Trend Enders

Next stop: Richmond.
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Chase Elliott scored a historic win at Darlington Raceway last Friday. He became the first rookie driver to win in their Darlington debut.

Next week, NASCAR will head to the 0.75 mile short track of Richmond International Raceway. Will we see another trend in the Nationwide Series broken at Richmond?

The last 20 Nationwide races at Richmond have been won by Sprint Cup Series drivers. Johnny Sauter was the last non-Cup Series driver to win a Nationwide race at Richmond in 2003. He moved fellow Wisconsin driver Matt Kenseth with a bump-and-run maneuver on the last-lap.

Brian Scott almost pulled off an upset in the series’ last trip to Richmond. Scott dominated and led 237 of 250 laps. However, he did not lead the one that counted the most, and Brad Keselowski stole the race to keep the Cup dominance going. Scott hopes to settle some unfinished business and become the next trend ender.

Chase Elliott is on fire. He’s won the last two races. No non-Cup Series driver has won three Nationwide races in a row since 1999. That driver was Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott’s owner. Elliott’s talent, combined with Hendrick horsepower, makes him a threat to win every weekend.

Elliott Sadler, who just came up short at Darlington, is also one to watch next week. Sadler has five top-10 finishes in his last seven starts, including one top-five.  Joe Gibbs racing usually have good cars at the track. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have combined for four Nationwide wins and six Sprint Cup series wins at the short track.

Will the Cup guys continue their dominance or will we see another trend come to an end?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stat of the day: No rookies have ever won at Darlington

When a driver hits the wall at Darlington Raceway, they have earned their “Darlington Stripe”.
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According to iFantasyrace.com, no rookie has ever won their first career start at Darlington Raceway. In 1961, Nelson Stacy won in his second career Sprint Cup Series start at the track they say is “too tough to tame,” and that is the earliest a rookie has won at Darlington.

Texas Motor Speedway’s “Big Hoss” Breaks Record

The AT&T Stadium video board has nothing on Texas Motor Speedway’s “Big Hoss”.
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I guess everything is bigger in Texas. According to Motorsports Talk, Texas Motor Speedway’s new jumbotron, “Big Hoss”, will be the largest high-definition video board in the world.

Is Kyle Busch jinxed at his home track?

Kyle Busch is probably disgruntled that he has only won one race at his home track.
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Kyle Busch is easily one of the best NASCAR drivers out there right now. Busch has particularly dominated the Nationwide and Truck Series. For instance, he is the all-time wins leader in the Nationwide Series with 64 career wins and counting. However, his home track has eluded him.

Believe it or not, Busch does not have a Nationwide Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His average finish is 19.8 in the last 10 races there. Busch finished 30th or worse on four of those occasions including three wrecks. This is surprising considering he has a win at the track he despises most: Kansas.

Last season, Busch came so close to getting the monkey off his back. He led 13 laps, but finished second to Sam Hornish Jr., who clearly had the car to beat that day. Hornish led a race-high 114 laps.

Is this the year? Perhaps. Odds are that he will win one before he retires. After all, he was able to find victory lane at Vegas in the Cup Series in 2009. Busch is off to a good start, as he posted the second fastest lap in the opening practice for Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300.

Phoenix Dark Horses: Brian Scott and Dylan Kwasniewski

Phoenix International Raceway has produced some surprise winners in the past. Will anyone join that list today?
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The NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Phoenix International Raceway has not started yet, and the script appears to have been already set. Fans will expect the finish to be decided by one of the Sprint Cup Series drivers in the event. Last season, the Cup guys won 24 of the 27 companion weekend races on the schedule.

Kyle Busch is the favorite, as he has four victories, and seven top 10 finishes in the last nine Nationwide races he entered at Phoenix. Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and Brad Keselowski are expected to be Busch’s main threats. Keselowski has been fast all weekend, claiming both Coors Light pole awards, and Harvick has won two of the last three Sprint Cup races at Phoenix.

However, there are two drivers that fans and their competition should keep an eye on in today’s race. The first one is Brian Scott. Yes, the same Scott who wrecked many of Joe Gibbs’ race cars. Since Phoenix International Raceway was reconfigured in 2011, Scott has excelled at this track. With the exception of his first lap crash in November of 2011, Scott has never finished outside the top 15, including two top 10 finishes. He also won a truck race at Phoenix in 2012. Last season, Scott showed a tremendous amount of improvement. He finished 2013 with three top five finishes, 13 top 10’s, and a seventh place finish in the standings, all were career highs. Maybe all he needed was a change of scenery. He moved from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing in 2013. Scott will line up second in today’s race.

Another driver to keep an eye on will be rookie Dylan Kwasniewski. After crashing in two cars in his first visit to the track, Kwasniewski bounced back with two runner-up finishes in the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races at the track. The rookie stole headlines last weekend by winning the pole at Daytona. Now, Kwasniewski will look to build on his early season momentum, and prove he belongs in the Nationwide Series.