Sprint Cup Driver Wins NNS Race

Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. Friday night the NASCAR Nationwide Series raced the Dollar General 300 Miles Of Courage race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. Earlier on Friday, Coors Light Pole Qualifying took place. 33 Paul Menard was fastest in practice and came out last for qualifying. And captured the Pole with a speed of 185701 mph and 29.079 seconds around this 1.5 mile track. 6 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. starts on the front row in second. This is a Nationwide Dash 4 Cash race. Four drivers and their fan are eligible for $100,000 if they are the best finisher in this race. Those drivers racing for the money are Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Elliott Sadler, Kenny Wallace and Ryan Truex.  They were the top four finishers in the last Dash 4 Cash race. The four of them will have blue spoilers.

Kenny Wallace is starting his 519th race, tying him for the most starts with Jason Keller. October is Breast Cancer month and many cars are pink for this race. All eyes are on the Sprint Cup drivers entered in this race. They are, after all, so much better drivers than the Nationwide drivers. Personally, I’m tired of the Cup drivers taking over the series. The only way to win the owner’s championship is to have Cup drivers in the Nationwide cars. here’s my review.

33 Menard leads from the Pole. 6 Stenhouse, Jr. falls to fifth. 11 Brian Scott and 31 Justin Allgaier race together and 31 gets by. 11 and 16 Trevor Bayne race side by side for tenth and 16 finally gets by. 18 kyle Busch gets by 60 Carl Edwards. The first caution comes out for debris (or, at least I don’t know what else might have happened.) 6, 31 and 2 Elliott Sadler take two tires and come out of the pits first. There is a fire in the 22 Brad Keselowski pit stall.

6 chooses the inside  for the restart. 18 has to check up for 31 and gets shuffled back. 33 races 31 for third. 60 and 18 smack the wall, with 60 getting much damage. 33 and 31 race for third. The second caution comes out during the commercial. 82 Reed Sorenson has no power and is stuck on the track. 60 comes in for damage repairs. 38 Kasey Kahne comes in for adjustments.  33, 6 and 22 Brad Keselowski are three wide for the lead. 22 takes the lead. 2 gets around 6. 33 drives under 6 and slides on front of him. 33 drives under 2 for third. 18 and 20 Joey Logano  get by 6. 09 Kenny Wallace gets by 99 Ryan Truex. 16 gets by 6 for sixth. Ricky had trash onhis grill and had to get behind someone to get it off.

The third caution comes out during the commercial for debris. 22 and 33 race for the lead side by side and 33 takes the lead. 18 gets by 22 for third. 22 takes the lead. 38 gets by 66 Steve Wallace. 66 scrapes the wall. Something is loose in 6. 6 gets by 16 for fifth. There is a round of Green Flag pitting. The fourth caution  comes out when 99 gets into the wall after he blew the right front tire. 18 gets out of the pits first. 20 drives under 18 and 22 takes the lead. 2 and 60 race side by side for fifth. 33 has a vibration and makes a pit stop.

60 gets by 2 for fifth. 16 and 32 Brian Vickers race with 11 right behind. 16 gets by.11 gets by 32. 11 and 32 race side by side and 32 gets by. 31 races 11 and 31 gets by. The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 22 gets loose with 18 nearly getting into him trying to get by. 22 has a tire puncture and swerves around, causing the caution. 6 and 2 race side by side for the lead and 2 takes the lead. 18 gets by 6 for second. 18 takes the lead. 6 gets by 2 for second. 38 slides into the wall and makes a pit stop.

The sixth caution comes out for debris from 38 getting into the was several laps before. They  go Green with twelve laps to go. 18 leads and chooses the outside. 6 has trouble getting going. 20 and 6 race for second. 2 gets by 6. 20 and 60 race for second. 60 gets loose,but tries again. 60 gets by 20. 16 gets close to 20, 20 gets loose and gets into the wall, bringing out the seventh caution. 6 gets by 2 when had so slow for 20 but the scoring loop puts 2 ahead. 18 and 60 battle for the lead. 16 pushes 60 into the lead. 16 again didn’t get going. 16 gets by 2 for third.

On the final lap 18 and 60 race for the lead. 60 Carl Edwards retains the lead and wins the Dollar General 300 miles of courage. Elliott Sadler wins the $100.000 along with a fan and his wife. The top four NNS drivers were 16, 2, 11, 31. Carl does his flip and joins the fans in the stands.

Kyle Busch finished second, followed by Bayne, Sadler, Scott, Keselowski, Allgaier, Menard, Stenhouse and Vickers for the top ten. In Nationwide points Stenhouse retains the lead over Sadler by 15 points. Aric Armirola and Allgaier gain a spot while Sorenson looses two spots. Leffler and Kenny Wallace stay in sixth and seventh while Scott and S. Wallace trade places. Michael Annett stays in tenth.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I love NASCAR racing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NASCAR News: Smoke On The Pole!

Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500, the 31st race of the year and the fifth race in the chase. ESPN covered practice and Coors Light Pole Qualifying on Thursday. The first practice set the qualifying order, with the slowest going out first and the fastest qualifying last. Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard were the  fastest and came onto the track last. Ryan Newman has nine Poles at this track!

However, Matt Kenseth knocked Ryan off the Pole. It looked like Tony “Smoke” Stewart gave it all he had by going almost 192 mph average speed around this 1.5 mile Quad-oval. Smoke had a speed of 191.95 mph and 28.131 seconds around the track. Matt Kenseth will start the race next to Smoke on Saturday night. Josh Wise, Scott Speed and Geoffrey Bodine failed to make the race.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be at the Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. Practice was on Thursday for the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage race and had to stop practice twice for rain drops. This race will be a Nationwide Dash 4 Cash race with the top four finishing drivers of the last Dash 4 Cash race being eligible for $100,ooo. The four drivers eligible are Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Kenny Wallace, Ryan Truex and Elliott Sadler. Which ever of these four finishes best wins the money. Those four were the top four finishers of the race in Iowa. (Not including Cup drivers.)

October is Breast Cancer (and other cancers) month and this weekend is dedicated to Breast Cancer, with many pink cars. The Nationwide drivers will qualify on Friday afternoon and race Friday evening.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. That is, they will race the Smith’s 350 race on Saturday afternoon. I haven’t heard much about it, as SPEED, home of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, is televising the Barrett-Jackson auto auction instead. Vivid Seats has tickets to most NASCAR events.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I love NASCAR racing.

NASCAR Race Review: Dollar General 300

Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. The NASCAR Nationwide race, the Dollar General 300, was raced on Saturday afternoon at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. At this track, the backstretch is rounded instead of being a straightaway. 11 Brian Scott starts the race from the Pole position with 22 Brad Keselowski starting next to him on the front row. No one has won this race starting on the front row. Perhaps one of these drivers will be able to do it this time.

11 Scott chooses the outside for the start of the race and leads the first lap. 22 takes the lead by going down to the apron to get by. 20 Ryan Truex and 18 Joey Logano race for fourth. 32 Reed Sorenson and 6 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. race each other and 6 gets by. 16 Trevor Bayne is chasing the back end and scrapes the wall. 16 and 32 race for position.

The first caution comes out when 20 spins into the grass. 20 and 88 Aric Almirola were racing and 20 lost the aero. 2 Elliott Sadler barely gets by. 48 Dennis Setzer gets the free pass back onto the lead lap. 22 leads at the restart. 33 Paul Menard drives under 11. 11 wiggles and 18 gets by. 12 Sam Hornish, Jr. and 6 race for ninth and 6 holds him off. 2 gets by 18 for third. 60 Carl Edwards, 18 and 6 race each other for sixth. 60 drives under 18 and 6 gets by 18 for seventh.

The second caution comes out during the commercial for debris. 32 was already committed to coming to the pits before the caution comes out and must go around again to make his pit stop. 66 Steve Wallace gets back onto the lead lap. 22 chooses the outside for the restart. 12 had an uncontrolled tire and gets a penalty. 33 takes the lead. 22 takes the lead back. 60 and 11 race for fifth and 60 gets by. 18 and 11 race together. 18 gets a twitch and can’t get by. 7 Jamie McMurray gets by 18 for seventh. 88 and 20 race for tenth. 60 gets by 2. 6 and 32 race for twelfth. 6 complains of being too loose. 60 gets by 33 for second.

The third caution comes out during the commercial. 30 Kasey Kahne has a tire going down and scrapes the wall. 62 Michael Annett gets the free pass. 22 gets fuel only and chooses the outside. 22 and 60 battle for the lead and 22 keeps the lead. 32 gets by 88. 33 and 88 race for position and 33 gets by. 6 brushes the wall and 32 drives by. 32 races with 16. 7 and 12 split 88. 7 gets by 12. 33 gets by 6. 11 and 16 race for eighth. 60 and 22 battle for the lead, 60 gets loose and can’t get by. 33, 6 and 7 race each other. 7 and 33 get by 6. 12 drives under 6. 6 and 12 race each other with 11 right there. 6 and 11 get by 12.

60 takes the lead in traffic. 88 drives under 12 and 6. 22 (Sprint Cup driver) is being held up by lap cars. 33 and 88 race for position. 18 and 22 start Green Flag pitting. 60 stays out the longest and when he finally pits, he is out of fuel. The crew sprays with ether, they have a long pit and he stalls he car exiting his pit stall, but gets going. 22 is back in the lead. 2 and 11 race for second but 11 can’t get by. 88 gets by 6 for eighth and nearly gets into the wall. 60 drives under 2 for third. 11, 60 and 12 get by 2. 7 makes his final pit stop, forcing the rest of the drivers into making another round of Green Flag pitting. 18 has to back up in his stall to be serviced. 22 pits and 11 leads. 12 has a long pit stop. 11 and 60 pit together. 38 Jason Leffler leads, then pits. 22 is back in the lead.

There are ten cars on the lead lap. 33 and 6 touch as the race side by side. 12 goes to the apron and slides up ahead of 2. 12 brushes the wall. 32 is in tenth, the final car on the lead lap. Another Sprint Cup driver, going for the owner points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, 22 Brad Keselowski wins the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. This was his first win at Chicagoland and his third of the year. Edwards finished second, followed by Scott, Almirola, Hornish, Sadler, McMurray, Stenhouse, Menard and Sorenson. The top eight in points remain the same. Stenhouse leads Sadler by fourteen points, followed by Sorenson, Almirola, Justin Allgaier, Leffler, Kenny Wallace and Steve Wallace. Scott and Annett trade ninth and tenth.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I love NASCAR racing.

 

NASCAR Racing: Coors Light Pole Qualifying At Chicagoland

Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. This week NASCAR is at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. Friday night Austin Dillon won the Fast Five 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, finishing far ahead of Cup driver, Kevin Harvick.

Saturday was Coors Light Pole Qualifying. The NASCAR Nationwide Series held their qualifying session first. 11 Brian Scott came out thirty-fifth and hung onto the Pole position for the rest of the forty-eight drivers entered into the Dollar General 300 race to be run later in the afternoon. Scott had a speed of 176.748 mph and 30.552 seconds around this 1.5 mile track. 22 Brad Keselowski (Cup driver) will start second. No one has won this race from the front row. Perhaps that stat will change today. Tim Andrews, Angela Cope, Brian Keselowski, and Jennifer Jo Cobb failed to make the race.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualified for the Geico 400 race next. 17 Matt Kenseth came out nineteenth and held onto the pole position for the rest of the forty-seven drivers entered. Those fastest in the first practice turned out to be the slowest in qualifying. Kenseth had a speed of 183.243 mph and 29.469 seconds around the track. They will race on Sunday afternoon. 27 Paul Menard will start second. Mike Skinner, Stephen Leicht, Dave Blaney and David Starr failed to make the race. This will be the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Next up: Dollar General 300 NASCAR Nationwide race.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I love NASCAR racing.

 

NASCAR News And Race Review At ChicagoLand

Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. It was a big day of NASCAR activities at ChicagoLand Speedway in Joliet, Il. on Friday. For the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, there was practice for the Geico 400. In the first practice that set the qualifying order, David Reutimann and Clint Bowyer topped the charts. They will come out last for Coors light Pole Qualifying to be held on Saturday. In Happy Hour, the final practice, Red Bull team mates, Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne were fastest. The Geico 400 will be raced Sunday afternoon.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series also had practice for the Dollar General 300. Ryan Truex in the JGR #20 car and Brad Keselowski were fastest in the first practice, while Elliott Sadler and Aric Almirola were fastest in the second practice. They will qualify and race on Saturday.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series also had practice on Friday. They also qualified for the Fast Five 225 with 32 Steve Arpin capturing the Pole with a speed of 175.507 mph and 30.768 seconds around this 1.5 mile D-shaped oval track. 2 Kevin Harvick will start second. This was Steve’s first career pole. Thirteen drivers broke the track record. 18 Kyle Busch will start fourteenth. 17 Timothy Peters had to change the engine in his Truck and qualified last, but will start from the rear. Wayne Edwards and Charles Vest failed to qualify for the race.

And now for the race review of the Fast Five 225.  2 Harvick leads the race while 32 Arpin falls back. 29 Parker Kligerman and 32 get by 4 Ricky Carmichael. 38 Mike Garvey is slow on the track and the first caution comes out for debris from his Truck. 7 Norm Benning gets back onto the lead lap. At the restart, 2 and 29 are up front. 2 takes off. 18 drives under 4 for fifth. 60 Cole Whitt and 18 battle for fifth and 18 gets by. 8 Nelson Piquet, Jr.  gets by 29 for second. The temperature is rising on 60 so he must be careful not to overheat and blow the engine. 2 starts Green Flag pitting. 8 leads. 29 gets by 8 to lead. 8 leads, then pits. 3 Austin Dillon leads, then pits. 5 Todd Bodine, who pit during the first caution leads.

4 is smoking and leaking oil, which brings out the second caution. He takes the truck behind the wall.  18 and 8 lead at the restart. 2 gets by 8 and 29 for second. 18 and 2 battle side by side for the lead. 2 takes the lead. 81 David Starr gets a flat left rear tire and drives on the apron to get to pit road. 17  got loose into 81 causing the tire to go flat. The third caution comes out for debris from 81. 60 Cole Whitt gets the free pass onto the lead lap. 23 Jason White miss shifts and falls back. 2 leads with 5 and 18 behind. 18 and 5 race for second with 18 completing the pass on the outside. 3 gets by 29 for ninth. 8 and 5 race for position and 8 gets loose but catches the Truck. 8 and  race again and 8 finally gets by.

3 and 5 race side by side and 3 gets by. 31 James Buescher, the points leader is having trouble. 3 gets by 8 for third in traffic. 60 gets by 33 Ron Hornaday in traffic. 2 again starts Green Flag pitting. 8 is too fast entering the pits. 6 Justin Lofton is too fast entering, but they review  what happened and he gets no penalty. 18 and 2 race side by side for second with 8 right behind. 18 gets into the wall and 2 takes second. 3 pulls away while 2 and 18 race for position. 29 gets by 18.

3 Austin Dillon wins the Fast Five 225 at Chicagoland Speedway, his fourth career win. He beat the Cup drivers who were battling each other. (It’s nice to have a Truck driver, going for the championship points, win the Truck race.) Harvick,  finished second, followed by Piquet, Jr., Kligerman, Busch, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, Joey Coulter, Kligerman, Whitt and Bodine rounded out the top ten. Buescher stays in the points lead. Dillon gains two spots into second. Sauter drops a spot into third. peters drops a spot to fourth, followed by Hornaday. Crafton and Coulter trade spots, Kligerman and Whitt trade spots and Bodine remains in tenth.

It was fun to watch Cup drivers, Busch and Harvick racing side by side, lap after lap. They did not take each other out, and eventually, Harvick did get by. It was also great that a Truck driver won a Truck race. I liked the race, and will record the replay on Monday. Next up: Sprint Cup qualifying on Saturday. And nationwide qualifying and the Dollar General 300 race on Saturday.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I love NASCAR racing.