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Bowyer wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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SM Staff
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[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Clint Bowyer saved enough fuel over the final 56 laps to win Saturday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Who thought in a million years I’d walk into the situation I’ve walked into?” Bowyer said in victory lane.

Bowyer beat Denny Hamlin by .417 seconds in route to his third win of the season and the first in the chase.

Jimmie Johnson finished third, Greg Biffle fourth and Kyle Busch finished fifth.

Points leader Brad Keselowski, who ran out of fuel before his final pit stop, finished 11th and now holds a 7 point advantage over Johnson in the series standings.

“It’s blackjack, you’re not going to win every hand. When you got a bad deal you have to try not to have too many chips on the table.” Keselowski said.

Across the United States, homecoming is a traditionally celebrated at high schools and colleges through the month of October. Race weekend in Charlotte has the same feel. After all, the Charlotte, NC area is home to many of the teams and the fall race is an opportunity for the teams to gather with old friends and enjoy the weekend.

Charlotte found itself in the middle of homecoming, without it’s king. On Thursday, the news came that fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. would miss the next two races. The loss of Earnhardt felt like losing the star quarterback the day prior to the big game.

Second String

Regan Smith was given the opportunity to drive the No.88 car during the absence of Earnhardt. Smith was the last to take the track on Thursday during the first practice session due to the changes that had to be made to the car. Watching Smith in his garage, I saw the image of a young man waiting anxiously to open his Christmas presents. It was clear that he was eager to go.

This was not a good weekend for the legion of 88 fans. Smith qualified 26th for the Bank of America 500 and quickly made his way through the field, moving into the top ten and appearing to be poised go further, when the engine blew. One was left to wonder what could have been.

“Needed one more stop and I think we would have had it dialed in and then just chased the weather from that point on. It’s disappointing. It’s a good team, it’s a good car and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports does a great job. I’m looking forward to next week.” Smith said.

The Points

I would love to see Nascar tweak the points system used in the Chase. As it currently stands, it is extremely difficult for a team to recover from a bad weekend. Jeff Gordon is a prime example. Gordon suffered a bad day on the first race of the Chase in Chicago. Since then he has continued the solid run that he had the last six weeks of the season, which got him into the playoffs. However, the hole was too deep.

My recommendation is that during the Chase, the 12 drivers that are competing, are given points differently than the rest of the field. There would only be 12 points available, and only 3 points for a victory bonus. The Chase driver that has the worst finish in the event but would be scored the equivalent of twelfth versus, say 35th. This would allow drivers to dig their way out after a bad day and would hopefully have more drivers eligible going to Homestead.

The Track

Every time I spend time at the track, I find interesting things and lots of interesting observations –

Grit Chips – Samples were given out of Jeff Foxworthy’s new Grit Chips. Chips made from grits. What else could a southern boy love? The chips are glouten free, for those that are limited in their diets, and are delicious. I was told they began shipping to stores this past week – look for them.

Entertainment – Charlotte Motor Speedway always does a great job with their pre-race entertainment and Saturday was no different. Big & Rich got the crowd fired up and it was interesting to see daredevil Nik Wallenda walk a tight rope from the top of the grandstands to victory lane. However, for me, honoring America’s finest is always a highlight of any weekend at the track. No thank you ever seems sufficient when you see those that have given so much, including the members of the Wounded Warriors project that played a big part in the pre-race.

Fans – The fans are what racing is all about. Sports like to claim thy have the best fans, but I would argue with any of them when it comes to Nascar. Race fans are like no other. They love to have a good time, but I find them very generous as well. I am always amazed when I am working around the track how many will offer a cold drink on hot day or something to eat. For those of us that do this – thank you to each and everyone one of you!

Unofficial Race Results
Bank of America 500, Charlotte
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=31
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Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
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1 – 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 47
2 – 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 43
3 – 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 42
4 – 16 Greg Biffle Ford 41
5 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 39
6 – 55 Mark Martin Toyota 39
7 – 99 Carl Edwards Ford 37
8 – 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 36
9 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 35
10 – 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 34
11 – 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 35
12 – 43 Aric Almirola Ford 32
13 – 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 31
14 – 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 30
15 – 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
16 – 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 28
17 – 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 27
18 – 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 27
19 – 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 25
20 – 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 24
21 – 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 23
22 – 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
23 – 38 David Gilliland Ford 21
24 – 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 20
25 – 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 19
26 – 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 18
27 – 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 17
28 – 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 16
29 – 13 Casey Mears Ford 15
30 – 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 14
31 – 98 Michael McDowell Ford 13
32 – 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 12
33 – 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 12
34 – 34 David Ragan Ford 10
35 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 0
36 – 32 Timmy Hill Ford 8
37 – 30 David Stremme Toyota 7
38 – 88 Regan Smith Chevrolet 6
39 – 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
40 – 195 Scott Speed Ford 4
41 – 191 Reed Sorenson Toyota 0
42 – 37 J.J. Yeley Ford 2
43 – 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 1

Ford Charlotte Post-Race Quotes

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SM Archive
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Elliott Sadler declares ‘this is fun for me’ as championship battle nears conclusion

By
SM Staff
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[media-credit name=”Greg Arthur” align=”alignright” width=”222″][/media-credit]With the final four races of the Nationwide Series ahead, before the crowing of a champion commences in Homestead-Miami, Elliott Sadler continues to move ever closer to seeing that it’s him.

Sadler finished third on Friday night in Charlotte, after leading on four different occasions for 22 laps. He had started from the pole. Sadler’s 14th top five finish of the year was enough to gain nine points on Ricky Stenhouse Jr., extending his lead to 13 heading into Kansas.

“It was a good run for us. Anytime you gain points on your competitors, to run like we did, we led laps, sat on the pole, finished third, we’re going call this a good night,” said Sadler after the Dollar General 300, which he badly wanted to win for his mother, Bell, who was in attendance with the rest of the Sadler family. It was the first time in a long time that Sadler’s had his family at the track and his mother is a breast cancer survivor.

“We didn’t get the win but we did finish third in our pink car and felt like we learned some things tonight that’s going to help us for the other mile-and-a-half’s left. So, all in all, going to call it a good day.”

Three of the season’s final four races are at mile-and-a-half tracks. Sadler and the men he’s battling in the championship, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and teammate Austin Dillon, have each won at one of those tracks. Sadler won in Phoenix, Stenhouse in Texas, while Dillon swept the races in Kentucky. The two continue to put distance on Dillon for the championship however, looking to make it a repeat of last season in Homestead, the two settling it between themselves.

Thus far, Sadler holds the advantage. That’s if there’s any advantage at all. Both have been in this position before, both have the experience and the equipment to get it done. Yet whereas Stenhouse already has a title under his belt, Sadler doesn’t see any pressure for himself to do the same.

“I’m going to be honest with you, this is fun. This is fun for me; I’ve been in a lot different situation in a racecar than what I am right now,” he said on Friday night. “I’ve got a great race team, I’ve got a hell of a owner that’s all about racing. We’re all pulling the string the same direction; our teams all work well together. This is fun, it’s fun being competitive every weekend and running for a championship if you’re competitive, that’s what we do, this is what it’s all about.

“I’m definitely cherishing this moment, I cherished last year even though we didn’t win the championship, it was fun being in that battle. And I’m doing it again this year, this is what racings all about. Showing up knowing you’re going to be competitive. Knowing under pressure you better do your job, don’t make any mistakes, get on pit road like your suppose to, didn’t make any mistakes with lapped cars. But at the end of the day, this is what we do.

“So to me I’m looking at it as fun, this is what you dream of as a kid. To have a kick ass race team that shows up every week that’s behind you one hundred percent and you get to go out and battle every weekend. So that’s my mentality for it.”

A mentality that drives Sadler in stretching his lead because he knows it’s far from over, no lead is safe. Not just because of the adage that anything can happened, but because there is still one unpredictable race ahead, one with a big question mark.

Next weekend’s race at Kansas will be on a new track surface as it was recently repaved. There will be a test session on Thursday, which will give drivers their first look at the new speedway. Through 29 weekend this season Sadler, Stenhouse and Dillon have shown how evenly matched they are, never seeming to finish far from each other. On display again Friday as Sadler and company took just gas only on their final stop in hopes of not giving up track position or risking a mistake on pit road. He finished third, Dillon was sixth and Stenhouse seventh.

Now, so late in the season it’s all about taking what you can get making the right calls, keeping yourself in contention and near your contenders. Suddenly Kansas and it’s uncertainty becomes a big part in determining this season’s champion.

“Texas, we’ve already raced there this year, we’ve already raced at Phoenix, which we were able to win Phoenix,” said Sadler looking at the upcoming schedule and what he expects. “Ricky won at Texas, so we know what’s going to happen there. Homestead is the normal old Homestead that we know a lot about. So, I would say Kansas right now is the last kind of wildcard race.”

And when it comes to mile-and-a-half tracks, all three of the contenders have respectable average finishes. Something Sadler is well aware of, predicting all three will continue to run around each other and keep the fight close. This one, he says, is going all the way down to Homestead.

As such, states Sadler, “That means you better have your mess together and run in the top four or five or you’re going to lose points to the other two guys.”

Samantha Busch Wins Toyota Racing for Awareness Contest

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SM Archive
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Mike Wallace battles handling of No. 01 G&K Services Chevrolet at Charlotte

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SM Archive
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Impressive Season Rolls On: Logano Wins First Charlotte NNS Race

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SM Archive
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Richard Petty Motorsports Nationwide Race Report – Charlotte

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SM Archive
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SRT Motorsports – Nationwide Post-Race Quotes – Charlotte 2

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SM Archive
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Toyota NNS Charlotte Post-Race Notes & Quotes

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SM Archive
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Logano wins the Dollar General 300 at Charlotte

By
SM Staff
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[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”257″][/media-credit]Joey Logano won the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for his eighth win of the season and the 1 7th NNS victory of his career.  Logano led a race-high 62 laps of 200 en route to his first NNS victory at the mile-and-a-half Charlotte oval.

“We had to work really hard for this.  The 22 (Brad Keselowski) was pretty good the mid-part of the race. He made some good adjustments, I found a new line and was able to make this GameStop Toyota fast enough to win. It was really cool to win a Dollar General race — that is one of our sponsors here at Joe Gibbs Racing. Cool to win that race for them.” Logano said.

Kevin Harvick finished second, Elliott Sadler third, Kyle Busch fourth and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 5.

“Tonight, you just got back in traffic and couldn’t really do much. Mike Beam (crew chief) and the guys did a good job and everybody at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports).  They’ve produced some good cars and we’ve been finishing up front. Top-three, top-four, top-five week in and week out. It’s all we had here in Charlotte.” Busch said.

Sadler started on the pole and led the field into turn 1 and cleared Austin Dillon, then the caution came out for the No.00 of Angela Cope smashed her radiator when everybody checked up on she ran into the back of another car.

The green flag waved on lap 10 with Sadler back in the lead. He got a okay restart but Stenhouse Jr. got up to second and tried to take the lead but Sadler shut the door. The second caution waved when the No.12 of Sam Hornish Jr. and the No.31 Justin Allgaier both got into each other. Hornish was trying to take the over the spot but got two high and forced Allgaier into the wall which sent Hornish Jr. into the wall. Hornish went to the garage while Allgaier tried to fix it on pit road. They found out they had two much damage and sent him behind the wall.

They went back to green on Lap 15 with Sadler leading it. Stenhouse Jr got a good restart and shot to the lead. Sadler was clearing Harvick for second while Stenhouse began to pull away. Stenhouse led for 35 laps but got in some lap traffic and Harvick took the lead. Sadler overtook Stenhouse Jr. as well.

Green Flag pit stops started to occur with the No.7 car of Danica Patrick. she got four tires and fuel and was away. all of the leaders came in on lap 55 with the No.33 car starting the cycle. Harvick said he was a tick tight, so they gave him a air pressure and four tires with fuel and he was away. His Teammate, Sadler, said he was mostly loose and need grip off the corner. He got a Air Pressure, along with four tires and fuel and was away. It was a very long pitstop for the No.2 team. Stenhouse went in and said he had no front turn and wanted four tires. They gave him that with fuel and tried to fix that with a round out of the right rear and was away.

Harvick took over the lead after pit stops cycled back. Sadler, who had the slow stop, fell back to 7th while Stenhouse Jr got passed by Brad Keselowski. Keselowski took over the lead from Harvick on lap 73.

The third Caution waved on lap 82 when the No.19 of Mike Bliss slammed into the wall in turn 2. He reported on his radio that something was not right so they came in and tried to fix it and sent him back out. It did not work. He got out of his car and was okay but had to go to the mandatory trip to the infield care center. all of the leaders pitted under this caution  Stenhouse Jr came in telling the crew he was loose. Logano came in and was tight and got 1 round up on the track-bar and tires with fuel. Denny Hamlin only got two tires and was the first one off pit road. Dillon got a penalty for a tire violation and had to go to the rear of the field for the restart.

They went back to green on lap 87 but that did not last long when the No.38 of Brad Sweet got loose in turn 4 and bumped into Michael Annett like a bumper car and spun out onto the front stretch grass. Dillon was one of the few cars that came in and got fuel only.

They went back to green on lap 95 with Hamlin leading but it did not last long as the No.20 of Logano took the lead while Hamlin was getting pushed back. Keselowski took the lead from Logano a couple laps later and pulled away.

Caution waved once again with 69 laps to go with Debris on the speedway. Keselowski really needed this caution as he had a huge piece of garbage on his splitter and he will get to remove it with coming down pit road.  All of the leaders came in with the No.22 bringing them down.  Keselowski got 4 tires with no chassis adjustment and got two pieces of tape off the grill. Stenhouse Jr told his crew chief that he was little tight, rolling in the center and was little free off. He got them to go down on the track bar and a slight air pressure in the right front. Logano got one up on the track bar and was wanting it to get the car turn into the corner. Sadler got a track bar for his tight condition and got a great pit stops and was the first one to leave pits.

Sadler led the field back to the green but Logano took it away in turn 1 when he was on the high side and cleared the #2. He had a 0.664 second lead over Sadler but was also having to keep Harvick away. Sadler also lost 3rd to Keselowski on lap 149.  Harvick took over the lead with 45 laps to go but everybody is 5-10 laps short of fuel.Logano did not give up and took the lead in turn 4 but Harvick made the slide job work perfectly and kept lead. Harvick got slowed up by a lap car and lost his momentum and fell back to third.

Everybody will have to come in for a little stop and go for fuel. Hamlin started the Green Flag pit stops and he took 2 tires with fuel instead of just taking fuel.  Dillon comes on to pit road with 19 to go and also took tires and fuel with a 7.3 pit stop time. Lagano come in 4 laps later and also takes 2 tires and fuel and leaves with a very fast pit stop of 6.4. Harvick comes in and only takes fuel as Sadler did. Stenhouse Jr took 2 tires and fuel and was off. Keselowski went in and took only fuel but there is some concern that they did not get all the fuel in.

Logano retook the lead after the green flag stops. Keselowski did not get enough fuel in and had to come in again with 4 laps to go.  He finished 18th, 1 lap down.

Sadler now holds a 13 point lead in the series standings over Stenhouse Jr.

“From a fan’s perspective, I think this was one of the best races of the year. When I was running fourth, the leaders were three wide the whole race. These cars put on such a good show with the rules package we have. I’m just really happy my family was here with me. My mom got to ride around in the truck with me when we got the pole. All in all, it’s been a really good night for the company.” Sadler said.

“We just made a mistake on the pit stop, and we will go back out there next week at Kansas and get them. We will come back and get them. There are still four races left, so there is still plenty of time.” Stenhouse Jr. said.

Unofficial Race Results
Dollar General 300, Charlotte Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=29
=========================================
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
=========================================
1 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
2 – 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
3 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 42
4 – 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
5 – 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
6 – 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 38
7 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 38
8 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 37
9 – 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
10 – 43 Michael Annett Ford 34
11 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 33
12 – 198 Reed Sorenson Ford 32
13 – 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 31
14 – 136 Ryan Blaney Chevrolet 30
15 – 38 Brad Sweet * Chevrolet 29
16 – 44 Jeff Green Toyota 28
17 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 28
18 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
19 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 25
20 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 24
21 – 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 23
22 – 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 22
23 – 14 Eric McClure Toyota 21
24 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 20
25 – 108 Kyle Fowler Ford 19
26 – 124 David Starr Toyota 0
27 – 39 Jeffrey Earnhardt Ford 17
28 – 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 16
29 – 15 Stanton Barrett Ford 15
30 – 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet 0
31 – 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet 13
32 – 199 John Wes Townley Toyota 0
33 – 41 Timmy Hill Ford 0
34 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 10
35 – 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 9
36 – 19 Mike Bliss Toyota 8
37 – 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 7
38 – 47 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 0
39 – 174 David Green Chevrolet 5
40 – 175 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0
41 – 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
42 – 10 Charles Lewandoski Toyota 2
43 – 100 Angela Cope Toyota 0
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