Repave Has Potential to Shake Up Championship Hunt

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

Repave Has Potential to Shake Up Championship Hunt
When the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hits the pavement at Pocono Raceway in the Pocono Mountains 125 it will be the third time the series has competed at the 2.5-mile track, but the first time on the newly repaved surface. The new surface has potential to throw a wrench in the competition and shake up the championship hunt. However, statistics show the battle for the win could come down between the front runners in the points battle.

Three drivers inside the top-five in the championship standings – Timothy Peters, Justin Lofton and James Buescher – all have top-10 finishes at the famed Tricky Triangle. Peters increased his championship standings lead following Chicagoland to 23 points over Ty Dillon, Lofton, Buescher and Parker Kligerman. Dillon and Lofton are both former winners at the track in the ARCA series.

Hamlin Makes First NCWTS Start of 2012

Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin may be teammates in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but their roles will be somewhat reversed this weekend in Pocono. Denny Hamlin remains the driver piloting the No. 18 KBM Toyota with Kyle Busch taking over the reins as team owner. In 13 trucks series starts, Hamlin has garnered one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. Last season, at Martinsville, he became the 23rd driver in national series history to win at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s top three divisions. He finished ninth in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck event at Pocono Raceway in 2010.

Bodine Hosts Third Annual ‘Onion Slice Open’

Todd Bodine is taking his talents off the track this weekend in advance of Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125. The former series champion will host the Third Annual ‘Onion Slice Open’ on Thursday, Aug. 2. The golf tournament will be held at the Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club. Proceeds from the event will benefit the pediatric patients suffering from traumatic brain injury at Allied Services Rehabilitation in Wilkes Barre, Penn.

Buescher Must Keep Winning To Close Championship Gap

Buescher Must Keep Winning To Close Championship Gap

For Buescher, the next three races likely will tell the tale of championship contender or too little, too late.

Buescher became the series’ first three-time winner last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway but remains a distant fourth in the standings, 35 points behind leader Peters. 

A year ago, before Buescher had tasted a NASCAR national series victory, he ran off finishes of third, fourth and fourth at Pocono, Michigan and Bristol, respectively – races won by Kevin Harvick.

“I can’t see why we can’t go there with the goal of winning the race,” Buescher said after his latest victory.

That’s likely what it will take to significantly chop Peters’ advantage. The net gain at Chicago was five points as Peters finished third, his seventh top-five performance. The difference between winning and leading the most laps and 36th place is 40 points. Twelve races remain on the schedule.

“We’ve gotten that many [points] back before. We’ve just got to keep at it,” said Buescher, who failed to qualify for the second race of the season a year ago and took the standings lead in mid-September. He ultimately finished third behind Austin Dillon and Johnny Sauter.

Buescher will be on track at least once every weekend through the season’s conclusion competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series when not in his Turner Motorsports Chevrolet truck.

Points-Eligible Competitors Eye Pocono’s Victory Lane

Pocono Raceway remains an empty page for NASCAR Camping World Truck points-eligible drivers. Elliott Sadler and Harvick, both NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors, won the track’s first two races in 2010-11.

Series regulars are hopeful of returning the favor in the Aug. 4 Pocono Mountains 125.

Matt Crafton, currently one of the hottest commodities in the series with four consecutive top-five finishes, was third in 2010. Buescher, the series’ most recent winner, likewise was third a year ago.

Sauter and Lofton, who led the points standings earlier this year, also have top-five finishes at the 2.5-mile track.

Todd Bodine led the inaugural race. Parker Kligerman, fifth in current points, led last year’s race as a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.

Ty Dillon’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year record, season-opening top-10 streak ended with a finish of 12th at Chicagoland Speedway.  Dillon and Peters are the only drivers to have finished nine times among the top 10 in the season’s first 10 races. … Lofton won the Keystone Light Pole at Chicagoland to become the year’s eighth different No. 1 qualifier. … The Aug. 4 Pocono Mountains 125 marks the halfway point of the 2012 season. August is a busy month with four races on the schedule.   

NASCAR Nationwide Series Debuts At Indianapolis

NATIONWIDE SERIES

NASCAR Nationwide Series Debuts At Indianapolis

For the fifth time since 2005, the NASCAR Nationwide Series has the distinction of running an inaugural event. And Saturday’s opportunity is perhaps its’ greatest yet as the series will run its debut race at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This race has special meaning to all involved with such history and pageantry literally dripping from the venue. But for one team and for the series’ top official, it means even more. The ML Motorsports team owned by Mary Louise Miller is based in Warsaw, Ind. Its main driver, Johanna Long, 19, has had a solid season as she competes for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. With 12 starts this year, Long is 18th in the standings. The 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series graduate has a best finish of 12th earlier this month at Daytona.

Joe Balash, the NASCAR Nationwide Series director, is a native of Hobart, Ind., and as a youngster watched Indianapolis 500s through fences and on scaffolding that he and his friends built. Now years later, he oversees the nation’s No. 2 motorsports series as it makes its first laps around the historic venue.

Danica Makes Brickyard Return

Since 2005, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been a consistent stop for Danica Patrick during her motorsports career. This season is no different for the only woman to lead laps at the Indianapolis 500 as well as serve as that event’s highest-finishing female.

What has changed, however, is her ride. Instead of an open-wheel car, Patrick now assumes her place behind the wheel of a 3,450-pound stock car. She and her fellow NASCAR Nationwide Series competitors will be on a level playing field come Saturday – the first time the series will race at The Brickyard.

Patrick is in her first full-time season in NASCAR where she’s currently ninth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings. Her short NASCAR resume also includes a pole at Daytona to begin the 2012 season and the highest national series finish (fourth) captured by a female. She’s also running a limited schedule in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as she continues to grow her stock car learning curve, now three seasons old.

Perhaps the biggest question is this: Will her previous track time at Indy give her – and another former open-wheel star and the 2006 Indy 500 winner, Sam Hornish Jr., an advantage? Nineteen other drivers entered in this inaugural event – including last year’s Brickyard 400 winner and former fulltime NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Paul Menard – have NASCAR Sprint Cup experience at Indianapolis.

Virginia Native Sadler "Back Home Again" in Indiana

Could this be the moment Elliott Sadler has been waiting for? Not just having the chance to become the first to hoist the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series trophy at Indianapolis, but to make a statement about his championship hopes?

Sadler is currently the series standings leader, 11 points ahead of his young – and very talented – Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon. Lurking 19 points out of first is reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

But Sadler has momentum, and plenty of it. Coming off his third win of the year last week at Chicagoland – and also winning the $100,000 NASCAR Nationwide Series "Dash 4 Cash" bonus in addition to automatically becoming eligible to win again at Indy, the third of four D4C races – he brings a double-dose of experience. His combined 17 years in NASCAR’s three national series is one advantage. But more so are his 12 career NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at the Brickyard, which include a pole and two top-five finishes. He last ran at Indy in 2010.

Sadler will go up against Stenhouse, Justin Allgiaer and Michael Annett for the$100,000 Indy D4C bonus. Those drivers were the other three highest finishers at Chicago to earn driver championship points and become eligible for the bonus at The Brickyard. Kenny Wallace finished fourth one spot ahead of Annett, but didn’t receive points because the No. 09 RAB Racing Toyota was a post-entry.

Buescher Comes From Behind To Take Chicago

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

Buescher Comes From Behind To Take Chicago, Peters Increases His Lead

James Buescher proved the championship battle is not close to being over yet after pulling off what appeared to be the impossible at Chicago. The Texas native came from two laps down after his crew changed a carburetor to capture his third victory of the season. He’s the only driver in 2012 to win multiple events and is 35 points out of the standings lead in fourth place. Buescher is expected to race this weekend in the inaugural Indy 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Turner Motorsports. 

Current standings leader Timothy Peters is not going to make the fight for the top spot an easy one. Peters increased his lead from 14 to 23 points over Ty Dillon following a third-place finish, his ninth Top-10 finish of the season.

Up Next: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 4 at Pocono Raceway. Kevin Harvick is the defending race winner.

Buescher claims third Trucks win with last-lap pass at Chicagoland

Buescher claims third Trucks win with last-lap pass at Chicagoland

July 21, 2012

By Jerry Bonkowski

Special to NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. –- When James Buescher was forced to pit to change carburetors during the course of Saturday night's American Ethanol 225, any chance of winning appeared lost, especially when he got back on track two laps down.

Buescher not only made up those two laps, he needed just one lap –- the final one –- to grab the lead and go on to win his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series-leading third race of the season at Chicagoland Speedway.

Leading just six laps in the entire event, Buescher passed points leader Timothy Peters and then held off Brendan Gaughan, who led 83 of the 150 laps, to win his second race in the last three events.

"We had issues early on where we kept losing power, so we decided to pit, changed the carburetor and the car came to life," Buescher said. "From there, it was a matter of getting our laps back and going forward from there."

And then, with a smile on his face, Buescher added, "We just had to pass 20 other trucks to win."

Gaughan was looking to get his first Trucks win in nearly nine years, and it appeared he would do just that, given how strong he and his Chevrolet truck looked early on. After spinning his tires on a late restart, he valiantly rallied from sixth to settle for second place.

"I think about not winning (since 2003) every single day," Gaughan said. "I thought tonight might finally be our night. But still, to run the way we did, and the great equipment Richard Childress gave us, this was really a great run, especially since we're only racing a part-time schedule."

Rather than risk wrecking on the final lap, points leader Peters wisely played it safe, finishing third. Matt Crafton finished fourth and Parker Kligerman rounded out the top 5.

"We did the right thing, used the right strategy and padded our points lead," Peters said. "You can't ask for much more than that – other than winning."

Rounding out the top 10 were Cale Gale, Ron Hornaday Jr, Jason Leffler, Jason White and David Starr.

With six laps left, pole-sitter Justin Lofton slammed into the outside wall, bringing out the final caution of the race, setting up a shootout to the checkered flag between Peters and Buescher.

Gaughan, starting only his fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the season, was hoping for his first NCWTS win since Oct. 11, 2003 at Texas Motor Speedway, his sixth triumph of that season. Unfortunately, he would come up short, extending his current winless streak to 130 races.

Bryan Silas' spin on lap 8 brought out the first caution flag, right after Miguel Paludo and Ron Hornaday Jr. got together. Paludo bounced off Hornaday and slapped the wall, damaging the right side of his Silverado and forcing him to pit for right-side tires.

Eight laps later, although there was no resulting caution, Johnny Sauter bounced into Nelson Piquet Jr., causing heavy damage that cost Piquet a number of laps on pit road as the damage was repaired.

After getting back on the track, Piquet was forced back to pit road when the splitter on his truck snapped off, prompting a replacement and eventually causing him to miss 36 of the first 75 laps.

On Lap 45, Jason Leffler missed his pit box, forcing him to go all the way around the 1.5-mile track. Then to make matters worse, Leffler's crew struggled to perform necessary service. As a result, Leffler went from being a top-five truck prior to his mistake to nearly two laps down.

Others also suffered pit stop mishaps, most notably drivers having issues finding their appropriate pix box, including series veterans Todd Bodine and Ron Hornaday Jr.

The yellow caution flag came out for a second time on lap 71 for debris. On the resulting pit stop, Gaughan came in only for fuel, allowing him to retain his lead over the rest of the field.

When Jennifer Jo Cobb brought out the caution flag for the third time due to a single truck spin, Buescher was forced to pit for a lengthy stop as his team replaced a faulty carburetor.

Chris Fontaine brought out the fourth caution of the race with 51 laps remaining following a solo spin.

Joey Coulter had one of the fastest trucks throughout the two practice sessions, qualified on the outside pole and remained in the top five for much of the first two-thirds of the race, but got caught up in a wreck with 44 laps left. His crew quickly repaired the damage and got him back on track (in 18th position) without losing a lap.

Four drivers were sent to the back of the field to start the race: Parker Kligerman and Chad McCumbee, both for adjustments after impound, and points leader Timothy Peters for and engine change and Johnny Sauter for missing the pre-race drivers meeting.

Several drivers reached significant milestones in their respective careers:

--Just one lap before halfway through the 150-lap event, four-time series champion Hornaday became the second driver in NCWTS history to complete 50,000 laps in his career. Hornaday finished 6th.

--Todd Bodine, who made his 200th series start, became the first driver to earn at least 200 starts in each of NASCAR's three premier series: NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, finished 18th.

--David Starr became the fifth driver in series history to reach 300 starts. Starr finished 10th.

Allgaier’s Hope: Second Verse Not Same As First

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

Allgaier’s Hope: Second Verse Not Same As First

Now that the second half of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season is officially underway, this is the time for Justin Allgaier to make sure he has plenty of gas in the tank to make a run at the championship. Pardon the pun, but it fits Allgaier’s season to a tee.

It’s not that he’s had a bad first half. He’s just not been able find the consistency that he – and many others before the year started – felt would have him challenging for the title by this juncture.

Allgaier, from Riverton, Ill., had a popular win at Chicagoland in this race last year when he coasted across the finish line ahead of Carl Edwards after both drivers ran out of fuel. But he wasn’t able to turn that momentum into a run at the points lead the rest of the way.

Currently fifth in the standings 73 points out of first, Allgaier is still in the mix but is close to being in a  now-or-never scenario as far as his championship hopes. He’s on a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes – seven in his last eight races – including his first top fives of the year, fifths at Dover and Kentucky. In four career races at Chicago, he has three top-10 finishes.

It’s Anybody’s Game At Halfway Mark

Since the advent last year of the "pick-a-series" rule where drivers in NASCAR’s national series declare the series in which they’ll accumulate championship points, the NASCAR Nationwide Series has had consecutive seasons where the championship has been its closest at the midway point since 2005. Then, 79 points separated first through fourth in the rankings. At this stage last year, the top four were within 37 points of the leader. From 2006-10, an average of 474 points were between first and fourth place at the halfway mark.

As the series heads to the first of two races at Chicagoland Speedway, the championship list is growing with three drivers within 32 points of the lead. Elliott Sadler has precarious three-point advantage over Austin Dillon, his Richard Childress Racing teammate. Reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 16 points back while resurgent Sam Hornish Jr., 32 points behind, is very much in play.

Among those, Dillon, 22, may be poised for the biggest second half. With a series-leading 10 top fives and tied with Sadler atop the leaderboard with 13 top 10s, the Sunoco rookie keeps fighting back despite hardships that might have destroyed the confidence of other young drivers. He’ll be making his series track debut at Chicago but has great notes – and confidence – after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the track last fall. That victory was a key in his run to the truck series championship.

Dashing Into The Windy City

Chicagoland hosts the second of four consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series "Dash 4 Cash" races where the highest finisher (not necessarily the winner) among the four eligible drivers for this race – Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse, Sam Hornish and Elliott Sadler – will take home a $100,000 bonus in addition to his race purse. Indianapolis and Iowa round out the 2012 D4C races.

Dillon won the first $100,000 D4C bonus last week at New Hampshire with his third-place finish, best among the eligible drivers. He now has a head start on a chance at a $1 million payout should he capture the bonus at Chicago and at the Brickyard, and then win outright at Iowa. The bonus winner from Chicago automatically advances to Indianapolis. The next three highest finishers among series regulars from Chicago also are eligible for the bonus at Indianapolis. 

Peters, Red Horse Racing Continue Championship Form

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

Peters, Red Horse Racing Continue Championship Form

It was the one thing Timothy Peters was still searching for this season and statistics showed it would most likely not happen at Iowa Speedway. Think again. Peters started from the pole, led 87 laps en route to Victory Lane and increased his series championship points lead to 12 over Justin Lofton. It’s the largest points margin this season.

Red Horse Racing now has won three of the first nine races with one victory per team, Peters, John King (Daytona) and Todd Bodine (Dover). Peters’ next challenge awaits him this weekend at Chicagoland, a track in which is average finish is 16th. Peters has won at least one NCWTS race per season since 2009.

Momentum Continues For Crafton

Don’t count Matt Crafton out of the championship hunt just yet. A crash at Daytona followed by a part failure in Martinsville resulted in back-to-back finishes outside the top 20 to start the season and created a deep climb for Crafton in the championship standings. Now things are headed in the right direction with 13 races remaining in the 2012 season. Three consecutive top-five finishes at Texas, Kentucky and Iowa provided much needed momentum for the Ohio-based team. Crafton sits sixth in the championship standings just one point outside the top five - an impressive accomplishment considering he was in 23rd following the second race of the season.

The California-native has one pole this season, at Kentucky Speedway.

Bodine Hits 200

Todd Bodine’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resume is full of impressive numbers:

·       2 championships

·       22 victories

·       7 poles

·       90 top-five finishes

·       121 top-10 finishes

And this weekend at Chicagoland he will add 200 series starts to an already stout career. Bodine is the only driver to hold 200 starts in all three of NASCAR’s national series, NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Points Logjam Spotlights Four Championship Contenders

Points Logjam Spotlights Four Championship Contenders

And then there were four?
Eight races down – more than a quarter of the season complete – nine points cover the first four names in the championship standings. Fifth-place Parker Kligerman, 32 points behind, isn’t out of the running by any measure but the smart money right now is on one of the top four to win his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title.
Timothy Peters is back on top for the second time in 2011 following last week’s fifth-place finish at Kentucky Speedway. Previous leader Justin Lofton was swept up in a mid-race accident but recovered to finish 14th.
Peters’ lead is miniscule: four points over Charlotte winner Lofton and Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader Ty Dillon, who finished third.
Momentum, however, has swung to Kentucky winner James Buescher. Buescher, the first to capture two wins in 2012, occupies the No. 4 position in the standings. The 22-year-old Texan, who’s also running a majority of the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule including Friday night’s Subway Jalapeno 250, leads or shares eight Loop Data categories. He’s the series leader with a Driver Rating of 117.0.

Peters’ Title Bid No Mirage In 2012

Timothy Peters could describe the 2011 season as a mirage. He contended for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship appearing as high as second in points before settling for a final ranking of fifth behind champion Austin Dillon.
The mirage part? Peters and his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota were fast but inconsistent.
Peters won in Indianapolis among seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. But the season’s highs were more than offset by lows which came in bunches. One stretch in late spring saw the Providence, N.C. driver follow three finishes of sixth or better by five out of six performances of 16th or worse.
Dillon motored off into the record book in the late going while Peters struggled with a single top five over the final nine races.
The organization appears to have learned its lesson. Through eight races, Peters has finished no worse than 11th and has completed every lap. He has yet to win but finished second at Daytona and Kansas.
"I think it’s a team effort. We have taken what we have and really made the best of it; Going out to get the best finish with what our Toyota Tundra gives us.," said Peters. "All the guys work hard and I try to not mess up where they are making gains. Our pit crew has also done a great job on pit road. I’ve always been the type of racer, not to jeopardize the equipment. We really want to get that win and I think we will soon."

Truckers Holding Their Own Inside, Outside Comfort Zones

In recent years, NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide series drivers have invaded the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series carrying away a significant share of the hardware.
Not this year. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points-eligible drivers have won six of eight events.
And they’ve also turned the tables so to speak on their fellow NASCAR national series competitors winning outside of what might be considered their comfort zone.
James Buescher started the trend, winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener in Daytona. More recently, Nelson Piquet Jr. claimed victory in the same series’ event at Road America in Wisconsin.
Three NASCAR Camping World Truck campaigners have entered Friday night’s Subway Jalapeno 250 in Daytona: Buescher, attempting to become only the second to score a Daytona NASCAR Nationwide season sweep; Bryan Silas and John Wes Townley.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Etc.

T3R Racing’s Bryan Silas and his wife Misty welcomed the couple’s second child, Braydon Walter Lee Silas on June 26. … NCWTS drivers Max Gresham and Cale Gale will compete in Gresham (Ga.) Motorsports Park’s annual July 3-4 World Crown 400 late model event. NSCS’ David Ragan and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competitors Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott also have entered. … NCWTS competition resumes with the July 14 American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway. The race kicks off a two-week swing through the Midwest that continues with a Truck-