NASCAR Nationwide Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
NNS: Bristol Notebook
Elliott Sadler leads the points heading into Bristol…
NASCAR Wire Service  |  Posted August 23, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Elliott Sadler is in hot pursuit of the Nationwide Series title. (Photo: Getty Images)
SADLER AHEAD IN TIGHT RACE — In one of the season’s most difficult stretches, coming off back-to-back road courses and heading to a reconfigured short track makes this championship battle one that proves a driver’s mettle. Four drivers are still jockeying for the season-ending spoils and out front sits Richard Childress Racing’s Elliott Sadler with a lead of 22 points over second-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and third-place Sam Hornish Jr. Sadler’s teammate, Austin Dillon, is fourth in the standings, 35 points off the lead but still a contender.

Crew chiefs this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway can toss out their notes from the season’s previous race there because the speedway has partially removed the progressive banking in the corners and this is the first race back at the 0.533-mile track since the change.

Of the contending four, Sadler has logged the most laps at Bristol having made 11 starts, posting one Coors Light pole, two wins — including earlier this season — four top fives and five top 10s. Of the four drivers, Sadler also has the best pre-race Driver Rating (106.0) and Average Running Position (8.128).

Roush Fenway Racing’s Stenhouse has made five starts at Bristol, posting one Coors Light pole and a best finish of sixth earlier this season. His Food City 250 pre-race Driver Rating is second-best among the four contenders with a 94.6. Stenhouse has rallied back into contention over the last nine races, posting an average finish of 6.4.

Penske Racing’s Hornish has found his stride and is marching right into this championship battle. Late-season momentum is key to a championship run and Hornish has plenty: Ten straight top-10 finishes. In his last nine NNS races, he has averaged a finish of 4.7, including finishing in the top three in the last four races. Hornish has made two series starts at Bristol, posting an average finish of 13.5 with a pre-race Driver Rating of 80.8.

Dillon welcomes the return to a short track having cut his teeth on them in the NASCAR K&N Pro East and West Series. The Sunoco Rookie of the year candidate has one series start at Bristol, posting a 12th-place finish, which is the best first-start finish of any of the contending four. Dillon’s Food City 250 pre-race Driver Rating is 90.2.

BAYNE PAYS HOMAGE — Knoxville native Trevor Bayne returns to his home state for Friday night’s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway with a paint scheme honoring one of the state’s biggest icons, University of Tennessee Head Women’s Basketball Coach Emeritus Pat Summitt.

Bayne will be driving the Roush Fenway Racing-owned No. 60 Yourracecar.com Ford Mustang sporting the phrase "We Back Pat." The Volunteer-orange race car is part of a promotion to raise awareness for The Pat Summitt Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for the battle against Alzheimer’s.

"Growing up in Knoxville, I’ve always been a big UT fan and an even bigger fan of Pat Summitt," said Bayne, who has one top-five finish in five starts in the series this year. "I have always respected what she stood for. … I am excited she is going to be a part of our team at Bristol."

Summitt will serve as Grand Marshal of the Food City 250 on Friday night. In 38 years at UT, Summitt led the Lady Volunteers to eight NCAA titles.

WILL PATRICK FINISH STRONG? — After a solid performance in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, where she led 20 of 81 laps, Danica Patrick is hoping her success continues this weekend in Bristol.

Despite running strong, she finished 27th in Montreal after running over a shoe.

The race-high 20 laps Patrick spent at the front of the event are the most laps a female race car driver has led in a race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2012, she has also led in four other races (spring Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, summer Daytona) for a total of 38 laps.

This weekend, Patrick will be pulling double-duty by competing in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide races. She won’t be alone. Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs and Josh Wise will also attempt to run both races.

Brad Keselowski is the only driver slated to pull triple-duty in all three national series races.

NOTABLE — Turner Motorsports became only the sixth team in history and first non-Cup affiliated team to win two NASCAR national series races (NNS, NCWTS) on the same day (8/18/2012). Turner Motorsport’s driver Justin Allgaier is fifth in the standings, 68 points behind the standings lead following his win last weekend at Montreal. … Milestone Watch: Danny Efland Racing’s Danny Efland will attempt to make his 50th NNS start; Austin Dillon will be making the No. 3 car’s 350th start in the NNS; and Brad Keselowski will attempt to post the No. 22 car’s 200th top-10 finish in the NNS. … Food City will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its sponsorship of the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) this Friday. Food City is BMS’ longest-running sponsor.
NASCARWireService's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NASCAR Wire Service

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.