Titans Of The Sport Battle For Owner Championship
When discussing battles, a line from Napoleon fits well – “Victory belongs to the most persevering.”
Over the last 21 weeks, the No. 2 Chevrolet of Richard Childress has indeed persevered. And heading to Memphis, it is now locked in a battle with the No. 20 Joe Gibbs RacingToyota for the owner championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
The No. 2 leads the No. 20 by one point following the Oct. 10 race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, giving the RCR flagship car its first advantage since the series departed Mexico City in late April.
Both owners are looking to make history. Childress is after his third consecutive title – only William Baumgardner (1995-97) has accomplished the feat – and his record-breaking fifth overall.
Gibbs, meanwhile, is chasing his first owner crown in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition and his first with Toyota as the team’s manufacturer.
The two owners have reached the top of the standings in different ways. Childress has used only driver standings leader Clint Bowyer (No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet) while Gibbs has had four drivers: Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano (No. 20 Game StopToyota) – each have at least one win this season.
Memphis Again A Main Stage Future Of NASCAR
Memphis Motorsports Park, celebrating its 10th season as host to NASCAR Nationwide Series events, is known as a NASCAR career launching pad.
Over that span, drivers like Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy Chevrolet); Scott Wimmer (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet); Juan Pablo Montoya; Dario Franchitti, Stephen Leicht and Jamie McMurray made their NASCAR Nationwide or NASCAR national series debuts there.
This year is no different. A handful of drivers, including Marc Davis (No. 18 DLP HDTV Toyota) and Jarit Johnson (No. 22 Fitz Motorsports Dodge), brother of two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, are vying to join that list.
Davis, 18, finished fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Series East this year and was 16th at Gateway International Raceway last month in his national series debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
He’ll team with fellow 18-year-old Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing at Memphis as one of four drivers age 19 or under. As many as 10 drivers entered are 23 or younger.
Davis has to make the race on time and has the added pressure of driving one of the top cars in the series. His No. 18 is tied with Logano’s No. 20 with nine wins.
“When you get in that car you expect to run well,” he said. “The most pressure I’ll feel is from myself to perform well. That’s something I think I need to do.”
In the Loop
David Reutimann (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota), has fond memories of Memphis, 2007. It was the spot of his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory.
He posted a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0, led 194 laps, had an Average Running Position of 2.2, 66 Fastest Laps Run and spent 251 of the 253 laps in the top 15.
He will try to duplicate perfection this weekend, a tough job considering the competition he’ll face.
Chief among them is Clint Bowyer, who did not race at Memphis during Reutimann’s 2007 triumph. Bowyer has three starts at Memphis, all resulting in top fives.
Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Bowyer has run two Memphis races, with tremendous results. Over the two races (2005 and ‘06), he has a Driver Rating of 134.3, an Average Running Position of 5.5, 108 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 88.9%.
Also watch for a strong run from Mike Bliss (No. 1 Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet), who finished second to Reutimann last season. Though overshadowed, Bliss also had strong statistics with a Driver Rating of 118.8, an Average Running Position of 5.7 and ran 245 of the 253 laps in the top 15.
If Carl Edwards (No. 60 CitiFinancial Ford); wants to catch Bowyer and repeat as series champion, he’ll have to bounce back from last year’s Memphis performance. When he finished 25th, posting a Driver Rating of just 68.9.
In his three career Memphis races, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 94.1, an Average Running Position of 13.8, 36 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 68.2%.
Jason Keller (No. 27 Cottonelle Ford), also has had past Memphis success. He has finished in the top 10 in six of the last seven Memphis races. Over the last three, he has a Driver Rating of 92.8 and an Average Running Position of 13.2
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