With one race left on the docket, it is no surprise a lot of the teams are already beginning to look toward next season. But while some are looking ahead, others are trying to end 2011 on a positive note.
The series all-time starts leader, Kenny Wallace, currently sits seventh in the standings. If he can stand pat, this will be his best points finish since he was seventh in 2005.
But Wallace has work to do. Michael Annett, after last week’s top-10 finish at Phoenix, moved from 10th to eighth in the standings, 34 points behind Wallace in seventh.
In 11th place is Trevor Bayne. The 2011 Daytona 500 champion has had a roller-coaster season. Bayne, 20, ran the first eight races, posting one top five and five top 10s, and was fifth in the driver standings. Then he suddenly was sidelined for six races because of health issues. The absence from the series dropped him from fifth to 16th – 56 points out of 10th place.
Despite his championship hopes for the season being dashed, Bayne returned to the series after being cleared by doctors, and did so in impressive fashion. In his series return, he finished third at Chicago, then went on to post three top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
The culmination of Bayne’s comeback came at Texas when he claimed his first career series victory in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
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