Category: RC XFINITY

Kyle Busch made his debut at the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) back in the year 2004 and he finished second in his very first start. Now, shift your focus to 2013 and he now has four wins at this track and earned his fifth pole position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Busch is also a winner here in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series when he scored his second career victory here in 2005.

Brian Vickers will start on the outside of the front row. Today will be Vickers’ fifth career start here at the PIR in a Nationwide Series car. In half of those races thus far, Vickers has two top-3 finishes. Can he put the No.20 car in victory lane today?

Vickers teammate Matt Kenseth will start in the third spot. Kenseth is a former winner here in the Sprint Cup Series. He won the Checker Auto Parts 500 back in 2002 when he won five races during the course of the season en route to an 8th place finish in the standings.

The Toyota’s have shown their power this season, but will they be there in the end? That is a big question. The Toyota’s have the power, but they have had issues with engines similar to 2011.

Denny Hamlin just had to give up his 8th starting position because of an engine change and will start from the rear of the field during the Subway Fresh Fit 500 tomorrow afternoon.

Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier, Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson, Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10.

Almirola is filling in for the injured Michael Annett who suffered a fractured sternum following a crash last weekend at Daytona.  The injury was completely unrelated to the accident that involved Kyle Larson that injured 33 race fans. Senior Vice President of NASCAR Steve O’Donnell confirmed to us today that all but two fans have been released from Halifax Medical Center following the accident.

My pick to win today is Kyle Busch. He is due for a victory.

Starting Lineup
Dollar General 200, Phoenix Int’l Raceway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=2
===========================================
Pos.	No.	Driver	Make	Speed	Time
===========================================
1	54	Kyle Busch(i)	Toyota	133.057	27.056
2	20	Brian Vickers	Toyota	132.188	27.234
3	18	Matt Kenseth(i)	Toyota	132.1	27.252
4	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	131.921	27.289
5	31	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	131.868	27.3
6	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	131.844	27.305
7	5	Jimmie Johnson(i)	Chevrolet	131.709	27.333
8	43	Aric Almirola(i)	Ford	131.666	27.342
9	22	Brad Keselowski(i)	Ford	131.483	27.38
10	33	Kevin Harvick(i)	Chevrolet	131.416	27.394
11	77	Parker Kligerman	Toyota	131.334	27.411
12	60	Travis Pastrana	Ford	131.2	27.439
13	7	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	130.866	27.509
14	32	Kyle Larson #	Chevrolet	130.847	27.513
15	11	Elliott Sadler	Toyota	130.819	27.519
16	70	Johanna Long	Chevrolet	130.251	27.639
17	55	Jamie Dick	Chevrolet	129.987	27.695
18	99	Alex Bowman #	Toyota	129.936	27.706
19	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Ford	129.898	27.714
20	14	Eric McClure	Toyota	129.744	27.747
21	2	Brian Scott	Chevrolet	129.725	27.751
22	19	Mike Bliss	Toyota	129.552	27.788
23	30	Nelson Piquet Jr. #	Chevrolet	129.255	27.852
24	44	Hal Martin #	Toyota	129.097	27.886
25	1	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	129.055	27.895
26	10	Jeff Green	Toyota	129.023	27.902
27	79	Jeffrey Earnhardt #	Ford	128.036	28.117
28	92	Dexter Stacey #	Ford	127.936	28.139
29	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	127.891	28.149
30	24	Blake Koch	Toyota	127.75	28.18
31	42	Josh Wise	Chevrolet	127.425	28.252
32	0	Jason White	Toyota	127.303	28.279
33	23	Harrison Rhodes(i)	Ford	127.303	28.279
34	46	Chase Miller	Chevrolet	127.289	28.282
35	51	Ryan Sieg(i)	Chevrolet	127.087	28.327
36	40	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	126.863	28.377
37	52	Joey Gase	Chevrolet	125.98	28.576
38	15	Juan Carlos Blum #	Ford	125.799	28.617
39	4	Daryl Harr	Chevrolet	125.427	28.702
40	74	Mike Harmon	Chevrolet	112.247	32.072

After the lead cars made contact triggering the 11 car wreck, Tony Stewart would make his way through, emerging as the winner of the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway. It marks his seventh victory and 10th top-10 finish in 14 races at Daytona International Speedway.

Stewart would not celebrate in victory after the crash sent Kyle Larson’s car up against the catchfence, ripping it apart, sending debris into the grandstands. There were 14 fans treated at the track, while another 14 were transferred to hospitals in the surrounding area. 12 of the 14 were transported to Halifax Medical Centre, including one minor. Seven were admitted to Halifax with trauma related injuries, while five were admitted with non-trauma injuries. Two of them are in critical condition, but all 12 are stable.

“The important thing is what is going on the frontstretch right now,” Stewart said. “We’ve always known since racing started that this is a dangerous sport. We assume that risk, and it’s hard when the fans get caught up in it. As much as we want to celebrate and as much as this is a big deal to us, we are concerned about the fans and drivers on the front stretch.”

The wreck started when Regan Smith threw a block on Brad Keselowski in the tri-oval on the 2.5-mile oval.

“Well, watching the replay, my reaction is the same as everyone is hoping all the fans in the grandstands are okay,” Keselowski said. “It was a long race, we seen a lot of action – lot of chances for winning and passing. We were in a good position with Regan at the end of the race. When it came down, I felt like I was in the spot. I wanted to make the winning move, and he made a block on it. That’s his right and it started the chaos.”

“Tried to throw a block off of turn four,” Smith said. “I knew Brad was going to make a move. But that’s what you do at Daytona – you do what you can do for the win……You’re coming to the checkered at Daytona and you want to win here whether it’s Cup, Nationwide or ARCA.  I was not willing to concede second place. If I’m in second tomorrow, I will make the same move again.”

11 cars were all involved in the wreck, including Justin Allgaier, Brian Scott, Sam Hornish Jr., Eric McClure, Parker Kligerman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Robert Richardson Jr., Travis Pastrana and Alex Bowman. None of the drivers were injured. An entire separate article talking about the wreck has been posted. You can view it by clicking here.

Despite being involved, Hornish Jr. would cross the finish line second for his second top-10 finish in five races at Daytona. Bowman would cross the line third to be the highest finishing rookie in the event. Earnhardt Jr. and Kligerman rounded out the top five.

“We had a pretty good car all day and just right there at the end, trying to get the best finish, and thought we were going to get to the end without tearing anything else,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I saw the 7 (Smith) spinning across the track and he caught my left front and I couldn’t steer from there. I was trying to cross the finish and got hit by someone coming across the track.”

Scott would finish sixth in his first start with Richard Childress Racing after moving over from Joe Gibbs Racing. Allgaier finished seventh, followed by McClure, Richardson Jr. and Pastrana.

In total, there’d be seven cautions throughout the course of the 300 mile race at Daytona.

The first caution came out on lap eight for Scott Lagasse Jr. spinning out as he tried to slide down in front of Trevor Bayne.

The second caution followed on lap 34 after Smith spun, after some slight contact from Elliott Sadler; Juan Carlos Blum would hit the inside wall. Danica Patrick would go behind the wall after experiencing electrical problems.

“Well, I guess before I just shut down and lost power, I was slowing down,” she said. “It felt like the revs were right but when I was lost the pack, couldn’t catch back up. I couldn’t keep up with Tony back there; I knew something was wrong. It’s fun doing these Nationwide races. It’s a bummer for Turner Scott Motorsports.”

The third caution came out on lap 65 when Mike Wallace would get turned sideways in the tri-oval, collecting Michael Annett, Joe Nemechek and Kurt Busch.

Trevor Bayne would then bring out the fourth caution at lap 85 after he broke a driveshaft. He wouldn’t be the only one with mechanical problems, as Kyle Busch brought out the fifth caution after blowing a motor with 22 laps to go.

The final caution came out with five laps to go when Austin Dillon would get turned by Annett after Annett got loose while pushing Sadler. Also collected in the wreck were Kasey Kahne, Johanna Long, Jamie Dick, Mike Bliss, Jason White, Danny Efland, Jeffery Earnhardt, Hal Martin and Matt Kenseth. Michael Annett is being transferred to Halifax Medical Centre for further evaluation. Annett will be kept at hospital overnight for observation and is being treated for bruising on his chest.

As we end this off, from all of us at SpeedwayMedia.com, our thoughts and prayers are with the fans that were injured today at the speedway.

A crash on the last lap in the DRIVE4COPD 300 would send Kyle Larson up into the catchfence, sending debris into the grandstands. Larson’s engine was on the fans’ side of the catchfence, while one of his tires would land a couple rows up in the stands.

“We are currently assessing the situation, taking care of those involved,” Kerry Tharp, PR for NASCAR said. “Once we do, we will have someone from NASCAR and someone from the track with an update. Till then, there is no timetable about this.”

There was obviously some intrusion in the fence, and fortunately, there were a lot of emergency folks ready to help,” Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, said during ESPN’s broadcast. “Right now, we were just tryng to see what the damage is that has been done and moving folks to care centres, Halifax Medical Centre.”

Helton added that they try to make the races as safe as possible for both the drivers and fans, however there is always things that can happen they can’t be prepared for.

“We know a lot and we know what we know, but the biggest thing we know is that we don’t know everything we need to know,” he said. “There are moments we haven’t seen before and we can’t plan for them.”

ESPN has since reported that 15 spectators have been transported to hospitals in the area, with one in surgery for head trauma.

Wendy Venturini reported on SPEED that the 11 admitted to Halifax Medical Centre are stable; six of those spectators were admitted with trauma related symptoms.

None of the drivers were injured in the wreck.

The wreck started when Regan Smith threw a block on Brad Keselowski in the tri-oval on the 2.5-mile oval.

“Well, watching the replay, my reaction is the same as everyone is hoping all the fans in the grandstands are okay,” Keselowski said. “It was a long race, we seen a lot of action – lot of chances for winning and passing. We were in a good position with Regan at the end of the race. When it came down, I felt like I was in the spot. I wanted to make the winning move, and he made a block on it. That’s his right and it started the chaos.”

“Tried to throw a block off of turn four,” Smith said. “I knew Brad was going to make a move. But that’s what you do at Daytona – you do what you can do for the win……You’re coming to the checkered at Daytona and you want to win here whether it’s Cup, Nationwide or ARCA.  I was not willing to concede second place. If I’m in second tomorrow, I will make the same move again.”

“I feel good,” Larson said. “Just not sure where everything ended up on the race track. Just hope all the drivers and fans are okay. Just disappointed. Looks like they got 13^th on the board. We had a stronger car than that. We were running up front all day.”

11 cars were all involved in the wreck, including Justin Allgaier, Brian Scott, Sam Hornish Jr., Eric McClure, Parker Kligerman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Robert Richardson Jr., Travis Pastrana and Alex Bowman.

“We were on the outside behind Brian Scott,” Allgaier said. “They started wrecking in front of us and unfortunately, it was too late. I’m okay and all the drivers I’ve talked to in the infield care center seem to be okay. Hope all the fans are okay that were hit in debris. It’s a violent wreck. Just seeing the carnage on the race track. It’s really unbelievable.”

“We had a pretty good car all day and just right there at the end, trying to get the best finish, and thought we were going to get to the end without tearing anything else,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I saw the 7 (Smith) spinning across the track and he caught my left front and I couldn’t steer from there. I was trying to cross the finish and got hit by someone coming across the track.”

“The biggest thing is trying to keep the cars on the ground,” Hornish Jr. “You can get these cars at different angles and soon enough, you’re going to get them off the ground. The white car there got sideways and then another car got into him, wedging him up into the fence. The only way you can absolutely keep these cars on the ground is by bolting them down.”

Tony Stewart would take the victory, ahead of Hornish Jr., Bowman, Earnhardt Jr. and Kligerman. Scott finished sixth, followed by Allgaier, McClure, Richardson Jr. and Pastrana.

“The important thing is what is going on the frontstretch right now,” Stewart said. “We’ve always known since racing started that this is a dangerous sport. We assume that risk, and it’s hard when the fans get caught up in it. As much as we want to celebrate and as much as this is a big deal to us, we are concerned about the fans and drivers on the front stretch.”

NASCAR will have a press conference sometime this evening with more details about the incident.

Tony Stewart would take the victory in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at a wreck ensued on the last lap, which included the front end of Kyle Larson’s car landing on the fans’ side of the catch fence. More details on the wreck, as well as the race, will be posted shortly.

 

Green flag as Kligerman pushes Bayne out to early lead into turn one

Lap 3 Bayne-Kligerman leads as Busch-Kenseth look for a way around, with Stewart-Patrick in toe

Lap 4 Bayne-Kligerman lead as Stewart and Patrick follow…..Stewart to the lead down the back, Busch to the lead into three.

Lap 5 Busch-Kenseth lead as Stewart and Patrick run side-by-side for third

Lap 6 Busch-Kenseth lead as Stewart-Dillon look for the lead……..Stewart-Dillon to the lead through turn two. Patrick up to third.

Lap 7 Stewart-Dillon lead as Patrick and Sadler are side-by-side for third. Earnhardt Jr. hooked on the back of Patrick, looking for the lead

Lap 8 Patrick grabbed the lead as she disconnects from Earnhardt Jr., three-wide for the lead with Patrick, Earnhardt Jr and Sadler. Caution…..Scott Lagasse Jr. spins out of the pack as he tries to slide down in front of Bayne. Top four stay out; everybody else pits for fuel only stops. Stewart leads Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Busch, Annett off pit road.

Restart lap 11 Patrick-Ku Busch side-by-side with Sadler-Vickers for the lead. Patrick gets separated from Busch, hands lead to Sadler-Vickers

Lap 13 Sadler-Vickers leads Ky Busch followed by Nemechek-Bayne

Lap 15 Sadler-Vickers lead as Nemechek-Bayne went to go to the lead, however Bayne bailed out on him.

Lap 16 Sadler-Vickers lead as Kurt Busch and Patrick are side-by-side for third

Lap 17 Sadler-Vickers-Ky Busch pulling away followed by Bayne-Nemechek.

Lap 18 Vickers and Sadler switch, keeping the lead so it’s Sadler leading

Lap 23 Vickers leads Sadler, Ky Busch, Allgaier, Nemechek

Lap 24 Vickers suffled in rotation, Sadler to the lead followed by Ky Busch, Vickers and Earnhardt Jr

Lap 25 Sadler, Ky Busch, Vickers Allgaier, Nemechek

Lap 27 top four have broken away – Sadler, Ky Busch, Vickers, Allgaier, Nemechek

Lap 28 Sadler-Ky Busch leading as Keselowski-Hornish make a run to the outside.

Lap 29 Keselowski-Hornish take the lead ahead of Sadler-Ky Busch

Lap 30 Hornish-Keselowski make the switch through turns one and two, three-wide for the lead through turns three-four

Lap 31 Ky Busch-Earnhardt Jr. to the lead ahead of Annett, Bayne and Mike Wallace

Caution Lap 34 Sadler barely gets into Smith, sending him for a spin. Juan Carlos Blum spins behind, hits inside wall. Patrick to the pits with a blown motor. Leaders pit. Ky Busch Bayne Annett Kenseth Nemechek Hornish Keselowski Scott Dillon Earnhardt Jr. Jeremy Clements gets the lucky dog.

Restart lap 36

Lap 38 Ky-Busch leads with help from Kenseth lead ahead of Sadler-Vickers

Lap 40 Ky Busch-Kenseth lead ahead of Vickers-Sadler. Hornish-Keselowski next in line.

Lap 41 Ky Busch-Kenseth leads Vickers-Sadler while it’s three-wide behind them. Sorenson and Nemechek side-by-side for fifth.

Lap 43 Ky Busch, Kenseth, Vickers, Sadler and Sorenson

Lap 48 Kenseth and Ky Busch do the swap, so Kenseth to the lead

Lap 50 Allgaier-Annett to the lead by Kenseth-Ky Busch

Lap 51 Kenseth-Ky Busch grab the lead back through turn one.

Lap 58 Earnhardt Jr. to the lead with help from Kasey Kahne

Lap 61 Ky Busch-Kenseth back to the lead as Earnhardt Jr. falls back after losing his drafting partner.

Lap 64 Kahne-Smith to the lead

Caution lap 65 Mike Wallace gets turned in the tri-oval, collecting Annett, Nemechek and Kurt Busch. Leaders head down pit road. Sadler and Vickers gets a lengthy stop after adding more water in. Kasey Kahne missed his pit stall, he will have to come back down pit road.

Restart lap 71 Smith and Earnhardt Jr. lead them to the green

Lap 72 Earnhardt-Larson side-by-side for the lead with Smith-Ky Busch

Lap 73 Smith leads Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, Kligerman and Larson

Lap 75 Smith Busch Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth and Bayne make up the lead draft

Lap 80 Vickers had to make unscheduled pit stop as oil temps were pegged

Lap 81 Smith-Ky Busch lead…..Keselowski-Bayne to the lead through turn two…….Smith-Ky Busch back to the lead into three ahead of Bowman-Kligerman.

Lap 83 Smith-Ky Busch lead Keselowski and Bayne

Caution lap 85 Bayne broken in turn one, thinks it’s a driveshaft. Leaders pit. Keselowski leads Larson Bowman Kligerman Earnhardt Kenseth Ky Busch Kahne.

Restart 31 to go Keselowski pulls ahead with help from Bowman ahead of Kenseth-Ky Busch

30 to go Kenseth-Ky Busch to the lead

28 to go Scott-Hornish side-by-side with Kenseth-Ky Busch for the lead

27 laps to go Scott-Hornish pull ahead of Kenseth-Ky Busch ahead of Keselowski-Bowman……..Kenseth-Ky Busch to the lead through turn three

23 to go Scott-Hornish lose the lead in turns one and two as Larson-Kligerman take the lead, Kligerman makes the swap on the backstraight and pulls up in front of Larson…..Smith grabs the lead down the back straight.

22 to go McClure makes the pass on Smith for the lead……Kligerman to the lead out of turn two with help from Larson. Caution. Kyle Busch blew a motor. Elliott Sadler pits for four tires and to clean the grill to avoid a problem like Kyle’s. Reed Sorenson blows a motor under caution.

Restart 14 to go Kligerman and Larson lead the field to the flag…..Larson drops down behind Kligerman before turn one……..McClure to the outside of Kligerman for the lead…….Kligerman and Larson pull ahead into turn three

13 to go Kligerman-Larson lead ahead of Hornish-Keselowski

12 to go McClure-Piquet pass Hornish-Keselowski as Keselowski and Hornish do the switch…..Annett-Vickers up to third and fourth.

11 to go Kligerman-Larson lead Sadler-Vickers ahead of Kenseth-Pastrana……….Kligerman and Sadler side-by-side for the lead.

10 to go Sadler-Vickers to the lead ahead of Kenseth and its three-wide behind them

9 to go Sadler-Vickers side-by-side with Smith-Keselowski for the lead…….Smith-Keselowski grab the lead ahead of Sadler-Vickers and Bowman-Dillon

8 to go Smith-Keselowski lead Sadler-Vickers as the rest of the field is two, three-wide

7 to go Smith-Keselowski, Sadler-Vickers, Stewart-Hornish breaking away from the rest of the field.

6 to go Smith-Keselowski lead ahead of Stewart-Hornish ahead of Pastrana……..Stewart-Hornish side by side for the lead with Smith-Keselowski

5 to go Caution THE BIG ONE strikes as Dillon gets turned by Annett after Annett gets loose while pushing Sadler, collecting Kahne, Long, Dick, Bliss, White, Efland, J. Earnhardt, H. Martin, Kenseth. Michael Annett is being transferred to Halifax Medical Centre for further evaluation.

Red flag has been thrown to clean up the wreck. Yellow flag put back out. Joe Gibbs Racing cars of Vickers and Sadler pit for tires.

Restart 2 to go Smith-Keselowski and Stewart-Hornish side-by-side for the lead……Stewart-Hornish ahead of the field in turn three

White flag……Smith-Keselowski to the outside of Stewart-Hornish…..Smith-Keselowski to the lead down the back……Smith and Keselowski make contact, trigging wreck no. 2, sending Larson up into the catch fence. Bowman, Earnhardt Jr., Allgaier, Sadler, Scott,

Stewart wins the DRIVE4COPD 400. Sam Hornish Jr. Alex Bowman. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Parker Kligerman. Brian Scott. Justin Allgaier. Eric McClure. Robert Richardson Jr. Travis Pastrana.

At the end of Nationwide Series qualifying on Friday afternoon, it’d be Trevor Bayne taking the pole for the DRIVE4COPD 300 with a lap of
50.801 seconds, 177.162 mph. It marks the sixth pole in 86 Nationwide Series starts for the driver of the No. 6 Cargill Ford.

The 2011 Daytona 500 winner takes over the No. 6 Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing after back-to-back series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made the move up to the Sprint Cup Series for 2013, driving the No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion.

Sam Hornish Jr. posted the second quickest speed, 0.084 seconds off of Bayne, for his second top 10 start at Daytona. He begins the full schedule with Penske Racing once again.

Parker Kligerman posted the third quickest time for his second top 10 start at Daytona. Kligerman will be driving a Kyle Busch Motorsports Nationwide Series car as they go for their first driver’s championship.

Bayne’s Roush Fenway teammate Travis Pastrana was fourth as he enters his first full season of Nationwide Series competition.

Richard Childress Racing driver and defending rookie of the year Austin Dillon rounded out the top five.

Elliott Sadler qualified sixth after moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing from RCR, followed by teammate Kyle Busch. Alex Bowman was the highest qualifying rookie in eighth. He was followed by defending Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”207″][/media-credit]Regan Smith won the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for his first win in 2012 and the first win for JR Motorsports since 2010.

Kyle Busch finished second, Brendan Gaughan third, Sam Hornish Jr fourth and Austin Dillon rounded out the top-5.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the 2012 Nationwide Championship for the second season in a row.  Stenhouse Jr. won by 23 points over Elliott Sadler and Dillon by 24.

“It’s been fun. I’ve got to say hi to my granddad at home. He’s not doing as well as he needs to be, so I want to say ‘hey’ to him and we’ll see him soon. But I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everybody else as well.” Stenhouse Jr. said.

Busch started from the pole position and led the field three times for a race-high 89 laps.  This was Busch’s 26th pole in 244 NNS races. He is fourth on the all-time series poles but winless in 2012.

“Just couldn’t get to the front and couldn’t pass Regan (Smith). I don’t know that I’ve lost so many different ways in a season, but this is that year.” Busch said.

Busch led the first lap by a couple car lengths over Sadler. Sadler never gave up but was struggling with his car telling his crew chief “I’ve got no front grip.” That didn’t really effect him as he took the lead for only a corner which then Busch made the slide-job perfectly. While all of this was happening, championship leader Stenhouse Jr. was sneaking up on them to also challenge for the lead. After Busch cleared Sadler, He pulled away to a 1.517 lead on lap 18.

By lap 40,  Busch was on fire! He had over a 8 second lead over Sadler and Stenhouse Jr. He also lapped up to 23rd position.

Green flag pit stops occurred on lap 49 with Smith being the first one to make the ride to pit road. Smith, who is getting pitted by Dale Jr’s No.88 crew, said he was little tight but was getting better. He got a slight air pressure along with four tires and all the important fuel and was away. Busch, the leader, went down pit lane saying it was very good but just a tic free. He got a wedge adjustment along with four tires and fuel and was away. The two championship contenders came in together with Sadler stopping first. He said he want a little help but was getting better. He got that along with the usual and was away. Stenhouse was complaining that he was lacking grip overall. They went down on the track bar along with some fresh Goodyears and was away.

The first caution waved on lap 65 with the No.20 of Ryan Truex spinning off of turn 4 and slamming the wall. All of the leaders came in to pit. Smith said he was much better but could not get in the throttle coming in off the corner. Stenhouse Jr. said he was much more free this run so they dropped the track bar down two rounds and no tires and came out first. Busch got four tires and came out second. Sadler did not pit and will lead the field back to the green flag.

They restart on lap 70 with Busch going three wide to take the lead back from Sadler. Smith took Ryan Blaney for 4th and then took Stenhouse Jr. for 3rd.

Caution came out on lap 72 when the No.23 of Robert Richardson Jr lost it in turn 4 and almost collected Jason Bowles and Joey Coulter. They all saved it.  Nobody came in for pit stops due to coming in just 2-3 laps ago.

They restarted on lap 72 with Busch being the leader. He cleared Sadler easily into turns one and two with three wide racing behind them. Busch increased his lead to 1.277 lead after Smith passed Sadler for second.

Right after Smith passed Busch for the lead, the caution came out for Richardson Jr spinning for the second time. Everyone came in except for Danica Patrick who took tires the previous stop. Stenhouse and Sadler both took four tires and fuel but Sadler did not put all of the lug nuts on the tires which will result in a penalty. Smith, Sam Hornish Jr. and others just came in for fuel only. Sadler will restart from 19th.

Patrick restarted from the lead but did not last long as Busch and Hornish Jr took her three wide and she was down to five by the backstretch. Hornish Jr. took over the lead but with 95 laps to go Austin Dillon reeled him in and took over the spot. Dillon, who is still mathematically eligible for the championship, also got tires during that stop which is why he is rolling. Smith then took the second spot from Hornish Jr. Hornish Jr. was going backwards as he got passed for third from the championship leader, Stenhouse Jr.

Green flag pit stops started to occur with 54 laps to go with Smith starting then. Steve Latarte, Smith Crew Chief, said he wanted a track bar but then called it off saying he would make Smith’s car to tight. They put four tires on with fuel and was away. Smith was wanting some new tires as he has had 78 laps with the ones he has had on. Busch came in after saying he wanted to snug it up some more. He told his Crew Chief that this was not the car they had at the beginning. Sadler was in saying his main problem was not having enough right rear lateral grip. He got four tires with a air pressure adjustment and some fuel and was gone. Dillon came in and was very happy with his car. He wanted no changes, just four tires and fuel.

Stenhouse Jr. stayed out and led a lap and then came in. Stenhouse Jr. was not happy at all telling Mike Kelley, his Crew Chief, this has been the worst the car has been. They made a wedge adjustment along with some tires and fuel and off he went. Kevin Swindell and Kenny Wallace stayed out to lead a lap and then came in for the pit stops.

After 78 laps of green flag racing, the caution came out for debris in turn 1. All of the leaders came in for the last stop which could define the championship. Sadler came in, telling his crew that this was a break since he would be five laps short, told his team he was lacking right rear grip. They dropped the track bar down and got only one can of fuel. Stenhouse Jr. was terrible and that he wanted triple the adjustment from last time. He got three rounds down in the right rear. Dillon was to tight on the gas and got a air pressure adjustment and was off first. Kevin Swindell did not pit so he will lead the field back to the green.

Green flag waved with 22 laps to go. Swindell lead them to the green but easily got passed into turn 1 as they went four wide to pass him. Smith took over the lead as Sadler was screaming at crew shouting” THIS CAR IS JUNK! WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO?!?!”  While he was saying this the caution came out for the 70 of Johanna Long who got turned by Joey Logano and slammed the inside wall on the back stretch.

Smith led the field back to green with 15 laps to go. Smith and Sadler were clear as the the top-10 were going two and three wide to gain positions. As they were going side by side looking like they were about to wreck, Stenhouse Jr’s spotter was yelling at him to settle back and not to race them. He lifted a little bit but he got the championship!

This is the first time in Roush Fenway history that a driver has won back-to-back championships.

“Thank you. It is unbelievable. These guys have put a lot of hard work into it. From the engine shop to the body shop and chassis shop these guys that go on the road and their families. There are a lot of people that have put a lot of effort into this. I am just the lucky guy that gets to drive it” Stenhouse said.

“Ricky Stenhouse has won our first back-to-back championship for a driver in a series. We had back-to-back Cup championships in 2003 and 2004 but with different drivers. He did a great job and he has made a great champion and is going to make a great Cup driver next year.” Jack Roush said.

Unofficial Race Results
Ford EcoBoost 300, Homestead-Miami
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=33
=========================================
Pos.	St.	No.	Driver	Make	Points
=========================================
1	10	5	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	0
2	1	54	Kyle Busch	Toyota	0
3	16	33	Brendan Gaughan	Chevrolet	0
4	11	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	41
5	3	3	Austin Dillon *	Chevrolet	40
6	4	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	39
7	7	11	Brian Scott	Toyota	37
8	20	22	Ryan Blaney	Dodge	36
9	2	2	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	36
10	8	88	Cole Whitt *	Chevrolet	34
11	6	31	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	33
12	32	43	Michael Annett	Ford	32
13	14	7	Danica Patrick	Chevrolet	32
14	15	21	Joey Coulter	Chevrolet	0
15	17	199	Kenny Wallace	Toyota	30
16	5	18	Joey Logano	Toyota	0
17	18	38	Brad Sweet *	Chevrolet	27
18	25	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	26
19	24	10	Mike Bliss	Toyota	25
20	13	8	Scott Lagasse Jr.	Chevrolet	0
21	22	198	Kevin Swindell	Ford	24
22	23	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	22
23	31	108	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Ford	21
24	28	124	David Starr	Toyota	0
25	19	30	Dakoda Armstrong	Chevrolet	0
26	34	1	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	18
27	30	14	Eric McClure	Toyota	17
28	21	27	Andrew Ranger	Ford	16
29	35	81	Jason Bowles *	Toyota	15
30	26	19	Hal Martin	Toyota	0
31	41	4	Danny Efland	Chevrolet	13
32	33	52	Joey Gase *	Chevrolet	12
33	40	23	Robert Richardson Jr.	Chevrolet	11
34	36	70	Johanna Long *	Chevrolet	10
35	37	40	Erik Darnell	Chevrolet	9
36	27	44	John Blankenship	Chevrolet	0
37	38	41	Juan Carlos Blum	Chevrolet	7
38	12	20	Ryan Truex	Toyota	6
39	9	100	Blake Koch	Toyota	5
40	42	191	Jeff Green	Toyota	4
41	29	46	Chase Miller	Chevrolet	3
42	43	42	Josh Wise	Chevrolet	0
43	39	39	Dexter Stacey	Ford	1

After grabbing the lead with 15 laps to go, Regan Smith would win the Ford Ecoboost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for his first ever Nationwide Series victory. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would finish sixth to win the driver’s championship for the second straight season. Joe Gibbs Racing would win the owner’s championship with the No. 18 car for the fourth time in five years.

 

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. clinches the championship by finishing 16^th or better. Kyle Busch starts on pole, followed by Elliott Sadler, Austin Dillon and Stenhouse Jr.

Green flag

Kyle Busch grabs the early lead through turns one and two as Stenhouse and Dillon are side-by-side for second. Sadler clears Dillon for second going into turn four. Stenhouse fourth

Lap 2 Busch leads Sadler, Dillon, Stenhouse, Allgaier, Scott, Whitt, Smith, Logano and Hornish Jr.

Lap 3 Hornish Jr. passes Logano for ninth; Stenhouse passes Dillon for third

Lap 6 Whitt and Smith side-by-side for seventh

Lap 8 Busch and Sadler side-by-side for the lead

Lap 11 Sadler falls back behind Busch as Stenhouse begins to close on them

Lap 17 Busch leads Sadler, Stenhouse Jr., Dillon, Allgaier, Scott, Smith, Hornish Jr., Whitt and Logano

Lap 22 Hornish Jr. passes Scott and Smith; Logano passes Whitt

Lap 23 Busch leads Sadler, Stenhouse, Dillon, Allgaier, Smith, Hornish Jr., Scott, Logano and Whitt

Lap 24 Smith passes Allgaier for fifth

Lap 32 Busch leads Sadler, Stenhouse, Smith, Dillon, Hornish, Allgaier, Scott, Logano and Whitt

Lap 36 Blaney passes Whitt for 10^th

Lap 39 Gaughan passes Blaney for 10^th

Lap 46 Busch leads Sadler, Smith, Stenhouse, Hornish Jr., Dillon, Scott, Logano, Allgaier and Gaughan

Lap 48 Patrick pits.

Lap 49 Smith pits so its Busch leading Sadler, Stenhouse, Hornish Jr……..Allgaier and Busch pit. Sadler to the lead.

Lap 50 Dillon, Hornish, Stenhouse and Sadler pit, handing the lead to Logano.

Lap 51 Logano pits, handing the lead to Whitt. Whitt pits, handing the lead back to Busch to complete the cycle

Lap 53 Busch leads Smith, Sadler, Stenhouse, Hornish, Scott, Gaughan, Dillon, Allgaier and Logano. 17 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 62 Busch leads Smith, Sadler, Stenhouse, Hornish, Scott, Dillon, Gaughan, Allgaier and Blaney

Caution lap 66 Ryan Truex wrecks off of turn four while running 13^th. Truex got into the wall and then over corrected, causing more contact…..leaders pit under caution. Some teams take fuel only, some take tires. Stenhouse wins race off pit road ahead of Busch, Dillon, Blaney, Smith, Logano, Patrick, Scott, Hornish Jr. and Gaughan.

Restart Lap 70 – Busch goes three-wide and grabs the lead

Caution lap 72 Richardson Jr. taps the inside wall. Busch leads Sadler, Smith and Stenhouse.

Restart lap 82 Busch gets a good restart as Sadler is clear for second with Stenhouse third

Lap 83 Smith and Allgaier side-by-side for fourth

Lap 84 Smith passes Allgaier and Stenhouse to move up to third; Allgaier passes Stenhouse for fourth

La 85 Hornish Jr. passes Stenhouse for fifth; Gaughan passes Stenhouse for sixth

Lap 86 Smith and Sadler side-by-side for second; Smith completes the pass off of turn four; Hornish Jr. passes Allgaier

Lap 87 Busch leads Smith, Sadler, Hornish Jr., Allgaier, Gaughan, Stenhouse, Whitt, Scott and Sweet

Lap 89 Patrick and Sweet side-by-side for 10^th; Patrick completes the pass; Hornish Jr. passes Sadler for third

Lap 90 Busch lead Smith, Hornish, Sadler, Gaughan

Lap 93 Smith grabs the lead

Caution lap 94 richardson spins…..leaders pit with a variety of strategies……Sadler has to come back in due to missing lugnuts. Danica Patrick stays out to take over the lead

Restart lap 99 as three-wide into turn 1, Hornish Jr. grabs the lead while Smith and Busch are side-by-side for second with Patrick back to fourth.

96 laps to go Hornish leads Smith, Dillon, Busch, Allgaier, Stenhouse, Sweet, Blaney, Gaughan and Scott

95 to go Dillon passes both Smith and Hornish to take the lead. Hornish second, Smith third.

94 to go Dillon leads Hornish, Smith, Stenhouse, Blaney, Busch, Gaughan, Allgaier, Sweet and Whitt

92 to go Smith passes Hornish for second; Sadler up to 10^th past Whitt

91 to go Dillon leads Smith, Stenhouse, Hornish, Blaney, Gaughan, Busch, Sadler, Sweet and Whitt

82 to go Dillon leads Stenhouse, Smith, Gaughan, Blaney, Sadler, Hornish, Sweet, Busch and Coulter

79 to go Sadler passes Blaney for fifth

69 to go Dillon leads Stenhouse, Smith, Sadler, Gaughan, Blaney, Sweet, Busch, Coulter and Whitt

59 to go Dillon leads Smith, Stenhouse, Sadler, Gaughan, Blaney, Sweet, Busch, Coulter and Whitt

58 to go Sadler passes Stenhouse for third

55 to go Gaughan passes Stenhouse for fourth

54 to go Smith pits from second

53 to go Blaney and Busch pit

52 to go Dillon leads Sadler, Gaughan, Stenhouse, Sweet, Coulter…..Sadler and Dillon pit, handing the lead over to Stenhouse.

51 to go Stenhouse pits, handing the lead to Swindell

49 to go Swindell pits, handing the lead to Kenny Wallace; Logano pits;

48 to go Wallace pits, handing the lead to Dillon. Dillon leads over Smith and Sadler

41 to go Dillon leads Smith, Sadler, Hornish, Gaughan, Stenhouse, Blaney, Sweet, Busch and Scott. 15 cars on the lead lap.

39 to go Gaughan and Stenhouse Jr. pass Hornish

36 to go Sweet passes Blaney

27 to go Caution for debris. Patrick gets the lucky dog…….leaders head down pit road. Dillon leads Smith, Sadler, Gaughan, Stenhouse, Blaney, Whitt, Scott, Busch and Hornish off pit road. Swindell stayed out to take over the lead. Stenhouse leads Sadler by 19 points, Dillon by 21 points.

Restart 22 to go four-wide for the lead with Sadler, Dillon, Smith and Swindell. Smith grabs the lead off of turn two followed by Sadler and Dillon.

21 to go Sadler and Dillon side-by-side for second; Dillon clears Sadler off of turn two. Stenhouse and Busch side-by-side for fourth. Sadler clears Busch off of turn four.

20 to go caution for Johanna Long hitting the inside backstretch wall due to contact from Logano

Restart 15 laps to go as Smith grabs the lead ahead of Sadler while Busch and Dillon battle for third.

14 to go Smith leads as Sadler and Busch are side-by-side for second; Busch grabs the spot

13 to go Smith leads Busch, then Sadler. Hornish and Gaughan side-by-side for fourth…..Hornish gets loose, up towards Dillon, Dillon pushes up into Stenhouse and Stenhouse barely stays off the outside wall

11 to go Smith leads Busch, Sadler, Gaughan, Hornish, Dillon, Stenhouse, Whitt, Scott, Blaney

10 to go Gaughan and Hornish pass Sadler

8 to go Smith leads Busch, Gaughan, Hornish, Sadler, Dillon, Stenhouse, Scott, Blaney and Whitt.

7 to go Sadler passes Dillon…..Stenhouse looked under Dillon, but backed off.

6 to go Sadler and Dillon side-by-side for position with Scott and Stenhouse right behind.

3 to go Stenhouse passes Sadler; Scott passes Sadler.

2 to go Smith leads Bush, Gaughan, Hornish, Dillon, Stenhouse, Scott, Sadler, Blaney and Whitt

FL Blaney passes Sadler for eighth

Regan Smith wins the race ahead of Busch, Gaughan, Hornish, Dillon, Stenhouse, Scott, Blaney, Sadler and Whitt. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the champion. Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 wins the owner’s championship.