NNS Etc: Texas Edition
* Texas Turnaround For Keselowski
Before the April race at Texas, Brad Keselowski was wondering if his season was falling apart. He was 15th in the standings following the March race at Bristol Motor Speedway and his average finish on the season was 22nd.
But at Texas, his fortunes turned. He finished third, the first of three consecutive third-place results, and catapulted himself back into the upper echelon of the series standings.
In the 27 races since the April event at TMS, Keselowski has four wins (career high) — including a victory at Memphis in his last race — 19 top fives and 26 top 10s. In addition, he’s grabbed two poles, also a career best.
He’s third in the standings, still mathematically alive for the series championship and only 42 points behind second-place Carl Edwards.
* Déjà Vu For Kahne In Great Clips Car
Saturday at Texas, Jason Leffler (No. 38) and Kasey Kahne (No. 10) will carry matching Great Clips paint schemes on their Braun Racing Toyotas.
Kahne drove the No. 38 Great Clips car from 2003-05 under the Akins Motorsports/Stringer Motorsports banner. He captured two NASCAR Nationwide Series wins during that span, including a victory at Texas in 2005.
Leffler took over the seat in 2006, and in 2007, gave the sponsor its third win — and the first for Toyota in the series — at O’Reilly Raceway Park. He’s finished in the top 10 in the standings the last two years and currently is fourth with three races to go.
Leffler and Kahne will share the No. 38 next year — Leffler will drive the majority of the races (27) while Kahne will handle eight events. Leffler will drive the No. 10 in the races in which Kahne is behind the wheel of the No. 38.
Braun’s third entry, the No. 32 Dollar General Toyota, will be driven by 2003 series champion Brian Vickers for the final time in 2009 at Texas. In 16 races this year, he has seven top fives and 11 top 10s. Reed Sorenson will be in the No. 32 next week at Phoenix International Raceway while David Reutimann closes out the season in the car at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
* McClure Cleared To Drive At Texas
Eric McClure, who injured his ankle following an accident two weeks ago at Memphis, has been cleared to return to racing.
McClure has the fifth-most starts in his series career at Texas Motor Speedway (six) and finished 34th in this race last year.
* Shepherd Readies For Annual Trip
Morgan Shepherd’s No. 89 Chevrolet will carry the image of country music artist Kellie Pickler on the car this weekend at Texas to kick off the 23rd Annual Morgan Shepherd Charitible Fund trip to Galax, Va.
The trip will take place on Dec. 14. Pickler will headline entertainers that also include Berry McGee, the 2007-08 Inspirational Country Music Awards Comedian/Entertainer of the Year. Guest speakers include Joe Gibbs, while 2007 series champion Carl Edwards is also scheduled to participate. The NASCAR Sprint Cup show cars of Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano will be on display.
The Fund was founded in 1986 by Shepherd in order to assist handicapped or underprivelaged children and adults.
* ML Motorsports, WCF Team Up
This weekend, the No. 70 ML Motorsports Chevrolet will feature the images of Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim, twins from Cairo, Egypt, who were conjoined at the head and separated.
Following the successful 2003 procedure performed in Dallas, the boys were cared for under the direction of the World Craniofacial Foundation, which also is headquartered in Dallas. The WCF focuses on craniofacial surgeries and provides care for children with deformaties of the skull and face.
* Driven To Donate
The NASCAR Nationwide Series PR Rep Task Force has organized a non-perishable Thanksgiving Food Drive among NNS teams to assist needy families in the Charlotte, N.C. area.
Through Monday, Nov. 16, select NNS teams also will have donation collection containers at their shops so that fans can donate non-perishable items until the deadline. Those teams currently include: Germain Racing (Mooresville); Kevin Harvick Inc. (Kernersville); RAB Racing and Roush Fenway Racing (Concord) and Richard Childress Racing (Welcome), with more to be announced.
* NNS Raybestos Rookie Standings
Driver Team Points
1. Justin Allgaier Penske 227
2. Brendan Gaughan RWR 217
3. Michael McDowell K-A 191
4. Michael Annett Germain 188
5. Erik Darnell RFR 156
7. John Wes Townley RAB 129
Up Next: Phoenix International Raceway
One more trip out West in 2009 awaits the NASCAR Nationwide Series as Phoenix International Raceway hosts the Able Body Labor 200 on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The 200-lap event at the 1-mile track in the desert starts at 4:30 p.m.
Carl Edwards is the defending race winner. Denny Hamlin won the pole for last year’s event.
Earlier this year, 2002 series champion Greg Biffle, Edwards’ Roush Fenway Racing teammate, was victorious at PIR.
Biffle’s win made him the all-time series leader in that category at Phoenix. Edwards and Kyle Busch are the other multiple winners with two each.
Busch leads all drivers with three poles at PIR; Edwards has two as does Jason Leffler.
Jack Roush’s six wins lead all series owners at Phoenix, while Ford is the top manufacturer with eight wins.
FAST FACTS
Next Race: O’Reilly Challenge
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
The Date: Saturday, Nov. 7
The Time: 12:45 p.m. ET
The Distance: 300 miles / 200 laps
2008 Winner: Kyle Busch
2008 Polesitter: Carl Edwards
Event Schedule (all times CT): Friday – Practice, 9-10:15 a.m., Final Practice 10:40-11:55 a.m.; Qualifying, 5:35 p.m.
2009 STANDINGS
Driver Points
1 Kyle Busch 5,179
2 Carl Edwards 4,964
3 Brad Keselowski 4,922
4 Jason Leffler 4,184
5 Justin Allgaier 3,743
6 Mike Bliss 3,684
7 Steve Wallace 3,626
8 Jason Keller 3,574
9 Brendan Gaughan 3,563
10 Michael Annett 3,298
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