against them and the Ford Racing program, team owner Glen Wood sought to keep the driving program afloat by signing veteran drivers Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader to drive the no. 21 Ford for the team in 2007. The end result, however, was less than desirable as the combination failed to net the Wood Bros. a single top-ten finish, and much hasn’t changed in 2008 with Elliott again behind the wheel this year, this time being complimented by Jon Wood on occassion.

So, what does a team do when they’ve fallen so far off of the mark of excellence that they themselves established so long ago? They go out and fetch themselves the 31-year-old Aussie that’s largely credited with the revival of Ford Racing in Australia - Marcos Ambrose. Adequately named the “Tasmanian Devil,” Ambrose, a former Formula Ford Euro Cup and 2x former V8 Supercar Championship Series champion, broke into the NASCAR scene in 2006 when the Wood Brothers / JTG Racing partnership signed Ambrose to compete in full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. Not being cleared by NASCAR to compete in the first three races of the season, Ambrose was limited to 22 races in which he garnered 4 top-ten finishes, including a pair of 3rd place runs at Nashville and Kansas.

The team then set Ambrose’s sights on the Nationwide Series in 2007, where Marcos tallied 6 top-ten runs through 35 events and ultimately finished 8th in the overall points standings, and was the third highest ranked non-Cup regular in the standings. 2008 has gotten Marcos off to a bit of a slower start in the series, where he currently sits 13th in points, but a 2nd place run at the road course in Mexico earlier in the season prompted a callup from the Wood Brothers this past weekend at Infineon.

Slated to make his long-awaited Sprint Cup debut behind the wheel of the famed no. 21 Ford Fusion, Ambrose got the weekend off to a great start when he was the 7th fastest during qualifying, and then led the final practice session on Saturday. Looking to prove his road course prowess was no joke and that he belonged at NASCAR’s premier level, Ambrose then established himself as one of the top cars in the field and definitely one of the guys to beat on Sunday, though looking at the box score following the race, you’d have never known it unless you’d watched the race yourself.

Marcos ran with the leaders and stayed up around the top-five all day long, even when pit strategies shuffled several of the other race leaders back into the pack. Only some unprovoked contact from Elliott Sadler late in the race kept him from getting the finish he deserved, and yet, even after a 42nd place run, both Ambrose and the Wood Brothers organization were rather upbeat following the race.

“Just awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, passing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, racing with Earnhardt Jr, it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, what I dreamed it would be like. It’s certainly like that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a real shame we couldn’t finish the race.”

While most people probably find it tough to see the silver lining in a 42nd place finish, those that have followed the Wood Brothers throughout the years know that they’ve been far from competitive the last few years, and that even though the finish wasn’t indicative of the good run, it’s a huge morale booster for the organization to have a car run as well as Marcos did on Sunday. Ambrose is now scheduled to compete in seven more Cup events in the no. 21 car, including next weekend at New Hampshire and the August road course race at Watkins Glen.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

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Is Ambrose the Ticket for the Wood Bros.’ Return to Prosperity?

Image details: Camping World RV Rental 250 served by picapp.com

Carl Edwards was named the winner of Saturday night’s Camping World RV Rental 250 at the Milwuakee Mile, and pulled into Victory Lane in the Nationwide Series for the first time since winning in Nashville last June, but the 250-mile race was hardly one that lacked emotion, excitement and controversy.

The first half of the race was dominated by polesitter, Brad Keselowski, who was looking to his second win for JR Motorsports in a three-week span, but despite leading the most laps on the evening, it just wasn’t meant to be. Last week’s race winner, 18-year-old Joey Logano, caught Keselowski at the front of the field and the two raced side-by-side with 79 laps remaining in the books. Logano drover underneath the race leader to take the position through turns 3 and 4, but a slight bobble slid him up into Brad’s fender and took him out of contention for the win.

Then, during the final round of pit stops, Logano made contact with points leader, Clint Bowyer, on pit road as the two rubbed fenders and shuffled Joey back to fourth while Carl Edwards took the lead. Bowyer then passed Edwards with 39 laps to go and held the position until the next caution flag. The restart came with 25 circuits remaining. Edwards got underneath him on the restart and knocked him sideways and drove away for the win.

Logano was able to pass Bowyer as well, as he wound up finishing 2nd, and Bowyer had to settle for 3rd. Fellow Sprint Cup regulars, David Ragan and David Reutimann completed the top-five in 4th and 5th. Scott Wimmer continued with his recent success with another top-ten finish in 6th, and Mike Bliss came home in 7th. Brad Keselowski rebounded from his earlier adventure with Logano and was relegated to an 8th place run, while Jason Leffler and Jason Keller rounded out the top-ten finishers.

There were no changes amongst the top-four spots in the standings, as Bowyer now stretches his points lead to 188 points over second place, Brad Keselowski. David Ragan and Mike Bliss each jumped up a spot to 5th and 6th over Kyle Busch, whom did not attend the race this weekend.

Check here for complete Camping World RV Rental 250 race results.

Nationwide Series Standings:

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Edwards Wins a Wild One in Milwuakee

Image details: Meijer 300 served by picapp.com

In only his third start in the Nationwide Series, 18-year old Joey Logano was nothing but masterful during Saturday’s Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway en route to picking up his first career victory in the series. Logano passed teammate, Kyle Busch, for the lead on lap 147 and stayed there for the ensuing 53 laps to become the youngest winner in Nationwide history at 18 years, 21 days (the former record was held by Casey Atwood at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days in 1999 at Milwuakee). The victory also gives Joe Gibbs Racing their leading 10th victory on the season.

Logano finished 2.259 seconds ahead of Scott Wimmer, who ran second in the race, with veteran, Mike Wallace, coming home third. Fourth place went to last week’s race winner, Brad Keselowski. Rounding out the top-five was rookie driver, Bryan Clauson. Sixth place was taken by second year Nationwide driver, Marcos Ambrose, and David Ragan, Mike Bliss, Clint Bowyer, and Jason Keller completed the top-ten finishers.

Kyle Busch had a great day turned sour. After flying into Kentucky Speedway late, he was forced to start the race dead last in 43rd. Forty laps later, however, Busch found himself with the lead and went onto lead a race high 85 laps on the day. After surrending the lead to Joey Logano on lap 147, Busch tried to fight back from the second spot, but he lost control of his car on lap 164. The spin sent Busch slamming into the outside retaining wall down the backstretch, and he went onto finish 30th.

Clint Bowyer retained control of the points lead, and now leads Brad Keselowski by 170 points. Keselowski jumped three spots in the standings to take over 2nd over David Reutimann and Carl Edwards, who finished 13th and 20th. Kyle Busch’s run dropped him from third to fifth in the standings.

For Logano, he has now led laps in each of his first three starts in the series. Those three starts have resulted in a win, 2 top-ten’s, and 2 pole awards. Between Logano’s driving abilities and the dominant team that Joe Gibbs has assembled for him over in that no. 20 car, the rest of the series could be in for a very long, agonizing season.

Click here for the complete results from the Meijer 300.

Nationwide Series Standings:

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Logano Masters Kentucky

“You know, I knew we could do this but you never really know other than in your heart until you can prove it on the racetrack, and we’ve been so close and it’s seemed like we’ve caught bad breaks and today we caught the right breaks and that’s what we needed.  We needed a little bit of luck with a fast racecar, and we had a fast racecar today and, call it a bit of luck.

I don’t know if it’s a monkey off my back, I don’t know if I’ve been here that long. But, it’s not like I came into this sport winning.  I feel like I’ve paid some dues, I did some stuff with some lower level teams.  You know, when you’re doing that with lower level teams and you’re breaking down every week and you’re blowing up or whatever it is that happens you always question yourself, ‘why am I doing this?’ And then you catch that break like I did to get to drive for Dale Jr. and U.S. Navy Chevrolet and that kind of validates or vindicates you.  And then I got a team that just keeps getting better every week and I keep getting better every week to go with it and, you know I felt like it was just a matter of time.”

The win was the first for the #88 car for JR Motorsports as well. Car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr, also offered his sentiments regarding the outcome of the race:

“I just was just amazed, you know I really was.  I knew they were on the verge.  They looked like they were gonna run for some wins throughout the rest of the year, and it’s just been so hard to get that team competitive. It’s so hard to start a team and get it to where it’s competitive and the merger with Rick and his Busch deal last year kind of pushed us over that hump. Getting Tony Sr. helped us a bunch.”

But, as is often the case, while Keselowski and Earnhardt celebrated their hard fought victory, the rest of the garage wasn’t exactly full of smiles. Several drivers, including points leader, Clint Bowyer who got roughed up in the closing laps of the race, were all but ecstatic.

For a complete audio transcript following the race, please visit the Nationwide website.

Post from: EveryJoe

Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski Rejoice in Victory

Brad Keselowski picked up his first win in the Nationwide Series on Saturday night, and the first of the season for JR Motorsports, as he took the lead from points leader, Clint Bowyer, with just five laps remaining and then cruised on his way to victory, winning the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Keselowski set the stage for the finish of the race when he stayed out on the track on lap 79 of the 225 lap event as the rest of the leaders made their way down pit road, led by then race leader, Joey Logano. The call from Tony Eury Sr. put Keselowski on a completely different pit sequence than the rest of the field, and it proved to be a factor late in the race.

With the rest of the field making their final pit stops with 77 laps remaining, Keselowski made his with just 41 left, giving him tires that were 36 laps fresher than the rest of the field when the caution flew with just ten laps left. David Reutimann, who was leading the race at the time, was ambushed by Clint Bowyer on the restart, but a few laps later, it was Brad Keselowski making the pass for the lead, and he never looked back, as he went onto win the race and collect the first checkers of the season for JR Motorsports.

David Stremme and David Reutimann both went onto take position from Bowyer as they finished 2nd and 3rd, and Clint was relegated to 4th, followed by David Ragan in 5th. They were followed by the cars of Mike Wallace, Scott Wimmer, Kelly Bires, Landon Cassill, and Greg Biffle to complete the top-ten.

Joey Logano won the pole for Saturday’s race, marking only his second career start. He led 64 laps in the event and appeared to be an early favorite to win, but he got caught up in a 4-wide race through turn 2 that resulted in him getting clipped by Greg Biffle and slamming into the outside wall. He went onto finish 31st. His teammate, Kyle Busch, who is making an unprecedented tri-fecta run this weekend, finished three laps down in 20th.

Clint Bowyer remained atop the Nationwide standings, while Reutimann’s run was enough to bump him up two spots to second. Kyle Busch dropped a spot to third, and Carl Edwards’ thirteenth place run drops him down to fourth overall. Brad Keselowski remains in fifth.

Nationwide Series Standings (from nascar.com):

*Credit photo to Newscom.

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Keselowski Wins First NASCAR Race at Nashville