The elite teams, along with the not so elite, from NASCAR’s Nationwide Series will take center stage, at the beautiful Kansas Speedway’s 1.5 mile quad oval, Saturday afternoon for the running of the Kansas Lottery 300.
SOME PRE RACE NOTES OF INTEREST
Keep a close watch on the Nationwide Series debut of rookie driver Parker Klingerman. There’s a lot more than just another youngster looking to launch a NASCAR career going on with this effort. This is the latest phase of veteran NASCAR team owner Roger Penske paving the road to his organization’s racing future.
Penske just signed future up and comer Brad Keselowski to become Kurt Busch’s team mate in the Sprint Cup Series. Keselowski will also play a large role in Penske Nationwide Series efforts in 2010 as well.
The rookie season of Penske’s Nationwide Series driver Justin Allgaier has already exceeded normal expectations. Allgaier is currently sixth, and very close to fifth, in the championship standings and has an excellent chance of delivering a Rookie Of The Year title to Penske Racing.
Now add Parker Klingerman to all of this racing potential. The 19 year old driver, from Westport-Connecticut, is currently driving in the ARCA ReMax Series for Penske this year. If you’ve been watching the ARCA Series at all, and believe me it’s well worth your weekend television time, then you’re already familiar with Klingerman. The young driver is second in the ARCA points standings with a solid chance at winning the championship just like his brand new NASCAR team mate Allgaier did last year.
The Kansas race will be the first of two Nationwide Series events on Klingerman’s schedule. Again, keep an eye on this young driver he’s going to be a big part of the future for Penske Racing
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Also keep an eye out for the presence of Reed Sorenson in this race who will be driving the #10 Toyota for Braun Racing.
Sorenson has been driving the #43 Dodge for Richard Petty Motorsports this year in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series this season. However the potential merger between RPM and Yates Racing has put Sorenson in the position of being the odd man out and he will not be returning to that ride in 2010. In recent days it was revealed that Sorenson has been driving the Petty Dodge salary free. This move was said to be an effort to keep his presence in the NASCAR spotlight while seeking another ride for next year.
One of Sorenson’s options has been reported to be a Nationwide Series ride with Braun Racing next year. No deal has been signed yet so that means Sorenson’s presence in the Braun Toyota on Saturday could turn out to be the audition of a NASCAR life time.
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Not to be overlooked in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race will be the presence of Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer who won the series’ race in Dover last week for Richard Childress Racing. Bowyer has nine Nationwide Series starts this season in the #29 Holiday Inn Express Chevrolet. He’s won two of them and has a Nationwide Series average finish ratio of 8.6.
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