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Texas Success Could Push Busch To Title Cusp
Just like a spur to a cowboy’s horse, Kyle Busch (No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota) is ready to dig in and move out this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Busch, the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings leader, is edging closer to claiming his first national series title. His lead over second-place Carl Edwards (No. 60 Ortho Ford) isn’t clinch-ready just yet (Busch can’t clinch if Edwards starts at Texas). But with his stellar record at TMS, Busch couldn’t ask for a better place to begin working on his championship acceptance speech.
Not only is Busch the defending race winner, he’s aiming for his fourth consecutive series victory at Texas, which would build on his track record of three straight wins. Another “W” would also move him into a tie with two-time series champion Kevin Harvick (No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet) with four wins, the most at the track.
He’s registered his trio of wins in different fashion. Last November, he started 31st — the deepest starting spot in the field for a race winner. His victory last fall also was his 10th of the year, which equaled the single-season series mark set by the series’ first two-time champion, Sam Ard, in 1983.
This spring, he won from the pole, becoming the first driver to do so in the 17 series races at Texas.
Add to that his back-to-back perfect Driver Ratings at TMS — he posted a perfect 150.0 Driver Rating in this race last year and followed up with another perfecto in April. He leads all series drivers with seven perfect Driver Ratings and his two at Texas are tied for the most at any track; he’s also pitched two perfect games at Auto Club Speedway.
Edwards, Keselowski Need Texas-Size Comebacks
If everything really is bigger in Texas, better include comebacks in that state motto, too.
Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski (No. 88 Degree Chevrolet), second and third in the standings, respectively, haven’t conceded the series title to Kyle Busch. And Busch hasn’t dismissed the “anything can-happen-over-the-last-three-races” mantra.
But if a last-gasp overtaking of Busch is to happen, it will be a march of historic series proportion.
The most points overcome to win the championship with three races to go is 125 by Rob Moroso in 1989. Busch has a 215-point lead over Edwards and is up by 257 over Keselowski.
In Moroso’s comeback 20 years ago, he bypassed Tommy Houston — who was the leader with three races left — and also staved off 1988 series champion Tommy Ellis, who was second with three to go.
Moroso won at Charlotte, which was the third-to-last race of the 1989 season, wrestling the standings lead from Houston. However, Houston took back first place following the next race at North Carolina Speedway. Moroso won the title on the last day of the season at Martinsville Speedway thanks to his third-place finish versus Houston’s 24th-place result due to engine failure.
While Edwards and Keselowski are banking on a miracle, there are plenty of too-close-to-call rankings battles still being waged in the top 10 standings with fifth and 10th places the biggest prizes.
Justin Allgaier (No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge) has a hold on fifth, but Mike Bliss (No. 11 Ridemakerz Toyota) is 59 points out. Bliss is in the No. 11 again at Texas; he’s been terrific over his three races in that ride — two runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result.
Michael Annett (No. 15 Germain Racing Toyota) broke into the top 10 after the Oct. 24 race at Memphis Motorsports Park. But, the Raybestos Rookie has plenty of competition for the spot. Michael McDowell is 11th, 13 points out of 10th; Tony Raines (No. 34 Long John Silver’s Chevrolet) is 12th, 62 points from 10th and Kenny Wallace (No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet) is 13th, 65 points behind Annett.
Richardson Comes Home With Texas Swagger Intact
Nothing like coming home with confidence.
Robert Richardson Jr. (No. 23 Mahindra Tractors Chevrolet), a native of McKinney, had plenty of swagger as a high school football star (quarterback at McKinney High) who moved on to play QB at Southern Methodist University.
His transition to racing also began in his home state, at Texas Motor Speedway, starting with Legends cars in 2003.
He made the move to NASCAR’s national series, debuting in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2003.
Since then, Richardson’s ride through NASCAR has included a full-time season in the Trucks in 2006 and three part-time schedules in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, including this season where he’s sharing the No. 23 with Ken Butler III.
He’s had modest success — his average finishes in NASCAR Nationwide and the Trucks is nearly identical at 29.2 and 29.5, respectively. He’s raced TMS seven times in both series with a best finish of 23rd in the Trucks in 2006.
His best career finish among his races in both series is 16th earlier this year at Talladega Superspeedway.
Here’s where that swagger comes in.
Last weekend at Talladega, Richardson attempted — and qualified for — his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. He finished 17th and on the lead lap.
His return to TMS is on a bit of a high note as well — he secured his best NASCAR Nationwide finish at the track — 24th — in April.
Plano’s James Buescher (No. 1 Micosukee Resort Chevrolet) also is treated to a NASCAR Nationwide Series homecoming this weekend. He’s back in NNS for the first time since last year at Memphis where he won his first career pole. He’s also competing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks this year.
Other Texas natives in the garage include Sam Abney (Austin), jackman for Jeff Burton’s No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet and John Bousselot (Denton), the front tire changer for the No. 24 Hefty Ford of Eric McClure.
Other Texas ties in the series include a couple of sponsors — GameStop, which adorns Joey Logano’s No. 20 Toyota, is based in Grapevine, just a few miles from TMS. Kimberly-Clark’s world headquarters is in Irving. Jason Keller will drive the No. 27 Kleenex Ford this weekend and seeks the 175th top-10 finish of his career (second all-time to Tommy Houston).
Thumbs Up: NNS New Car Impresses During Final Test
“It drives like a dream.”
That’s how Justin Allgaier described his first laps in the Challenger, Dodge’s NASCAR Nationwide Series new car entry, during Monday’s test at Talladega.
The test, the first for the new car on a track longer than 1.5 miles, is one of the final steps before its introduction at four 2010 points races: the July race at Daytona International Speedway, the August race at Michigan International Speedway, the September event at Richmond International Raceway and finally at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October.
The new car is targeted for full integration into the series in 2011.
Eight drivers put the new car models from the four series manufacturers — Chevrolet (Impala); Dodge (Challenger); Ford (Mustang) and Toyota (Camry) through the paces. The test was designed to gather information relative to the size of the tapered spacer that the car will need in order to achieve its desired speed at tracks like Daytona and Talladega. Additionally, the test helped to better identify the proper gear ratio that the new car will need to generate the proper RPM.
“The great advantage of this car is we have a lot of time with the first new car (in NASCAR Sprint Cup),” said Jeff Burton, a 27-time winner in the series and one of the test drivers. “This is an evolution of that. I think it’s going to work really well. I like the way the cars look and the way the cars drive.”
IN THE LOOP
Bliss, Harvick Top Challengers To Busch At TMS
Mike Bliss and Kevin Harvick both are hovering around a coveted top-five ranking, though in different standings.
Bliss, who is coming off two consecutive top-five finishes, sits sixth in the driver standings, only 59 points behind fifth-place Justin Allgaier.
Harvick is looking to keep his No. 33 Chevrolet in the top five of the owner rankings. Currently in fourth, the No. 33 is 51 points ahead of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and 89 points ahead of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Statistically, Texas has been kind to both, which could mean a leap for Bliss and a more comfortable position for Harvick.
In the spring race at Texas this season, Bliss scored a seventh-place finish, posting a Driver Rating of 90.4, an Average Running Position of 13.3, three Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 87.5%. It was by far his best race at Texas. Prior to that, he had finished outside the top 20 in three consecutive starts and had not scored a Driver Rating higher than 76.3.
Plus, Bliss has momentum. Over the last two races, he has an average finish of 3.0, a Driver Rating of 125.8, an Average Running Position of 5.6, 84 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 95%.
Likewise, Harvick is white hot in the series, finishing in the top five in seven consecutive starts (though he has not entered the last two series races). During that span, which includes a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick has an average finish of 3.4, a Driver Rating of 120.7, 193 Fastest Laps Run, 259 Laps Led and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 98.4%.
Those numbers should continue this weekend. Harvick has four wins at Texas, and since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, he has a Driver Rating of 115.6, an Average Running Position of 8.6, 128 Fastest Laps Run, 337 Laps Led and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 84.3%
