Seems Like Old Times With The Future In Tow
Kerry and Jeffrey Earnhardt have joined Rick Ware Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Kerry will debut with the organization April 4 at Texas Motor Speedway in the No.31 Chevrolet. His son Jeffrey, 19, is scheduled to make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut May 30 at Dover International Speedway.
Kerry, son of the legendary seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, has 70 career starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with three top fives and six top-10 finishes. He competed fulltime in the series in 2002, finishing 22nd in points. He last raced in the series in 2008.
Jeffery has experience in the NASCAR Camping World Series East where he was fifth in the standings as a rookie in 2007 and finished 15th last year. Both father and son will be paired with former NASCAR champion crew chief Paul Andrews until they do battle at Atlanta Motor Speedway this fall. At that juncture, Clyde McCloud will serve as crew chief for the younger Earnhardt.
Atlanta also will highlight three Earnhardts in series competition. Jeffrey’s uncle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., a two-time series champion, also is slated to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race there. Jeffrey will race a progressive schedule this year, running seven events from a 1-mile track to a 2-mile oval as he prepares for the 2010 season and a Raybestos Rookie of the Year campaign. The Earnhardts will be driving in events when Stanton Barrett will be competing in IRL races. The No. 31 will be the organization’s primary car and the No. 41 Chevrolet will be the second car for races in which Barrett, Tim Andrews, Travis Kittleson, Tim Brown (seven-time NASCAR Whelen Modified track champion) or Jeffrey compete.
New Faces In Top 10 Hoping To Create Stir
It may be status quo for drivers atop the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings, with Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scott’s/Save-A-Lot Ford) leading for the second straight week and into the series’ next race at Texas.
But for series-only regulars, the newest top 10 shows several drivers who haven’t spent much time there in their careers, or who haven’t been there in awhile.
Kenny Wallace (No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet) hasn’t been in the top 10 since 2006. Currently, he’s ninth. It’s also the first time Jay Robinson Racing has had a driver crack the top 10 in its 10-year history.
Wallace is one of five series-only regulars in this week’s top 10. The highest-ranking driver also is the highest-ranking rookie, Brendan Gaughan (No. 62 South Point Casino Chevrolet). He won his first career series pole at Bristol Motor Speedway last Saturday and is one of three rookies, eighth-place Justin Allgaier (No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge) and 10th-place Scott Lagasse Jr. (No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Co. Toyota, in the top 10. This marks the first time since 2006 three rookies maintained that ranking simultaneously (Edwards, Reed Sorenson and Denny Hamlin). Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota) is the other series-only regular in the top 10.
Open Weekend Comes Before Key Six-Race Stretch
For NASCAR Nationwide Series competitors, March has been similar to spring break. This weekend will be the third open week for the series this year, and all three have come during March. Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Bristol have been the two tracks that have hosted races this month. So competitors better enjoy this weekend; it will be the last free one for awhile.
April 4 at Texas will kick off a string of six consecutive race weekends for the series, the longest such string of the season thus far. And all upcoming races will be on different types of tracks. Following Texas, the last of three consecutive events, are races at the 1.33-mile concrete Nashville Superspeedway (April 11), the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway (April 17), the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway (April 25), the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway (May 1) and the 1.366-mile Darlington Raceway (May 8). The series’ next break will come during the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race weekend.
The six-week stretch isn’t the longest of 2009, however. Teams will compete for 17 consecutive weekends between May 23, Sept. 11.
After Texas, You’re Either In Or You’re Out
A lot will be determined at Texas in terms of who will have to qualify on time or will be locked into the NASCAR Nationwide Series 300 at Nashville the following week. In fact, a top-10 finish at Texas doesn’t automatically guarantee a starting position at Nashville.
The O’Reilly 300 will be the last race in which teams finishing in the top 30 in the 2008 owner point standings will be guaranteed a starting spot. After Texas, the top 30 in the 2009 owner points will be guaranteed starters.
Currently, teams occupying positions 25-30 are separated by only 24 points, and 32-37 are separated by 44 points. That’s 12 positions separated by 64 points. Fulltime teams on the bubble, or those on the outside looking in, include, in order of position:
Drivers in peril: Brandon Whitt (No. 61 Specialty Racing Ford), Danny O’Quinn Jr. (No. 01 JD Motorsports Chevrolet), DJ Kennington (No. 81 Northern Provincial Pipeline Dodge), Morgan Shepherd (No. 89 Victory In Jesus Chevrolet), Michael Annett (No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers/Hype Energy Drink Toyota) and the duo of Robert Richardson Jr./Ken Butler III (No. 23 R3 Motorsports Chevrolet) are 30 through 25 in reverse order, respectively.
On their heels: Scott Wimmer (No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet), 31st; Kenny Hendrick (No. 42 Smith-Ganassi Dodge), 32nd and Brian Keselowski (No. 26 K-Automotive Chevrolet), 34th, all are within 36 points of 30th.
In The Loop: Could Harvick’s Bristol Victory Spell Championship Run?
The moment Kevin Harvick’s own No. 33 KHI Chevrolet crossed the finish line ahead of everyone else at Bristol, one immediate question arose, Will he decide to run for a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship?
Harvick admitted the thought crept into his mind, but quickly dismissed it during post-race interviews.
But the idea’s intriguing, especially when you look at his statistics after four races. Aside from sitting second in the standings behind Carl Edwards, Harvick ranks in the top three in every key Loop Data category.
Harvick has an Average Running Position of 7.4 (third-best), a Driver Rating of 113.5 (third), 58 Fastest Laps Run (third), the third-best average Green Flag Speed rank, a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 85.9 (second) and 194 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), which is third-most.
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