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Austin Dillon Continues Climb Up NASCAR Ladder

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SM Staff
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Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

Slow and steady wins the race. Austin Dillon has been slowly and steadily climbing NASCAR’s ranks over the past four years. He isn’t being rushed or forced into anything; he’s progressing and moving forward at a constant, but rewarding rate. Dillon hasn’t been put in any situation he isn’t ready for and that may allow him to be more successful down the road. This Nationwide Series championship shows that Dillon is ready for that next step. He has been preparing and his success shows he’s ready.

Two years ago, talk of Dillon’s first Camping World Truck Series championship filled NASCAR. Dillon competed in two season’s of truck action. The first was meant for learning. Dillon demonstrated his knowledge by winning the championship in the second. Following this success, Dillon embarked on the Nationwide Series where a similar path was to be followed.

2012 was another growing year for Dillon. His first full-time experience in the Nationwide Series required some getting used to, but he was able to pick up the pace quickly. That allowed Dillon to prepare for another potential championship winning year in 2013. He wasn’t necessarily demonstrating his prowess throughout the year, but he played the consistent card to aid in his title run. His consistency put him in position to take the championship in his second full-time Nationwide Series season.

Compared to other drivers making the jump from Nationwide to Cup, Dillon has the potential to fare better due to the valuable experience he has gained. With his move to Cup being everything but a secret, expect Dillon to be a rather successful rookie. He knows what goes into being a successful driver. That information is hard to come by and with it, Dillon may do great things.

Positions are everything in NASCAR. The better the position, the more successful the driver. Austin Dillon has been put in some of the best positions over the years. He was driven to succeed and he did just that. This Nationwide Series championship may not have been the smoothest, but the crown is now his.

Dillon’s next step is the Sprint Cup Series. He’s prepared, focused, and ready to take on the demands Cup racing offers. Finding a driver with those qualities is hard to come by which proves just how ready Dillon is for the next step.

RCR Post Race Report — Homestead-Miami Speedway

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SM Archive
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Keselowski Victory Gives Ford NASCAR Nationwide Manufacturers’ Championship

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SM Archive
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Austin Dillon Crowned 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion

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SM Archive
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Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

NASCAR Drive For Diversity Graduate Kyle Larson Wins NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie Of The Year Award

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Dillon wins championship amidst controversial finish

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Noel Lanier/ On Pit Road.com

Brad Keselowski won the Ford Ecoboost 300, but that win was overshadowed by a championship wrapped in controversy.

Austin Dillon struggled with handling problems most of the night. His team led by crew chief, Danny Stockman, made several of adjustments throughout the race and managed to help the car significantly.

As the race progressed, Dillon slowly and methodically worked his way toward the front. Even with the improvements, however, he was still a couple of points behind Sam Hornish Jr. who was running in the top-5 for most of the night.

Race strategy came into play as the eighth caution of the night came out on lap 155. The Stockman led team of Dillon, were watching Hornish to see if they would take tires or wait. Their plan was to copy whatever the No. 12 car did. Hornish’s team installed their last set of Goodyear sticker tires and Dillon’s team followed suit. Several other teams chose to save their final sets until later. This would be a key factor later in the race.

Regan Smith made contact and brought out the final caution on lap 184 when Regan Smith made contact with Jeremy Clements causing a multi-car crash on the frontstretch. The team who had saved their tires hit pit road to bolt their final sets on and make final adjustments. This set up a scenario where cars that were already as fast as Dillon, now had the extra benefit of fresh tires. Hornish looked to be in good shape as these cars would have had plenty of time to overtake Dillon and give Hornish the cushion he needed to clinch the title.

The controversy came when it became obvious that the cleanup on the frontstretch would take longer than expected. In a move that has been questioned by many, NASCAR chose not to throw red flag. The field was allowed to run under caution for twelve laps. The race was not restarted until lap 196. If the red had been thrown, the race could have been restarted with at least ten to go, giving the contenders much more time to race for the title.

Dillon talked about his race and his championship, “I was very close to wrecking that car trying to get more speed out of it, I hit the wall that one time and I told myself, I said if I go out there and the wall the next lap and take ourselves out of this championship, I’m giving it to him. I got to make it to the end and it worked out.”

When asked about seeing Hornish right in front of him on the restarts, Dillon replied, “Do everything I could do to put stress on him. Make sure that he knew I was there. The last one, I knew with five to go our car was good enough. If I could somehow get him off his rocker, get him frustrated somehow, it would work.”

A disappointed Hornish commented about the season and the night, “You can’t give away points throughout the year like we did at times – some was the driver’s fault and some was out of our control. We had it for most of the night and I knew that Austin was obviously trying to take care of the everything and make sure that he made it to the end, and then you had the late caution and a lot of guys had tires and came.”

When asked about all of the caution laps at the end of the race, Hornish replied, “What can I say? Any other time there probably would have been a caution. It’s just one of those things that it wasn’t meant to be tonight so we’ll just take what we learned and try to do the best with it for here on out.”

The decision to not throw the red flag completely altered the scenario for the race. If the race had restarted with ten to go, Hornish would have the upper hand. By waiting until four to go, Dillon did not have to fend off the challengers with new tires, making the path to the championship much easier.

Robin Pemberton was asked why the decision was made to not throw the red flag. Pemberton responded, “It really looked like it was going to be a typical clean-up, a typical wreck. You know, you had two cars that had a lot of damage and both of them dumped quite a bit of oil. There was no need to throw a red.  We felt like we could get it in a normal lap segment of that. You know, unfortunately there was a lot of oil – it looked like it kept either seeping back up out of the race track or whatever from the car that was on the outside of the wall. And you know, we went one to go a handful of times trying to get the track ready.”  When asked if there was a time constraint due to TV he replied, “No, there was nothing like that.” Unfortunately, Pemberton was not asked why they did not throw the red once it was realized the clean-up was not typical.

In this writer’s opinion, we have not been given a valid reason why twelve of the final sixteen laps of the final race of the season, with so much on the line from driver’s championship to owner’s championship to manufacturer’s championship, should have been ran under caution. This was a bad call all around, and there is no other way to say it.

There needs to be a much more clearly defined policy regarding this situation. The series can never plan for every variable, but it usually reacts very well when a scenario sheds light on a problem. This is one of those times. This championship will always have an asterisk beside of it in the minds of many. Hopefully, NASCAR will rectify the problem and prevent it from happening in the future.

Lap by Lap: Ford EcoBoost 300 won by Brad Keselowski

By
SM Staff
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Brad Keselowski would take the lead on a late race restart to win his seventh race of the season.

Meanwhile, Austin Dillon fought back from having an ill-handling car early to win the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship, three points ahead of Sam Hornish Jr.

By Joey Logano finishing sixth, he would win the Owner’s Championship for Roger Penske and Penske Racing with the No. 22 Ford.

 

First 30 laps: Hornish Jr. led

Lap 31 Hornish Jr. leads Logano Larson Busch Kenseth Keselowski Koch Scott Sadler Allgaier while Dillon runs 13th. Hornish Jr. leads Dillon by nine points as they run.

Lap 33 Larson passes Logano for second

Lap 36 Larson slips behind Logano after getting into the wall

Lap 37 Larson slips back past Logano for second

Lap 38 Larson to the lead

Lap 44 Larson leads Logano Busch Hornish Kenseth Koch Keselowski Sadler Kligerman Allgaier. Sadler passes Keselowski for seventh

Lap 45 Busch passes Logano for second – owner’s points battle there. Hornish runs third, sitting three points ahead of Dillon points wise.

Caution lap 47 debris turn two. Leaders head down pit road. Busch leads Kenseth Larson Logano Hornish Jr. Koch Sadler Keselowski off pit road.

Restart lap 52 Busch and Kenseth side-by-side for the lead

Lap 53 Busch leads Kenseth Larson Hornish Logano off of turn two. Kenseth back underneath Busch off of turn four.

Lap 54 Kenseth takes the lead from Busch ahead of Larson and Hornish

Caution lap 56 Corey LaJoie goes for a spin. Leaders stay out but others pit, including Dillon.

Dillon runs 23rd; Hornish Jr. runs fourth. Hornish Jr. leads Dillon by 13 points.

Kyle Busch runs 2nd. Joey Logano runs 5th. Busch has led lap while Logano hasn’t. That means we’ve got tie for owner’s points

Restart lap 61 Kenseth and Busch side-by-side for the lead.

Lap 63 Busch to the lead ahead of Kenseth Hornish Keselowski Larson Sadler Kligerman Logano Herring Allgaier. Allgaier by Herring for ninth.

Lap 65 Keselowski slips by Kenseth and is looking for the lead on Busch

Caution lap 66 debris

Restart lap 70 Busch and Keselowski side-by-side for the lead

Lap 71 Keselowski leads Busch as Logano, Larson and Hornish got three-wide. Logano grabs third ahead of Larson.

Lap 72 Logano underneath Busch for second ahead of Hornish Larson Kenseth Sadler Allgaier Kligerman and Herring

Lap 73 Kligerman by Allgaier for eighth; Busch clears Logano for second ahead of Hornish

Lap 74 Keselowski leads Logano Busch Hornish Kenseth Larson Sadler Kligerman Allgaier Sweet. Sadler by Larson. Austin Dillon runs 17th, now sitting seven points behind Hornish in points

No. 22 leads No. 54 by four points in owner’s standings. Came in that way and Busch leading lap keeps even.

Lap 76 Herring and Smith by Sweet. Dillon up to 16th, six points behind Hornish.

Lap 83 Logano takes the lead from Keselowski. Logano leads now owner’s standings by six points now with leading the race and leading a lap.

Lap 87 Logano leads Keselowski Busch Hornish Kenseth Larson Sadler Kligerman Allgaier and Herring. Dillon currently runs 16th, six points behind Hornish in points.

Lap 90 Kenseth passes Hornish for fourth. Hornish’s points lead now shrunk to five points.

Lap 93 Logano leads Keselowski Busch Kenseth Hornish Larson

Caution lap 97 debris. Leaders head down pit road. Logano leads Busch Kenseth Larson Hornish Sadler Keselowski and Allgaier off pit road. Dillon runs 12th.

Restart lap 102 Logano and Busch side-by-side for the lead

Lap 103 Busch leads Logano and Larson

Lap 105 Busch leads Logano Larson Hornish Kenseth Keselowski Kligerman Sadler Allgaier and Bayne. Dillon runs 11th to therefore give Hornish a one point lead

Lap 107 Hornish reports a vibration

Lap 108 Keselowski by Kenseth for fifth; Dillon back to 13th to give Hornish a three point lead.

Lap 110 Logano challenges Busch for the lead. Busch holds him off down the backstretch

Lap 112 Logano challenges Busch again, Busch holds him off

Lap 113 Busch leads Logano Larson Keselowski Hornish Kenseth Allgaier Kligerman Bayne Scott Smith Dillon

Lap 114 Logano looks for the lead once again

Lap 115 Busch holds Logano behind him….Larson passes Logano for second

Lap 120 Hornish falls back to sixth after being passed by Kenseth. Dillon runs 12th. The pair are tied. Hornish shall get tie breaker with win

Caution lap 121 Sweet goes for a spin. Some leaders pit, others stay out including Keselowski and Kligerman. Bayne leads Busch Logano Larson Allgaier Sadler Hornish ADillon Smith TDillon off pit road.

Restart lap 126 Kligerman pulls ahead as Penske pair duo for second…….Logano pulls alongside Kligerman for lead, Larson goes to the outside of Logano for lead

Lap 127 Logano and Larson side-by-side for lead. Larson pulls ahead of Logano. Kligerman falls to fourth behind Hornish

Caution lap 128 Kevin Swindell goes for a spin and hits the inside wall.

Hornish 3rd. Dillon 11th. Hornish leads Dillon by 2 points as they run.

Logano has the No. 22 up in the 2nd spot behind Larson. Busch runs seventh. As long as Logano keeps up there with Busch behind him. Penske has the owner’s points.

Laps led: Hornish 37, KyBsuch 27, Keselowski 22, Lgoano 20, Larson 17, Kenseth 9.

Restart lap 133 Logano leads ahead of Larson as Keselowski, Hornish battle for third. Keselowski with the advantage down the front stretch ahead of Sadler and Hornish

Lap 137 Logano leads Larson Sadler Hornish Keselowski Allgaier Busch Smith Kenseth Kligerman. Allgaier and Busch by Keselowski

Lap 139 Smith by Keselowski

Lap 140 Logano leads Larson Sadler Hornish Allgaier Busch Smith Keselowski Kligerman Dillon. Hornish leads by one point.

Lap 144 Dillon gets into the wall. ESPN showed the replay. Dillon gets into the wall by himself and then contact from Koch. Heads-up driving by Koch and Dillon there.

Caution lap 148 Kligerman goes for a spin after tire goes flat. Leaders head down pit road. Logano leads Sadler Smith Reed Annett Larson Sweet Busch Hornish Allgaier Keselowski Herring Kenseth ADillon and Bayne off pit road. Ty Dillon and Pastrana stayed out

Restart 47 to go Ty Dillon grabs the lead as they scatter behind him. Sweet gets into the wall mid-pack. Sweet got loose and multiple bumps from Allgaier finishes it off. Caution.

“He just came up and doored me and then slipped in front of me and I couldn’t get slowed up – JA

“That’s what happens when you block.” – Spotter

Restart 41 to go Larson and Ty Dillon side-by-side for the lead

40 to go Larson to the lead as Busch grabs second from Ty Dillon. Hornish side-by-side with Ty for third. Hornish takes third.

38 to go Larson leads Ky Busch Hornish Keselowski Kenseth Allgaier Bayne Logano Smith Dillon

34 to go Larson side-by-side with Kyle Busch and Busch takes the lead off of turn two

33 to go Dillon by Smith for ninth. Driver’s points tied now between Hornish and Dillon. Hornish will win tie breaker with Vegas win

32 to go Larson takes the lead in turn two with slide job. Sam gets into the job a little.

27 to go Larson leads KyBusch Hornish Keselowski Kenseth Allgaier Bayne Logano Kligerman and Dillon. Hornish leads drivers points by one point.

Caution 22 to go Allgaier goes for a spin. He got into the turn four wall the lap before.  Those who have tires pit while others stay out. Larson leads Busch Hornish Kenseth Whitt Dillon Herring Green Clements Wallace Long and Silas. Keselowski first out with tires to restart 13th. Logano to restart 17th.

With Larson now leading 37 laps, Hornish loses the extra bonus point. Hornish has led 36 laps. Hornish run 3rd, Dillon 6th. Dillon leads by 4 over Hornish in points deal.

Busch restarts 2nd. Logano restarts 17th. Needless to say, the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team has the advantage right now

Restart 18 to go Larson leads Busch off turn two. Dillon tried to make move underneath Hornish, Hornish down a little as Dillon slows. Wreck behind them as Jeremy Clements, Mike Wallace and Smith have a big wreck. Caution. Smith thought he’d cleared both Clements and Wallace and wasn’t quite clear.

15 to go. Larson KyBusch Hornish Kenseth ADillon Whitt Bayne Herring Kligerman Keselowsk. Right now, Dillon has a 5-pt lead on Hornish.

Restart 5 to go Larson pulls head through turn one

3 to go Keselowski looking for second round Kyle Busch…….looking for lead on Larson. Keselowski to the lead in turn three.

2 to go Keselowski leads Larson KyBusch Kenseth Logano Bayne Kligerman Hornish Whitt Piquet Dillon

Final lap

Brad Keselowski wins the race. Larson. KyBusch. Kenseth. Bayne. Logano. Kligerman. Hornish Jr. Whitt. Piquet Jr. Koch. Dillon. Dillon wins the championship by three points.

Kyle Busch Motorsports Shuts Down Nationwide Operation

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Kala Perkins

Following the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Kyle Busch announced during post-race interviews that  Kyle Busch Motorsports won’t field a NNS entry in 2014 due to lack of funding. Kyle Busch Motorsports team will focus their attention primarily to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, hoping to get funding for their drivers there.

“There’s absolutely no funding in this world.” Kyle Busch said after Saturday’s event

Busch mentioned that right now as it stands, KBM will be fielding two trucks – one for Darrell Wallace Jr. and one for Busch to split with Erik Jones. Joey Coulter looks to be out of a ride due to lack of sponsorship.

Parker Kligerman has been competing for KBM this year in the Nationwide Series. Kligerman ended the season on a high-note, finishing seventh at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kligerman will finish the season ninth in the standings after posting three top five finishes.

The future remains cloudy for Kligerman, although he’s possibly leaned towards running with Swan Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season but that hasn’t been confirmed. Swan Racing will field Kligerman in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at HMS.

“I want to say a big set-off everyone, thanks to Kyle Busch Motorsports for the opportunity and good luck to everyone in the off-season,” Kligerman commented after the race on YouTube

INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – Nov. 15, 2013

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SM Archive
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Hornish wins the pole for the Ford Ecoboost 300

By
SM Staff
-
Photo Credit: Noel Lanier/On Pit Road

Sam Hornish Jr. who is chasing his first NASCAR championship this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, is doing everything he can do to accomplish his goal He was fastest in first practice and has now backed that up by being fastest in qualifying.

Hornish, driving the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Mustang, turned in a lap of 165.843 MPH to score his fourth pole of the season and the fifth of his career.

Hornish edged out Blake Koch, who is making his debut for RAB Racing in the No. 99 Compression Racing.com Toyota that was driven by Alex Bowman until this week. Koch posted a lap of 165.781 MPH

Penske driver, Brad Keselowski, will start third on Saturday in the No. 48 Discount Tires Ford. Keselowski posted a lap of 165.756 MPH. Keselowsi could play a role in the outcome of the driver’s championship and the owner’s championship. Both of his Penske teammates are involved in points battles – Sam Hornish battling for the driver’s title, Joey Logano driving the No. 22 will be trying to secure the owner’s championship.

Logano will start fourth in the No.22, with Sprint Cup Series championship contender, Matt Kenseth taking the green in fifth. Austin Dillon, who has an eight point lead over Hornish, will start 11th after posting a lap of 163.825 MPH in his AdvoCare Chevrolet.

The green will fall on the Ford Ecoboost 300 at 4:30 pm local time.

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