Bizarre Happenings IN Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide Series Race

I must admit that the Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide race yesterday, was one of the strangest I have seen in a while.

Here is Kevin Harvick, Scott Speed, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch leading the way in the beginning of the Sam’s Town 300. All four cars ended up in the garage.

The craziness began on lap nine when Denny Hamlin spun out all by himself. After that it seemed all hell broke loose for the front-runners.

Not long after Hamlin’s spin, Kyle Busch spun out racing Kevin Harvick for the lead. Busch’s spin ended up taking out pole sitter, Scott Speed.

Denny Hamlin spinning out a few laps later.

Not only did we see Sprint Cup drivers spinning out unassisted, but there was also a confuggled mess of pit road mistakes by just about everyone that led or contended for the lead. It almost appeared that leading the race was a hex.

Biffle ran out of gas as the leader, which put Hamlin out front. Then Hamlin was too fast exiting pit road, had to return for a pass-through penalty, and was too fast again.

Kyle Busch spins and collects Scott Speed.

Hamlin’s mistake gave Vickers the lead, but he coughed it up when he left his pit stop with a missing lug nut.

Brendan Gaughan inherited the lead, then he spun trying to enter pit road to give David Ragan the lead. Edwards, who had rallied to third from an earlier punctured tire, was penalized for driving too fast off pit road. But as he tried to argue his penalty, Ragan wrecked on the track to take NASCAR’s attention.

Harvick’s car sits mangled in the garage after an altercation with teammate Jeff Burton. 

Justin Allgaier, who had stayed out of trouble to put himself in position to make a late challenge for the lead, then scuffed the wall while running in the top 10.

Finally, when it all got sorted out, Greg Biffle was the leader and eventual winner.

There was so much wrecking and pit mishaps at one time, that the ESPN2 broadcast announcers were having a difficult time keeping up with it all.

If the Nationwide race is any indication of how the Sprint Cup race will be, it might prove to be a very interesting race. It would be good to see after the California boredom last week.

Race 3: Las Vegas Motor Speedway Fan Guide

Race fans, we are entering the third race of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. This week’s event will be the Shelby 427, held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Let’s dive into some fun tidbits about this event and venue.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway History

Just a few miles north of The Strip, Las Vegas Motor Speedway sits like a diamond in the desert. One of the most complete racing complexes in the world, its 1,600 acres include road courses, a three-eighths mile oval, a dirt track and a state-of-the-art drag racing facility.

At its heart, however, is the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway, home of a 400-mile race on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, as well as Busch and Truck Series events.

Construction of the $200 million complex began in 1995.

Nearly 2,000 tons of concrete were originally used to build more than 100,000 seats. Shortly after Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the track in 1998, it announced plans to add 22,000 seats in the Dale Earnhardt Tower overlooking the frontstretch.

The first NASCAR race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was a Truck Series event in 1996. The Busch Series held a race there in 1997, and a year later the Cup series made its first visit with Mark Martin picking up the victory in 1998.

Construction of the Richard Petty Terrace in Turn 1 was completed in 2006, allowing fans a shot at 14,000 additional tickets and pushing the track's seating capacity to nearly 150,000.

Additionally, the track saw several major changes in 2006, as the entire surface as reconfigured with progressive banking installed, as well as fan-friendly features in the infield and moving pit road closer to the straightaway. Beginning in 2007, officials made grandstand seating during NASCAR weekend smoke-free.

Mark Martin won the first Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1998 

 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Facts

Configuration

Location

7000 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Las Vegas, NV 89115

Completed

1996

Shape

D-shaped Tri Oval

Distance

1.5 miles

Banking

Turns: 20 degrees; Frontstretch: 9 degrees; Backstretch: 9 degrees

Frontstretch Length

2,275 feet

Backstretch Length

1,572 feet

Track Records

Qualifying Record

Kasey Kahne – 184.856 mph (29.212 seconds); Set March 9, 2007

Race Record

Mark Martin – 146.554 mph; Set March 1, 1998

 

Aerial view of Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Previous Winners (1999-2008)

Year	Driver	Car	Avg. Speed
1999	Jeff Burton	Ford	137.537
2000	Jeff Burton	Ford	119.982
2001	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	135.546
2002	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	136.754
2003	Matt Kenseth	Ford	132.934
2004	Matt Kenseth	Ford	128.790
2005	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	121.038
2006	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	133.358
2007	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	128.183
2008	Carl Edwards	Ford	127.729

 

Most Wins

3

Jimmie Johnson

Most Top 5s

5

Mark Martin; Jeff Gordon

Most Top 10s

9

Mark Martin

Most Starts

11

Jeff Burton; Mark Martin; Jeff Gordon; Bobby Labonte

Most Poles

2

Kasey Kahne; Bobby Labonte

Most Laps Led

438

Matt Kenseth

Avg. Start

7.3

 

TV Broadcast Schedule For 2009 Las Vegas Speedway Events

Camping World Truck Series

No events this week

 

Nationwide Series

Friday, February 27, 2009

 

Practice – 1:30 PM EST

 

 

Final Practice – 4:30 PM EST

 

Saturday, February 28, 2009

 

Qualifying – Noon EST

 

 

Race – Sam’s Town 300 - 4:00 PM EST

 

Sprint Cup Series

Friday, February 27, 2009

 

Practice – 3:00 PM EST

 

 

Qualifying – 6:30 PM EST

 

Saturday, February 28, 2009

 

Practice – 1:30 PM EST

 

 

Final Practice – 2:30 PM EST

 

Sunday, March 1, 2009

 

Race – Shelby 427 -  3:30 PM EST

Will Anyone Stop ‘Wild Thing’ In Today’s Auto Club 500?

What ‘Wild Thing’, Kyle Busch, has done thus far during this weekend’s events at Auto Club Speedway is very impressive. Busch not only won both the San Bernardino County 200 in the Camping World Truck Series, and the Stater Bros. 300 in the Nationwide Series, he dominated those races.

Kyle Busch led a combined 238 laps out of a possible 250 laps. Now, I don’t know about you, but that is pure domination. He also made NASCAR history by winning two events in one day.

I know Busch is not a very popular driver with most fans. I have heard Busch referred to as a “young punk” among other superlatives that I won’t disclose here. Whatever you call Kyle Busch, a true race fan has to admit one thing – the man can drive a race car.

What Busch has been able to accomplish in his young career would not be possible without the teams he drives for. The Billy Ballew Motorsports truck team is one of the best teams in the truck series. Of course, the Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide team is one of the best in that series, winning the owner points championship in 2008.

So after Kyle Busch’s phenomenal Saturday at Auto Club Speedway one question remains – Will he match that performance on Sunday?

California natives Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are favorites to win the Auto Club 500, but I don’t know if anyone should count out Kyle Busch after Saturday’s events.

If Kyle Busch does win Sunday’s race in Fontana, California, it will mark the first time in NASCAR history that a driver has won all three events in one weekend.

Kyle Busch Makes History With Stater Bros. 300 Win

Hours after winning a Camping World Truck Series race in a runaway, Kyle Busch staged a repeat performance in Saturday night's Stater Bros. 300 Nationwide Series event at Auto Club Speedway.

"It's awesome," Busch said after climbing out of his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. "This is just a blast. It's pretty special to beat guys like Carl [Edwards] and Kevin [Harvick]. To win here twice in one day is even more special."

In claiming the 22nd Nationwide Series victory of his career, Busch became the first driver ever to win two races in any of NASCAR's top three series on the same day. Busch had come close once before, finishing second to Jamie McMurray by .005 seconds in a July 2007 Cup race at Daytona after winning a rain-delayed Nationwide race earlier in the day.

On Sunday, he'll try for another record -- a weekend sweep of NASCAR's top three series at the same race track.

About the only suspense came on a restart on Lap 135, after Edwards beat Busch off pit road following the final stops for both cars. Busch dived to the inside of Edwards' Ford, and Harvick made it three-wide through the corner before Busch regained the lead through Turns 3 and 4.

From that point, Busch pulled away and crossed the finish line 1.011 seconds ahead of Harvick and almost the same margin he had in beating Todd Bodine in the Truck race.

Joey Logano, Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third, followed by pole-sitter Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, David Ragan.

Jeff Burton, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, series rookie Brendan Gaughan and Steve Wallace completed the top 10.

"It was a blast," Busch said. "We were just glad to put on a great show. It got a little nerve-wracking there on that last restart but that's what the fans come to see."

Harvick tried to seize the opportunity but couldn't force his way past Busch and Edwards.

"I was able to sneak by Kyle and Carl when they got together there [on the restart] -- at least that's what it looked like from my perspective. I just couldn't quite complete the pass there."

Busch, who led 143 of the 150 laps, obliterated the field during the first green-flag run, streaking to an advantage of more than 8 seconds before pitting from the lead on Lap 40. After the cycle of green-flag stops, Busch led Harvick by as much as 11.486 seconds before Michael McDowell's fiery crash in Turn 2 caused the first caution of the race on Lap 52.

By then, 14 of the 43 cars that had started the race were on the lead lap.

"Definitely, the best car won -- that's for sure," said Edwards, who fell back after battling Busch and Harvick on the final restart. "That was amazing. Kyle was just in a league of his own [Saturday night], so it was tough to be able to hang with him for most of the night."

The victory came in the first race back for crew chief Jason Ratcliff, suspended along with fellow crew chief Dave Rogers for the final 10 races of last season and Daytona after the Gibbs team was caught trying to manipulate the results of an engine dynomometer test at Michigan.

"I've been dreaming about this," Ratcliff said. "It's a heck of a way to come back."

 

2009 Stater Bros. 300 Final Results

Results Saturday from the Stater Bros. 300 race for NASCAR's Nationwide Series at Auto Club Speedway, listing starting position in parentheses, driver, car, reason out if not running at the finish, laps completed, driver rating, points and money won:

1. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 150 laps, 150 rating, 195 pts, $76,820.

2. (9) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 150, 117.4, 170, $60,525.

3. (7) Joey Logano, Toyota, 150, 107, 165, $56,893.

4. (1) Carl Edwards, Ford, 150, 120.9, 165, $44,150.

5. (8) David Ragan, Ford, 150, 106.6, 155, $34,375.

6. (6) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 150, 115.8, 150, $31,325.

7. (29) David Reutimann, Toyota, 150, 96.1, 146, $28,275.

8. (12) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 150, 105, 142, $26,825.

9. (11) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 150, 90.7, 138, $35,903.

10. (15) Steve Wallace, Chevrolet, 150, 87.6, 134, $35,493.

11. (18) Jason Leffler, Toyota, 150, 86.9, 130, $32,393.

12. (23) Scott Lagasse Jr., Toyota, 150, 83.7, 127, $32,143.

13. (4) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 150, 95.1, 124, $32,943.

14. (17) Justin Allgaier, Dodge, 150, 88.4, 121, $31,808.

15. (10) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 150, 80.7, 118, $26,055.

16. (42) Michael Annett, Toyota, 149, 65.8, 115, $31,563.

17. (19) Jason Keller, Ford, 149, 74.5, 112, $31,353.

18. (36) David Green, Toyota, 149, 67.1, 109, $31,518.

19. (27) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, 149, 68.9, 106, $31,108.

20. (24) Ken Butler, Chevrolet, 149, 68.4, 103, $31,498.

21. (30) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 149, 61.6, 100, $31,238.

22. (14) John Wes Townley, Ford, 148, 64, 97, $30,753.

23. (20) Brandon Whitt, Ford, 147, 65.3, 94, $31,068.

24. (25) D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 147, 53.7, 91, $30,508.

25. (26) Kertus Davis, Chevrolet, 146, 49, 88, $24,055.

26. (32) Kenny Hendrick, Dodge, 146, 45.1, 85, $30,263.

27. (13) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, 145, 78.8, 87, $30,128.

28. (43) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 145, 38.4, 79, $23,540.

29. (31) Brian Keselowski, Dodge, 145, 44.8, 76, $23,390.

30. (38) Eric McClure, Ford, 145, 37, 73, $30,048.

31. (37) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 143, 48.4, 70, $29,638.

32. (40) Scott Gaylord, Chevrolet, 143, 37.6, 67, $29,528.

33. (33) Danny O'Quinn Jr., Chevrolet, 134, 42.7, 64, $22,950.

34. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford, accident, 127, 90.7, 61, $23,190.

35. (28) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, rear end, 61, 55.5, 58, $22,730.

36. (3) Michael McDowell, Toyota, accident, 50, 63.1, 55, $29,838.

37. (16) Terry Cook, Chevrolet, ignition, 15, 41.7, 52, $28,973.

38. (35) J.C. Stout, Chevrolet, overheating, 13, 36.7, 49, $22,395.

39. (39) Johnny Chapman, Chevrolet, ignition, 10, 34.5, 46, $28,808.

40. (22) Casey Atwood, Chevrolet, rear end, 5, 34.6, 43, $22,305.

41. (41) Justin Ashburn, Chevrolet, ignition, 5, 28.9, 40, $28,713.

42. (21) Dennis Setzer, Dodge, vibration, 3, 32.4, 37, $22,165.

43. (34) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, vibration, 3, 30.8, 34, $22,127.

***

Race statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 137.178 mph.

Time of Race: 2 hours, 11 minutes, 13 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 1.11 seconds.

Caution Flags: 4 for 23 laps.

Lead Changes: 6 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K.Busch 1-39; C.Edwards 40; Bra.Keselowski 41-42; K.Busch 43-130; C.Edwards 131-134; K.Busch 135-150.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Busch, 3 times for 143 laps; C.Edwards, 2 times for 5 laps; Bra.Keselowski, 1 time for 2 laps.

Top 10 in Points: 1. K.Busch, 360; 2. C.Edwards, 340; 3. K.Harvick, 305; 4. D.Ragan, 297; 5. B.Vickers, 297; 6. D.Reutimann, 273; 7. J.Logano, 268; 8. B.Gaughan, 256; 9. J.Keller, 255; 10. G.Biffle, 221.

Edwards Wins Pole For The Stater Bros. 300

 

Carl Edwards doesn't have crew chief Drew Blickensderfer to help with his Nationwide Series ride anymore, but new crew chief Dan Stillman doesn't seem to be exactly hurting the team.

Stillman and Edwards earned their first pole together on Saturday morning at Auto Club Speedway, claiming the top spot for the Stater Bros. 300 tonight in Southern California.

When Blickensderfer became Matt Kenseth's Sprint Cup crew chief (and now a Daytona 500 champion), Stillman stepped in to try and help continue Edwards' winning ways in the second-tier series.

Edwards' lap of 179.695 mph was enough to put his Roush Fenway Racing Ford ahead of Kyle Busch (178.860) and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing car.

Both drivers are running the full schedule this season.

"It was a great lap, and we've got 150 more of them," Edwards said. "It's going to be a good points race all season."

JTG Racing's Michael McDowell, a rookie in the series, qualified a surprise third. He was followed by Phoenix Racing's Mike Bliss and Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle.

Jeff Burton (Richard Childress Racing), Joey Logano (Gibbs), David Ragan (Roush Fenway), Kevin Harvick (Kevin Harvick Inc.) and Michael Waltrip (Michael Waltrip Racing) rounded out the top 10.

Rookie Michael Annett (Germain Racing) wrecked during his qualifying lap and will have to use a backup car for the race.

Scott Wimmer (Key Motorsports) was the biggest name to fail to qualify for the race, but three others also went home: Johnny Borneman III (Trail Motorsport), Mike Harmon (Mike Harmon Racing) and Andy Ponstein (Stott Classic Racing).

The Stater Bros. 300 is scheduled to begin tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST.

2009 Stater Bros. 300 Starting Lineup

Pos	Driver	Car #	Make	Qual. Speed
1	Carl Edwards	60	Ford	179.695
2	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	178.860
3	Michael McDowell	47	Toyota	178.116
4	Mike Bliss	1	Chevrolet	177.918
5	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	177.475
6	Jeff Burton	24	Chevrolet	177.296
7	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	177.122
8	David Ragan	6	Ford	177.000
9	Kevin Harvick	33	Chevrolet	176.609
10	Michael Waltrip	99	Toyota	176.427
11	Brendan Gaughan	62	Chevrolet	176.393
12	Brian Vickers	32	Toyota	176.380
13	Brad Keselowski	88	Chevrolet	176.035
14	John Wes Townley	09	Ford	175.975
15	Steve Wallace	66	Chevrolet	175.708
16	Terry Cook	91	Chevrolet	175.374
17	Justin Allgaier	12	Dodge	175.144
18	Jason Leffler	38	Toyota	174.931
19	Jason Keller	27	Ford	174.834
20	Brandon Whitt	61	Ford	174.359
21	Dennis Setzer	196	Dodge	174.102
22	Casey Atwood	85	Chevrolet	174.073
23	Scott Lagasse Jr.	11	Toyota	174.060
24	Ken Butler III	23	Chevrolet	173.934
25	DJ Kennington	81	Dodge	173.930
26	Kertus Davis	49	Chevrolet	173.896
27	Morgan Shepherd	89	Chevrolet	173.800
28	Joe Nemecheck	87	Chevrolet	173.737
29	David Reutimann	10	Toyota	173.682
30	Tony Raines	234	Chevrolet	173.410
31	Brian Keselowski	26	Dodge	172.911
32	Kenny Hendrick	171	Dodge	172.852
33	Danny O’Quinn Jr	01	Chevrolet	172.699
34	Derrike Cope	20	Chevrolet	172.463
35	JC Stout	0	Chevrolet	172.191
36	David Green	07	Toyota	172.092
37	Kenny Wallace	28	Chevrolet	171.270
38	Eric McClure	24	Ford	170.685
39	Johnny Chapman	90	Chevrolet	169.763
40	Scott Gaylord	52	Chevrolet	169.727
41	Justin Ashburn	05	Chevrolet	151.385
42	Michael Annett	15	Toyota	-
43	Stanton Barrett	31	Chevrolet	171.990
44	Scott Wimmer	40	Chevrolet	DNQ
45	John Borneman III	22	Ford	DNQ
46	Mike Harmon	84	Chevrolet	DNQ
47	Andy Ponstein	102	Chevrolet	DNQ

Race 2: The 2009 Auto Club Speedway Fan Guide

Welcome to The 2009 Auto Club Speedway Fan Guide for the second week of the NASCAR 2009 season. This will be a brief guide covering many items pertaining to Auto Club Speedway.

 

Auto Club Speedway History

Auto Club Speedway of Southern California has a history that you might expect a track just 50 miles from Hollywood to have.

The speedway, formerly known as California Speedway, sits on a 568-acre site that once hosted the first steel mill located west of the Rocky Mountains, Kaiser Steel Mill. The mill produced the steel that helped build the Liberty ships used by the Allies to win World War II.

Kaiser Steel went out of business in 1983. Following that, the site fell into such disrepair that it was used in the movie The Terminator to portray a post-Apocalyptic world where men and machines battled each other for supremacy and survival.

Penske Motorsports Inc. purchased the land and completed the track in 1997. The first race held on the track was a Winston West Series race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997. Later that day, Mark Martin won an International Race of Champions event at the new facility. Jeff Gordon won the track's first Cup race the following day.

Auto Club Speedway has also hosted races in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series, as well as events in the IndyCar Series and what is now the Champ Car World Series on its oval and road racing and motorcycle events on its road courses.

In 1999, Penske Motorsports Inc. merged with International Speedway Corporation, bringing California Speedway into the ISC family of tracks. Beginning in 2004, California Speedway's 2-mile oval became the host of two Cup Series races each year, adding a Labor Day weekend event to its roster of activities.

The track was renamed in February 2008.

Jeff Gordon won the first Cup race at California in 1997

Auto Club Speedway

 

Configuration

Location

9300 Cherry Ave., Fontana, CA 92335

Completed

1997

Shape

D-shaped oval

Distance

2 miles

Banking

Turns: 14 degrees; Frontstretch: 11 degrees; Backstretch: 3 degrees

Frontstretch

3,100 feet

Backstretch

2,500 feet

Seating

92,000

Track Records

Qualifying Record

Kyle Busch – 188.245 mph (38.248 seconds); Set February 25, 2005

Race Record

Jeff Gordon (155.012 mph); Set June 22, 1997

Aerial view of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California

Previous Winners (1999-2008)

Year	Driver	Car	Avg. Speed
1999	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	150.276
2000	Jeremy Mayfield	Ford	149.378
2001	Rusty Wallace	Ford	143.118
2002	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	150.088
2003	Kurt Busch	Ford	140.111
2004	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	137.268
2005	Greg Biffle	Ford	139.697
2006	Matt Kenseth	Ford	147.852
2007	Matt Kenseth	Ford	138.451
2008	Carl Edwards	Ford	132.704

 

Most Wins

3

Jeff Gordon; Jimmie Johnson

 

Most Top 5s

8

Jeff Gordon

 

Most Top 10s

9

Matt Kenseth

 

Most Starts

17

Jeff Gordon; Jeff Burton; Bobby Labonte

 

Most Poles

3

Kurt Busch

 

Most Laps Led

527

Jeff Gordon

 

Avg. Start

8.1

Kasey Kahne

Avg. Finish

5.9

Jimmie Johnson

 

 

TV Broadcast Schedule For Auto Club Speedway Events

Camping World Truck Series

 

Thursday, February 19, 2009    

No TV Coverage      Practice – 3:30 PM (EST)

No TV Coverage      Final Practice – 6:00 PM (EST)                

 

Friday, February 20, 2009

 

Qualifying – 4:30 PM (EST)      

 

Saturday, February 21, 2009

      

Race – San Bernardino County 250 – 3:00 PM (EST)

 

 

Nationwide Series

 

Friday, February 20, 2009

 

Practice – 12:30 PM (EST)

 

 

Final Practice – 8:30 PM (EST)

 

Saturday, February 21, 2009

 

Qualifying – 12:30 PM (EST)

 

 

Race – Stater Bros. 300 – 7:00 PM (EST)

 

 

Sprint Cup Series

Friday, February 20, 2009

 

Practice – 3:00 PM (EST)

 

 

Qualifying – 6:30 PM (EST)

 

Saturday, February 21, 2009

 

Final Practice – 5:00 PM (EST)

 

Sunday, February 22, 2009

      

Race – Auto Club 500 – 5:00 PM (EST)

Stewart Hangs On For Nationwide Win

Tony Stewart will start at the rear of the field in Sunday's Daytona 500, but he was at the head of the pack in Saturday's Camping World 300.

Stewart captured NASCAR's first Nationwide Series event of the season, holding off Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards during a furious last lap, just hours after being involved in a practice-session crash with teammate Ryan Newman that damaged his primary Daytona 500 car.

Stewart Celebrates Winning The Camping World 300 at Daytona

Busch, with drafting help from Edwards, got to Stewart's rear bumper and nudged him but couldn't — or elected not to — get Stewart loose enough to get by. Edwards and Clint Bowyer slipped past Busch to finish second and third, respectively.

"Kyle pushed me all through the corner. If I'd spun or crashed I was going to have to have it out with him," said Stewart, driving his Nationwide car for Hendrick Motorsports, which supplies Chevrolet engines and technology for his Stewart-Haas Cup team.

"We lost both of our cars for the Daytona 500, so this was a good way to rebound from it."

Stewart and Newman, the defending Daytona 500 champ, will both run backup cars on Sunday.

It was the fourth victory in the last five years for Stewart in the season-opening Nationwide Series event — third in a Chevrolet. He drove a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory last year.

Clint Bowyer, the defending Nationwide Series champ, led 30 of the first 90 laps in the 120-lap race. Bowyer, Brian Vickers and Edwards all led in the final 25 laps.

Edwards was afraid the last-lap pushing and jockeying for position might lead to mass chaos.

"Clint was pushing me. I had a little run on Tony. I thought, man, this is going to be smoke and walls and all that," Edwards said. "But it ended up (Stewart) gave me enough room and I still ended up second."

Edwards took the lead from Vickers and was in command until Brad Keselowski's blown tire brought out a caution with nine laps to go. Edwards elected to stay on the track rather than pit for new tires and could not hold off Stewart after the restart.

"Here at the end it was so cool, man," Edwards said. "Man, at this place, you can be down one minute and up the next. It was really a fun race and a heck of a way to start the year."

No caution came out when Scott Wimmer blew a tire with less than five laps to go.

The race featured six caution flags for 23 laps. Jason Leffler, who started fourth, was penalized five laps for rough driving in an incident with Steven Wallace and finished 33rd.

Vickers, who rallied his Toyota from the 27th starting position, finished sixth behind Greg Biffle and just ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Pole-sitter Kevin Harvick finished 11th.

2009 Camping World 300 Results

Results Saturday from the Camping World 300 race for NASCAR's Nationwide Series at Daytona International Speedway, listing starting position in parentheses, driver, car, reason out if not running at the finish, laps completed, points and money won:

1. (5) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 120 laps, 190 points, $89,895.

2. (10) Carl Edwards, Ford, 120, 175, $84,700.

3. (3) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 120, 175, $76,500.

4. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 120,  165, $64,625.

5. (6) Greg Biffle, Ford, 120, 160, $59,405.

6. (27) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 120, 155, $57,930.

7. (24) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 120, 146, $54,255.

8. (9) David Ragan, Ford, 120, 142, $51,180.

9. (12) Jason Keller, Ford, 120, 143, $53,230.

10. (2) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 120, 139, $49,730.

11. (1) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 120, 135, $47,880.

12. (21) David Reutimann, Toyota, 120, 127, $47,505.

13. (14) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 120, 124, $47,430.

14. (41) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 120, 121, $46,730.

15. (35) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 120, 118, $47,780.

16. (34) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 120, 120, $46,530.

17. (16) D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 120, 112, $45,880.

18. (31) Mark Green, Chevrolet, 120, 109, $46,055.

19. (28) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 120, 106, $45,630.

20. (8) Joey Logano, Toyota, 120, 103, $46,355.

21. (33) John Wes Townley, Ford, 120, 100, $45,380.

22. (15) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, 120, 102, $45,255.

23. (7) Danny O'Quinn Jr., Chevrolet, 120, 94, $45,480.

24. (11) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 120, 91, $44,955.

25. (22) Brian Keselowski, Dodge, 120, 88, $44,980.

26. (36) Eric McClure, Ford, 120, 85, $44,705.

27. (40) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 120, 82, $44,605.

28. (25) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 120, 79, $44,530.

29. (30) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 120, , 76, $44,430.

30. (37) David Green, Toyota, 119, 73, $44,605.

31. (38) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, crash, 116, 70, $44,155.

32. (43) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, crash, 116, 67, $44,080.

33. (4) Jason Leffler, Toyota, 115, , 64, $44,030.

34. (29) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, 115, 61, $43,980.

35. (18) Michael Annett, Toyota, 113, 58, $43,830.

36. (42) Donnie Neuenberger, Chevrolet, 110, 55, $43,755.

37. (39) Brandon Whitt, Ford, 102, 52, $43,690.

38. (26) Kertus Davis, Chevrolet, 95, 49, $43,630.

39. (20) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, 92, 46, $43,580.

40. (32) Justin Allgaier, Dodge, crash, 82, 43, $43,530.

41. (23) Kenny Hendrick, Dodge, crash, 80, 40, $43,480.

42. (17) Steve Wallace, Chevrolet, crash, 71, 37, $43,480.

43. (19) Scott Lagasse Jr., Toyota, crash, 71, 34, $43,358.

***

Race statistics

Time of Race: 2 hours, 9 minutes, 59 seconds.

Average Speed:  138.479 mph.

Margin of Victory: 0.68 seconds.

Caution Flags: 6 for 23 laps.

Lead Changes: 18 among 11 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K.Harvick 1; M.Kenseth 2-16; C.Bowyer 17-20; T.Stewart 21; C.Bowyer 22-28; K.Harvick 29-31; T.Stewart 32-34; G.Biffle 35-36; T.Stewart 37-48; K.Busch 49-52; C.Bowyer 53-57; K.Busch 58-67; Bra.Keselowski 68-73; K.Wallace 74-75; J.Keller 76-78; C.Bowyer 79-95; B.Vickers 96-105; C.Edwards 106-113; T.Stewart 114-120.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): C.Bowyer, 4 times for 33 laps; T.Stewart, 4 times for 23 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 15 laps; K.Busch, 2 times for 14 laps; B.Vickers, 1 time for 10 laps; C.Edwards, 1 time for 8 laps; Bra.Keselowski, 1 time for 6 laps; K.Harvick, 2 times for 4 laps; J.Keller, 1 time for 3 laps; G.Biffle, 1 time for 2 laps; K.Wallace, 1 time for 2 laps.

Top 10 in Points: 1. T.Stewart, 190; 2. C.Edwards, 175; 3. C.Bowyer, 175; 4. K.Busch, 165; 5. G.Biffle, 160; 6. B.Vickers, 155; 7. D.Earnhardt Jr., 146; 8. J.Keller, 143; 9. D.Ragan, 142; 10. M.Kenseth, 139.

Harvick Snags Nationwide Series Pole At Daytona

Camping World 300

Saturday 14, 2009

Noon (EST)

Kevin Harvick halted Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance in NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying Friday afternoon, winning the pole for Saturday’s Camping World 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

Kevin Harvick Is Awarded The Coors Light Pole Award At Daytona

JGR cars had won the last three poles in this race, but the team’s top driver Friday, Joey Logano, could only muster the eighth-fastest speed.

Harvick’s fast lap of 180.799 mph puts him on the inside of the front row in Saturday’s race in his own Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33 Chevrolet. Roush Fenway Racing’s Matt Kenseth was second at 180.448, with Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer third at 180.097 as Sprint Cup drivers swept the top three positions.

Jason Leffler was the first non-Cup driver, qualifying Braun Racing’s Toyota fourth. Tony Stewart, driving a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, qualified fifth.

Roush Fenway’s Greg Biffle was sixth, with a surprising Danny O’Quinn qualifying seventh. O’Quinn was driving JD Motorsports’ No. 0 Chevrolet.

Logano was eighth, followed by Roush Fenway’s David Ragan and Carl Edwards in ninth and 10th, respectively.

 

Camping World 300 Starting Lineup

1. (33) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 180.799.

2. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 180.448.

3. (29) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 180.097.

4. (38) Jason Leffler, Toyota, 179.953.

5. (80) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 179.781.

6. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 179.745.

7. (0) Danny O'Quinn Jr., Chevrolet, 179.709.

8. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 179.698.

9. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 179.583.

10. (60) Carl Edwards, Ford, 179.505.

11. (99) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 179.404.

12. (27) Jason Keller, Ford, 179.379.

13. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 179.344.

14. (87) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 179.244.

15. (88) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, 179.162.

16. (81) D.J. Kennington, Dodge, 179.087.

17. (66) Steve Wallace, Chevrolet, 178.934.

18. (15) Michael Annett, Toyota, 178.781.

19. (11) Scott Lagasse Jr., Toyota, 178.667.

20. (89) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, 178.6.

21. (10) David Reutimann, Toyota, 178.55.

22. (26) Brian Keselowski, Dodge, 178.55.

23. (42) Kenny Hendrick, Dodge, 178.518.

24. (5) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 178.511.

25. (1) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 178.501.

26. (49) Kertus Davis, Chevrolet, 178.405.

27. (32) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 178.303.

28. (01) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 178.288.

29. (23) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, 178.158.

30. (84) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 178.126.

31. (70) Mark Green, Chevrolet, 178.087.

32. (12) Justin Allgaier, Dodge, 177.834.

33. (09) John Wes Townley, Ford, 177.809.

34. (28) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 177.522.

35. (62) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 177.27.

36. (24) Eric McClure, Ford, 177.155.

37. (07) David Green, Toyota, 176.267.

38. (34) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

39. (61) Brandon Whitt, Ford, Owner Points.

40. (05) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

41. (47) Michael McDowell, Toyota, Owner Points.

42. (52) Donnie Neuenberger, Chevrolet, Owner Points.

43. (40) Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 177.581.

Failed to qualify

44. (56) Larry Foyt, Chevrolet, 177.529.

45. (90) Johnny Chapman, Chevrolet, 177.179.

46. (31) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 177.124.

47. (91) Terry Cook, Chevrolet, 176.88.

48. (41) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 176.229.

49. (22) Johnny Borneman III, Ford, 176.039.