After a week off NASCAR’s Nationwide Series returns to action this Saturday afternoon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the running of the TECH-NET Auto Service 300. This is the last combination weekend the series will be spending with their Sprint Cup counterparts. After the Charlotte race the Nationwide Series will begin a four week stint of stand alone events.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski comes into the Charlotte race as the series’ championship points leader. He has a slim 11 points lead over Kyle Busch. But that will be changing in the weeks to come because we’ve already received official word from Joe Gibbs Racing that Busch will not be running the full Nationwide schedule to defend his championship. Development driver Brad Coleman will get some seat time in the weeks ahead when the series will be running stand alone events.
Busch is heavily favored to be a major player in the TECH-NET Auto Service 300. He has four series wins so far this season and has won three of the last four series races at Charlotte. However Busch has an opportunity to join an icon in the NASCAR Nationwide Series record book this Saturday. Ironically everyone one of those records involves NASCAR icon Mark Martin. For example, Martin holds the series’ record for laps led with 8,082. Busch is 156 laps away from topping that record. Considering his current level of performance, leading 156 laps next Saturday is very possible. Busch has eight series wins after starting from the pole position. Martin has performed that feat nine times. Busch has a total of five series wins at Charlotte while Martin has six.
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Kevin Harvick is yet another double duty driver with an interesting story line. The driver of the self owned #33 Kevin Harvick Inc Chevrolet is third in the Nationwide Series championship standings and is only 62 markers from the points leader.
Harvick’s 2010 Nationwide status is now at a cross roads. He has yet to make a commitment towards running the full Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series schedules this year. But there are some rather interesting possibilities if he decides to go for it. Harvick is currently the Sprint Cup points leader and he could become the first driver in NASCAR history to win the Cup and Nationwide championships in the same year. He also has the opportunity to become the Nationwide Series’ first ever three time champion.
But the problem here is going to be the aforementioned Nationwide stand alone events. Much of the series’ races on the schedule are combo events: which has the Nationwide and Sprint Cup racing on the same track during the same weekend. That concept will not apply over the next four weekends after the Charlotte race. The Nationwide Series will be running stand alone events. That means special schedule and travel arrangements will be needed to get double duty drivers like Harvick back and forth.
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It’s getting close to Danica Watch again. Danica Patrick is of course very busy at the moment with what many refer to as “her day job.” That would be the Izod Indy Racing League and the always important Indianapolis 500 this Sunday.
Patrick will be returning to Nationwide Series duty, and her J R Motorsports Chevrolet, for a June 14th and 15th test at the Milwaukee Mile. This test is prep work for her return to NASCAR racing June 19th at the New Hampshire Speedway.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The TECH-NET Auto Service 300 is 200 laps/300 miles around the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1.5 mile quad oval and is race number 12 on the Nationwide Series’ 2010 schedule.
The race has 47 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 13 of those entries are double duty drivers or those who are running both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup events this weekend. 17 of the entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not guaranteed a starting berth in the race because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 30 in owner’s points. The go or go home teams will have to make the race based on their qualifying speed.
Mike Bliss is the defending race winner from 2009.
Chevrolet leads the series’ win stats at Charlotte with 16. But Toyota has a 12 point lead over Chevrolet in the manufacturer’s points race.
In the series’ Raybestos Brakes Rookie Of The Year standings Brian Scott, Braun Racing Toyota, holds a 13 point advantage over Rick Stenhouse Jr, Roush Fenway Racing Ford.
The race will be broadcast live this Saturday by ABC Sports beginning with the pre race show at 2 pm eastern time.
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