NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Top Performances of 2009
Top Drivers (in alphabetical order)
Kyle Busch – In 15 starts this season, Busch collected seven wins, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. Busch had an average finish of 4.3. His strong performance in the final races of the season had his team owner Billy Ballew in contention for his first NASCAR owners’ title up until the season finale.
Matt Crafton – Finished second in the championship standings, his best finish and fifth top-10 finish in the final standings in nine seasons as a full-time competitor. Crafton earned 11 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes and collected two poles this season. He held the lead in the point standings for two weeks before falling to second behind Hornaday.
Ron Hornaday Jr. – At the age of 51 he becomes the first driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to win a fourth championship. He joins first ballot Hall of Fame selections Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, along with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson as the only drivers to have captured four national series titles. Hornaday added his name to another distinguished list by becoming only the third driver to win five consecutive races in NASCAR’s three national series. Petty and Bobby Allison both won five in a row in 1971 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Ron finished the season with six wins, 15 top-five, 20 top-10 finishes, and four poles.
Raybestos Rookie of the Year
Johnny Sauter – In his first full season in the series, Sauter found the right mix with his ThorSport Racing team to pull ahead in what had been a close battle among the rookie class to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. The Necedah, Wis., native grabbed his first series win at Las Vegas in September. Sauter finished the year sixth in the standings with one win, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes along with two poles.
Top Team Owner of the Year
Kevin and DeLana Harvick – With Ron Hornaday Jr. behind the wheel of the No. 33 Chevrolet, the Kevin Harvick Inc. owners grabbed their second owners’ title. Their first came with Hornaday in 2007. Since entering series competition in 2001, KHI has collected 26 wins, 93 top-fives, 144 top-10s, and 14 poles. Nineteen of those 26 victories have been delivered by Hornaday who joined KHI in 2005.
Top Breakthrough Performers of the Year
Timothy Peters – In his 64th series start, the Danville, Va., resident scored his first victory at what he calls his home track, Martinsville Speedway. Peters started the season with a single-truck team doing a lot with a little. By June he made the move to Red Horse Racing. In addition to his first win, he collected five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes and one pole. Peters ended his season eighth in the final championship standings.
Brian Scott – Scored his first career win at Dover International Speedway in May in his 39th start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The 21-year-old proved tough, finishing among the top of the field with a broken arm earning himself the nickname “One Armed Bandit” from series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. Scott finished the season with one win, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, and seventh in the final championship standings.
Comeback Driver of the Year
Mike Skinner – Rebounded from a disappointing 2008 to finish third in the final championship standings. Skinner, the 1995 series champion, had only one win and finished sixth in the 2008 point standings. With a new team in 2009, he collected three wins, eight top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. His three poles extended his lead in the series for the most all-time poles to 50.
Top Five Races of the Year (in chronological order)
NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway (February 13) – Twelve different drivers swapped the lead 15 times before Todd Bodine made his way to Victory Lane in the season opener. Bodine became the first repeat winner in 10 years of trucks racing at the famed 2.5-mile track.
Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway (June 13) – In his 35th series start Colin Braun grabbed his first career win. The win gave his team, Roush Fenway Racing, its golden 50th win in the series extending its lead for the most wins in the series.
Copart 200 at The Milwaukee Mile (June 20) – Ron Hornaday Jr. celebrated his 51st birthday in Victory Lane after winning for the second time at Milwaukee in 10 starts. It was the second time for Hornaday to win on his birthday. His win, the first in a string of five consecutive, was highlighted by a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0.
Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers at Kentucky Speedway (July 18) – Hornaday continued his hot streak by becoming the first repeat winner at Kentucky. Starting from the pole, Hornaday beat 2007 race winner Mike Skinner by a .135-second Margin of Victory.
Mountain Dew 250 fueled by Fred’s at Talladega Superspeedway (October 31) – Kyle Busch narrowly beat teammate Aric Almirola by .057 seconds, the smallest Margin of Victory of the season. It was the first one-two finish for Billy Ballew Motorsports and Busch’s fourth win in as many starts. There were 21 lead changes among 10 different drivers. The winner only led twice for a total of 10 laps.
Friday, January 1, 2010
NASCAR Nationwide Series Top Performances Of 2009
NASCAR Nationwide Series Top Performances Of 2009
Top Drivers (in alphabetical order)
Kyle Busch – In capturing his first NASCAR national series title and the first series driver championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch put together a dominating year making good on the media’s pre-season prediction for the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Yet, he didn’t run away with the crown, a testament to the overall strength of the series. But make no mistake: Busch was the best. His nine wins led the series and he finished second 11 other times. He led 2,698 of a possible 6,715 laps and posted four perfect 150.0 Driver Ratings. His 25 top-five finishes tied the series record, and in only 173 career starts he has 30 victories, now fourth all-time. He also became the first driver to win two national series races on the same day when he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 21.
Brad Keselowski – In his second full year in the series, Brad Keselowski was expected to improve, but his results exceeded those expectations. After starting 2009 in a slump, he rebounded to win four times – arguably four of the most exciting races of the year – the most for a series-only regular since 2005 and fourth-best in the series in 2009. He won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in just his seventh event and challenged for second in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings until the season finale. His 105.9 Driver Rating is the highest for a series-only regular in a single season. He’ll keep alive this decade’s streak of at least one full-time series-only regular who finished in the top 10 in the standings moving up to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series the following season … and he’ll take his rivalry with Denny Hamlin along with him.
Joey Logano – Lost in the shuffle of Kyle Busch’s dominance, Brad Keselowski’s vast improvement and solid performances by other series-only regulars and double-duty drivers, was the quiet, but steady production of Joey Logano. In 22 NASCAR Nationwide races this year, Logano, 19, registered five wins (tied for second in the series with full-time double-duty driver Carl Edwards), 13 top fives and 16 top 10s. He also won four poles, second to Edwards’ seven in 35 races. Logano made the most of the pole positions, winning twice and finishing second twice in those four starts.
Raybestos Rookie of the Year
Justin Allgaier – The leader of a stellar rookie class, Justin Allgaier fended of challenges from Michael McDowell and Brendan Gaughan – unlike Allgaier, drivers with previous NASCAR national series experience before their NASCAR Nationwide rookie-honor run. Allgiaer captured the award and came within 26 points of fifth in the final standings, a battle he’d waged with Steve Wallace and Mike Bliss before ultimately ceding to Bliss. Allgaier collected three top fives and 12 top 10s in addition to his first career pole (Memphis Motorsports Park). He was one of three rookies (Gaughan, ninth; Michael Annett, 10th) who finished in the top 10 in the standings, a first for the series since 2005 (Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Reed Sorenson).
Top Team Owner
Joe Gibbs Racing – For the second consecutive year, Joe Gibbs Racing ruled the NASCAR Nationwide Series owner standings. And for the first time in four seasons, the organization unified the driver and owner championship with the No. 18 Toyota team of crew chief Jason Ratcliff and driver Kyle Busch. In 2008, JGR’s No. 20 Toyota won the owner title while Clint Bowyer took the driver championship. In 2009, JGR’s two teams combined for 14 wins, 39top fives, 48 top 10s and nine poles.
Top Breakthrough Performers
Justin Allgaier – The 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year parlayed his 2008 ARCA championship into an opportunity with Penske Racing that turned into a successful partnership this season. With his No. 12 Dodge team returning intact along with the added strength of young veteran Brad Keselowski as a teammate, Allgaier could realistically challenge for a top-five standing if not a run at the title in 2010.
Trevor Bayne – He didn’t compete in enough races this year to be considered for Raybestos Rookie of the Year status, and he ran too many to challenge for the award next year. But Trevor Bayne’s results in his first 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series races were enough to warrant “breakthrough” designation. He earned his first pole (O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis), and posted two top-10 finishes. Ten of his 15 starts were in the top 10. He’ll be full-time in the series next year for Michael Waltrip Racing.
Brad Keselowski – His two-year association with JR Motorsports nearly translated into a championship challenge in 2009 and his results carried him to his second consecutive Most Popular Driver award as voted by the fans. Next year, in a full-time double-duty season with Penske Racing as a teammate to Justin Allgaier, Keselowski may reach the realm of favorite to claim his first NASCAR national series championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Steve Wallace – The improvement meter for Steve Wallace tipped well into the black this year, his third full season of series competition. He matched his career-best finish (fifth) and posted nine top 10s, also a career high. Most telling was his standings finish, where he was as high as fifth before settling for seventh, his first foray into the season-ending top 10. His Driver Rating escalated from 72.6 in 2008 to 82.4 this past season, second only to Brad Keselowski among series-only regulars.
Comeback Driver of the Year
Mike Bliss – His accomplishments this past year were nothing short of amazing. Mike Bliss started the season with Phoenix Racing and registered his second career series win in the rain-shortened spring race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Despite his sixth-place points standing, he was released from the organization following the race at Iowa Speedway. Over the remaining 14 events, he drove for five different teams and rallied from ninth in the standings, 202 points out of fifth, to claim that coveted position by 26 points over Justin Allgaier for a spot on the post-season NASCAR Nationwide Series Awards stage. His seven top fives (including two seconds) and 15 top 10s were career bests.
Top Five Races of the Year (in chronological order)
Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway (April 25) – In a wild finish that resulted in the closest margin of victory of the season, David Ragan edged polesitter Ryan Newman for his first NASCAR national series victory. But it came at the expense of teammate Matt Kenseth, who barrel-rolled and slid on his roof after contact from Ragan sent him out of control on Lap 105. Newman led Dale Earnhardt Jr. with one lap remaining in the green-white-checkered finish. Contact between the two as they came off Turn 4 gave Ragan his opportunity, and a push from third-place finisher Joey Logano sealed the win. Ragan and Newman rubbed fenders right before the finish line, and Ragan crossed the stripe .030 seconds ahead of Newman.
Kroger 200 benefitting Riley Hospital for Children at O’Reilly Raceway Park (July 25) – Despite starting from the rear of the field because he missed qualifying to participate in practice for the Brickyard 400 at nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards quickly maneuvered to the front of the pack and sidestepped near-disaster on pit road to win what NASCAR Nationwide Series’ “Twitter Nation” called the best race of the year. Edwards led twice for 72 of the race’s 200 laps but lost the lead with 30 laps to go under caution after he was pinned behind Scott Wimmer’s Chevrolet in the pits. Adding to that problem, Edwards then mistakenly put his car in the wrong gear. Kyle Busch led coming to the green flag on Lap 174, but Edwards battled him hard and finally made the pass for the lead on Lap 179. The race was the highlight of a spectacular stand-alone season on short tracks for the series.
U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway (Aug. 1) – Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Busch with eight laps remaining to win the inaugural series race in front of a packed house at Iowa Speedway. Busch had pitted for two tires under the race's 10th caution, while Keselowski chose to stay out. The race went green on Lap 219 of 250, but after another caution, Keselowski stormed back to take the lead and held off Busch in a frenetic frontstretch duel between the two and earned his second win of the season. Keselowski became the first driver to win an extra $75,000 via Nationwide Insurance's “Dash 4 Cash” program, honoring full-time series drivers who win select races, with Iowa being one of the four. He also won the bonus – again after beating and banging with Busch to the finish line – at Memphis.
Zippo 200 at the Glen (Aug. 8) – When Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch came to the chicane on Lap 64 at Watkins Glen, Busch stopped – out of necessity – and Ambrose didn't. That bold move proved to be the winning pass as Ambrose won there for the second straight year. Busch wasn't happy with the aggressive pass, which forced him to miss the chicane and stop for a three-second penalty, but he rallied to finish second. One of the season’s memorable quotes resulted from Ambrose: "I knew I was going to have to bomb him somewhere to get the win. He wasn't going to make a mistake on his own. I was going to have to force one on him. It's Kyle Busch we're talking about, and he's going to race you hard, and so I just tried to throw the element of surprise in. I knew that it was a high-risk move, but it was one that was needed to be made to try to win the race.”
NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Aug. 30) – For the second consecutive year in Montreal, the NASCAR Nationwide Series ran a points race in the rain. And for the third straight race there, Marcos Ambrose was dominant but left without a win. With a pass for the lead on the final corner of the final lap, Carl Edwards capitalized on the only mistake Ambrose made all day to win his first road-course race in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions. On rain tires after a mandatory change for the entire field on Lap 61, Edwards hounded Ambrose for both laps of a green-white-checkered finish and made the winning pass after Ambrose’s car got airborne over the curbing, losing momentum in the final turn. Before the dramatic pass, Ambrose had been in total control. In three races at the world-renown road course, Ambrose has led 124 of 199 laps.
Top Drivers (in alphabetical order)
Kyle Busch – In capturing his first NASCAR national series title and the first series driver championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch put together a dominating year making good on the media’s pre-season prediction for the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Yet, he didn’t run away with the crown, a testament to the overall strength of the series. But make no mistake: Busch was the best. His nine wins led the series and he finished second 11 other times. He led 2,698 of a possible 6,715 laps and posted four perfect 150.0 Driver Ratings. His 25 top-five finishes tied the series record, and in only 173 career starts he has 30 victories, now fourth all-time. He also became the first driver to win two national series races on the same day when he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 21.
Brad Keselowski – In his second full year in the series, Brad Keselowski was expected to improve, but his results exceeded those expectations. After starting 2009 in a slump, he rebounded to win four times – arguably four of the most exciting races of the year – the most for a series-only regular since 2005 and fourth-best in the series in 2009. He won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in just his seventh event and challenged for second in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings until the season finale. His 105.9 Driver Rating is the highest for a series-only regular in a single season. He’ll keep alive this decade’s streak of at least one full-time series-only regular who finished in the top 10 in the standings moving up to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series the following season … and he’ll take his rivalry with Denny Hamlin along with him.
Joey Logano – Lost in the shuffle of Kyle Busch’s dominance, Brad Keselowski’s vast improvement and solid performances by other series-only regulars and double-duty drivers, was the quiet, but steady production of Joey Logano. In 22 NASCAR Nationwide races this year, Logano, 19, registered five wins (tied for second in the series with full-time double-duty driver Carl Edwards), 13 top fives and 16 top 10s. He also won four poles, second to Edwards’ seven in 35 races. Logano made the most of the pole positions, winning twice and finishing second twice in those four starts.
Raybestos Rookie of the Year
Justin Allgaier – The leader of a stellar rookie class, Justin Allgaier fended of challenges from Michael McDowell and Brendan Gaughan – unlike Allgaier, drivers with previous NASCAR national series experience before their NASCAR Nationwide rookie-honor run. Allgiaer captured the award and came within 26 points of fifth in the final standings, a battle he’d waged with Steve Wallace and Mike Bliss before ultimately ceding to Bliss. Allgaier collected three top fives and 12 top 10s in addition to his first career pole (Memphis Motorsports Park). He was one of three rookies (Gaughan, ninth; Michael Annett, 10th) who finished in the top 10 in the standings, a first for the series since 2005 (Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Reed Sorenson).
Top Team Owner
Joe Gibbs Racing – For the second consecutive year, Joe Gibbs Racing ruled the NASCAR Nationwide Series owner standings. And for the first time in four seasons, the organization unified the driver and owner championship with the No. 18 Toyota team of crew chief Jason Ratcliff and driver Kyle Busch. In 2008, JGR’s No. 20 Toyota won the owner title while Clint Bowyer took the driver championship. In 2009, JGR’s two teams combined for 14 wins, 39top fives, 48 top 10s and nine poles.
Top Breakthrough Performers
Justin Allgaier – The 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year parlayed his 2008 ARCA championship into an opportunity with Penske Racing that turned into a successful partnership this season. With his No. 12 Dodge team returning intact along with the added strength of young veteran Brad Keselowski as a teammate, Allgaier could realistically challenge for a top-five standing if not a run at the title in 2010.
Trevor Bayne – He didn’t compete in enough races this year to be considered for Raybestos Rookie of the Year status, and he ran too many to challenge for the award next year. But Trevor Bayne’s results in his first 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series races were enough to warrant “breakthrough” designation. He earned his first pole (O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis), and posted two top-10 finishes. Ten of his 15 starts were in the top 10. He’ll be full-time in the series next year for Michael Waltrip Racing.
Brad Keselowski – His two-year association with JR Motorsports nearly translated into a championship challenge in 2009 and his results carried him to his second consecutive Most Popular Driver award as voted by the fans. Next year, in a full-time double-duty season with Penske Racing as a teammate to Justin Allgaier, Keselowski may reach the realm of favorite to claim his first NASCAR national series championship in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Steve Wallace – The improvement meter for Steve Wallace tipped well into the black this year, his third full season of series competition. He matched his career-best finish (fifth) and posted nine top 10s, also a career high. Most telling was his standings finish, where he was as high as fifth before settling for seventh, his first foray into the season-ending top 10. His Driver Rating escalated from 72.6 in 2008 to 82.4 this past season, second only to Brad Keselowski among series-only regulars.
Comeback Driver of the Year
Mike Bliss – His accomplishments this past year were nothing short of amazing. Mike Bliss started the season with Phoenix Racing and registered his second career series win in the rain-shortened spring race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Despite his sixth-place points standing, he was released from the organization following the race at Iowa Speedway. Over the remaining 14 events, he drove for five different teams and rallied from ninth in the standings, 202 points out of fifth, to claim that coveted position by 26 points over Justin Allgaier for a spot on the post-season NASCAR Nationwide Series Awards stage. His seven top fives (including two seconds) and 15 top 10s were career bests.
Top Five Races of the Year (in chronological order)
Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway (April 25) – In a wild finish that resulted in the closest margin of victory of the season, David Ragan edged polesitter Ryan Newman for his first NASCAR national series victory. But it came at the expense of teammate Matt Kenseth, who barrel-rolled and slid on his roof after contact from Ragan sent him out of control on Lap 105. Newman led Dale Earnhardt Jr. with one lap remaining in the green-white-checkered finish. Contact between the two as they came off Turn 4 gave Ragan his opportunity, and a push from third-place finisher Joey Logano sealed the win. Ragan and Newman rubbed fenders right before the finish line, and Ragan crossed the stripe .030 seconds ahead of Newman.
Kroger 200 benefitting Riley Hospital for Children at O’Reilly Raceway Park (July 25) – Despite starting from the rear of the field because he missed qualifying to participate in practice for the Brickyard 400 at nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards quickly maneuvered to the front of the pack and sidestepped near-disaster on pit road to win what NASCAR Nationwide Series’ “Twitter Nation” called the best race of the year. Edwards led twice for 72 of the race’s 200 laps but lost the lead with 30 laps to go under caution after he was pinned behind Scott Wimmer’s Chevrolet in the pits. Adding to that problem, Edwards then mistakenly put his car in the wrong gear. Kyle Busch led coming to the green flag on Lap 174, but Edwards battled him hard and finally made the pass for the lead on Lap 179. The race was the highlight of a spectacular stand-alone season on short tracks for the series.
U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway (Aug. 1) – Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Busch with eight laps remaining to win the inaugural series race in front of a packed house at Iowa Speedway. Busch had pitted for two tires under the race's 10th caution, while Keselowski chose to stay out. The race went green on Lap 219 of 250, but after another caution, Keselowski stormed back to take the lead and held off Busch in a frenetic frontstretch duel between the two and earned his second win of the season. Keselowski became the first driver to win an extra $75,000 via Nationwide Insurance's “Dash 4 Cash” program, honoring full-time series drivers who win select races, with Iowa being one of the four. He also won the bonus – again after beating and banging with Busch to the finish line – at Memphis.
Zippo 200 at the Glen (Aug. 8) – When Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch came to the chicane on Lap 64 at Watkins Glen, Busch stopped – out of necessity – and Ambrose didn't. That bold move proved to be the winning pass as Ambrose won there for the second straight year. Busch wasn't happy with the aggressive pass, which forced him to miss the chicane and stop for a three-second penalty, but he rallied to finish second. One of the season’s memorable quotes resulted from Ambrose: "I knew I was going to have to bomb him somewhere to get the win. He wasn't going to make a mistake on his own. I was going to have to force one on him. It's Kyle Busch we're talking about, and he's going to race you hard, and so I just tried to throw the element of surprise in. I knew that it was a high-risk move, but it was one that was needed to be made to try to win the race.”
NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Aug. 30) – For the second consecutive year in Montreal, the NASCAR Nationwide Series ran a points race in the rain. And for the third straight race there, Marcos Ambrose was dominant but left without a win. With a pass for the lead on the final corner of the final lap, Carl Edwards capitalized on the only mistake Ambrose made all day to win his first road-course race in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions. On rain tires after a mandatory change for the entire field on Lap 61, Edwards hounded Ambrose for both laps of a green-white-checkered finish and made the winning pass after Ambrose’s car got airborne over the curbing, losing momentum in the final turn. Before the dramatic pass, Ambrose had been in total control. In three races at the world-renown road course, Ambrose has led 124 of 199 laps.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)