Hot 20 over the past 10 – Life is good when you average nearly 40 points per race
While most expect Jimmie Johnson to either claim his 6th straight title, or someone like Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, or Kyle Busch to upset his apple cart, there is a 27 year old from Rochester Hill, Michigan who has his own agenda. Brad Keselowski has been nothing short of amazing over the past ten events, winning a pair and adding an additional five Top Fives to his resume. In fact, he has been in the top dozen of each of those races with the lone exception being his 20th place result at Dover to average 39.9 points per race. It is one of the most impressive streaks of the season, and couldn’t come at a better time. Well, better for him, though not so much for the opposition.
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[/media-credit]The only good news for the rest is that when it comes to Charlotte, his best finish there was 12th two years ago, with an average over four starts of almost 20th. Saturday night should give us an idea as to whether Keselowski is a true contender for the title or just a hot pretender.
Here is a look at our hot 20 (and Denny Hamlin) over the past ten events…
Pos (LW) – Driver – Pts/10 races – (W-T5-T10)
1 (1) Brad Keselowski – 399 pts – (2-7-8)
Is he peaking or just warming up?
2 (4) Jimmie Johnson – 370 pts – (1-6-8)
Just great. It was tough enough to catch him when he wasn’t winning.
3 (5) Carl Edwards – 354 pts – (0-5-8)
Continues to turn crap into roses.
4 (3) Kyle Busch – 353 pts – (1-3-5)
Wins 30% of truck races, over 20% in Nationwide, less than 10% in Cup.
5 (2) Jeff Gordon – 347 pts – (1-4-6)
If win #1 came at Charlotte, why not #86?
6 (6) Kevin Harvick – 345 pts – (1-2-6)
Expect him to be running at the end Saturday, but in what place is anybody’s guess.
7 (7) Matt Kenseth – 333 pts – (0-2-6)
As long as Fluidmaster remains the sponsor, and not what lies under the car, things could go well.
8 (8) Tony Stewart – 321 pts – (2-3-5)
Hey, Danica can be a tough interview, too, just much easier to look at.
9 (9) Ryan Newman – 308 pts – (0-2-5)
Has all sorts of luck, but it just keeps biting him in the ass.
10 (10) Kurt Busch – 306 pts – (1-4-5)
Things are starting to Addington up.
11 (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 293 pts – (0-1-2)
Since he has last won, Jimmie has claimed 21. Just saying…
12 (11) A.J. Allmendinger – 291 pts – (0-0-2)
Last victory was 5 years ago, beating 16 other guys while driving a Champ car.
13 (17) Jeff Burton – 281 pts – (0-0-1)
Tip: Paint it Caterpillar yellow, jack weight to 50 tons, add tracks and dozer, then do your worst.
14 (22) Marcos Ambrose – 277 pts – (1-1-4)
We got Ambrose by trading D.W. to Australia…but he came back.
15 (15) Clint Bowyer – 274 pts – (0-0-4)
Soon to be driving for the best owner ever in NASCAR…and it’s worst ever driver?
16 (14) Mark Martin – 273 pts – (0-1-4)
Old man Martin, that old man Martin, he must know something, but don’t say nothing
17 (23) Kasey Kahne – 266 pts – (0-2-3)
Could he turn out to be a spoiler for his future mates at Hendrick?
18 (19) Greg Biffle – 266 pts – (0-1-3)
Needed more speed at Kansas, but unfortunately found it on pit road
19 (13) Martin Truex Jr – 264 pts – (0-2-2)
Driving the Cup race while 19-year old brother competes in Friday’s Nationwide event.
20 (21) Juan Pablo Montoya – 261 pts – (0-0-2)
Hell, I hear even a blind man can drive around Charlotte.
25 (27) Denny Hamlin – 239 pts – (0-0-3)
What #$%&*! Chase?
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: A TAIL GATE PARTY IN LAS VEGAS
The elite of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be bringing their high energy tail gate party to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Saturday’s running of the Smith’s 350 is expected to be the latest round of truck intensity that this series is famous for. The entry list is a perfect blend of series veterans who knows how to get the job done combined with the younger generation of drivers who are looking to launch their own careers to higher elevations on the NASCAR ladder.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
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[/media-credit]Needless to say, the major story line that will bear watching, during the course of the Las Vegas race, will be the too close to call championship points battle. Austin Dillon, and his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, will arrive in Las Vegas as the points leader. However it’s only a very slim lead of three points over James Buescher and his Turner Motorsports team. Chasing the young guns is series’ veteran Johnny Sauter, and Thorsport Racing, who are only 19 points away. Timothy Peters, Red Horse Racing, and four time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr, Kevin Harvick Inc, completes the top five and are 40 and 42 points away respectively.
Hornaday will be seeking his first ever trip to the Las Vegas victory lane Saturday night. He will be riding on the momentum of winning the last series race at Kentucky. That element of momentum is even higher because Kentucky marked Hornaday’s amazing 50th series win. Despite his 42 point separation from the top of the standings, Hornaday hasn’t completely written off the possibility of a fifth championship this year and said “if I keep getting trucks from Kevin Harvick Inc like the one I drove at Kentucky then it’s doable.”
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Driver Ricky Carmichael will have a very busy schedule this Saturday in Las Vegas. First off, he will be driving his Monster Energy/Turner Motorsports Chevrolet in the Smith’s 350. Carmichael will be making this third start at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he has a personal best ninth place finish.
Right after the race Carmichael will be moving on to downtown Las Vegas where he will provide commentary on the SPEED Channel for the Monster Energy Cup motocross race at the Sam Boyd Stadium. This unique motorcycle event will be held on a special course that was designed by Carmichael and fellow motorcycle racing legend Jeremy McGrath. The Monster Energy Cup features a $250,000 purse with $100,000 going to the winner. There’s also the possibility of a $1 million bonus to any rider who can win all three main events.
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There’s an entertainment philosophy that says “motorsports and Las Vegas simply belongs in the same sentence.” That’s very true and will always be the case. Las Vegas will be rolling out the red carpet for the fans of NASCAR truck racing as well as the fans of the Indy Racing League who will be racing there on Sunday.
A prime example of this is a special autograph session, featuring NASCAR’s truck drivers, that will be held Friday night, from 730 to 9 pm, at the Le Bistro Lounge located in the Riviera Hotel and Casino. Drivers who be on hand for the special fan meet and greet includes Todd Bodine, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, David Starr, Timothy Peters, Miguel Paludo, Dakota Armstrong and Butch Miller.
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THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The Smith’s 350 is 146 laps/219 miles around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The race has 31 posted entries.
Despite it’s massive appearance, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is categorized as an intermediate track. The facility is a 1.5 mile, D shaped, oval. The track presently has seating for 137,00 fans.
The defending race champion is Austin Dillon who won last year’s event from the pole position.
The Smith’s 350 will be broadcast live by the SPEED Channel with the pre-race show beginning at 3 pm eastern time.
