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Six Races To Go And A Wild Card Shakeup

A win by Paul Menard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend showed just how quickly the wild card race for the two final spots in the NASCAR Chase for the Championship can change.

Menard’s win along with him currently occupying the fourteenth position in the point standings has him in the wild card running with six races to go until the Chase. Denny Hamlin dropped out of the top ten in the point standings, but with his one win and eleventh place points position is the leader in the wild card race.

Comfotable?
Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson maintained the top two spots in the point standings. Edwards really didn’t run well all day at the Brickyard 400 and Johnson was in contention early but not at the end. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all moved ahead of Kurt Busch who dropped to sixth in the standings, 18 points behind Edwards. All of these drivers could suffer two bad races and still likely be in the top ten.

Moving Forward
Jeff Gordon’s charge to the front at the end of the Brickyard 400 didn’t get him the fifth win that he desired, but the second place finish sure didn’t hurt. The finish helped Gordon increase his points lead over tenth place to twenty-four. Add in his two wins and Gordon is becoming a safe pick to make the Chase.

The bubble
Ryan Newman has only twelve points separating himself and Dale Earnhardt Jr in tenth in the standings, but he does have a win in his pocket to help if he falls into the wild card race. Tony Stewart got caught in the fuel mileage mess at the end of the Brickyard 400 but recovered well to finish sixth, moving him out of a tenth place tie and up into ninth by just three points. Earnhardt Jr. continues to fall and occupies tenth.

Outside looking in
Hamlin is in eleventh, nineteen points behind Junior. Hamlin is the wild card leader, but after this week he must realize that the wild card race is nothing to rely on. Clint Bowyer needs a strong run or a couple wins to have a shot at making the Chase. Back in 12th, Bowyer is thirty-two points behind Junior. A win would put him in the wild card race, and that may be his only chance.

Wild Cards
Menard’s win places him in front of Brickyard 400 polesitter David Ragan since Menard is higher in the point standings. The difference between the two drivers is only seven points, giving fans a race with in the race to start paying attention to. The battle between Menard and Ragan could become a non-issue if either Bowyer or Greg Biffle pick up a win since both of them are higher in the points. Just to make things more interesting, a win by either Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmendinger, Mark Martin, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya or even Brad Keselowski (more on him below) would vault them into the wild card spots as well. Menard gained five positions in the standings with his Brickyard 400 win, a win by one of those drivers would move them up big as well.

We have a long way to go and a lot of drivers to keep an eye on as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono.

Keselowski Hurt At Road Atlanta
Brad Keselowski was practicing at Road Atlanta when, reportedly, his brakes failed and he hit a wall head on in his Miller Lite Dodge. Keselowski reported on twitter that he was airlifted to an Atlanta hospital after hitting the turn one wall at about 100mph. Xrays to his feet were ok according to Keselowski but the pictures that he posted of injuries will make any viewer wonder. Jimmie Johnson posted pictures of the car and wall damage on twitter as well.

“Guess I needed a reminder. Cot or not, this racing [stuff] is still dangerous,” Keselowski tweeted.

Keep in touch with Brad Keselowski on twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/keselowski

Nashville Superspeedway Will Not Seek NASCAR Race For 2012
Nashville Superspeedway, wholly owned by Dover Motorsports, Inc., announced that it has notified NASCAR that it will not seek any 2012 race sanctions.

Vice President and GM of Nashville Superspeedway, Cliff Hawks stated, “Nashville is a tremendous market filled with passionate race fans. The reality is, after ten years of effort, we have to face the face that without a Sprint Cup race and/or a significant change in the operating model for other events, we simply cannot continue.”

This is the third track that has closed under the ownership of Dover Motorsports, Inc. Nashville follows the closures of Gateway International Raceway closed after the October, 2010 Nationwide Series race and Memphis Motorsports Park was closed in October, 2009. Memphis Motorsports Park was sold in January, 2011 and renamed Memphis International Raceway, but does not currently run any NASCAR events.

The websites of both the Nashville Superspeedway and Gateway International Raceway feature nearly identical “Thanks for the memories” messages.

NASCAR Statement Regarding Nashville Superspeedway
Statement by Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Senior Vice President, Racing Operations:
“NASCAR appreciates the efforts by the Nashville Superspeedway team and the support and enthusiasm the fans have shown during our 10 years racing there. While the track owners have chosen not to renew their sanctions agreement, we will continue to provide opportunities for NASCAR fans in the region to follow our sport through our television broadcasts, digital media initiatives and certainly the tracks at which we compete in that part of the country. As we continue to work on the 2012 schedules, we believe the changes that we made at the beginning of the season, particularly the “declare a series” revision, have helped create renewed excitement and interest in both the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The schedules for these two series will remain strong, the racing will remain extremely competitive, and the development of future talent will continue to serve the sport well.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series Dash 4 Cash
This weekend the Nationwide Series visits Iowa for the second of four NASCAR Nationwide Series Dash 4 Cash events. In four races (Daytona, Iowa, Richmond and Charlotte), there are four eligible drivers per race and $400,000 up for grabs along with some additional bonus money.

The top four drivers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series points standings heading into the Daytona event were eligiable with Reed Sorenson coming out with the best finish in the race and winning $100,000.

With the finish, Sorenson was automatically qualified for Iowa along with Jason Leffler, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett, the highest finishing NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship drivers.

Nationwide Insurance will award an additional $600,000 to the prize if the same driver captures each Dash 4 Cash bonus and wins the final race at Charlotte in October, bringing the total prize money to $1 million dollars. Winning the prize at Daytoan, Sorenson is the only driver who is eligible for the bonus.

To compliment the program, NASCAR.COM has launched the NASCAR Nationwide Series $100,000 Sweepstakes www.nascar.com/100ksweepstakes or www.NASCARnationwideseries.com.

Four lucky fans will win a trip for two to Charlotte for three days and two nights to attend the October NNS race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The four fans will be randomly matched with the four eligible Dash 4 Cash drivers, and the fan whose driver wins the Dash 4 Cash award will also win $100,000.

The entry period began on 6/27/11 and will run through 9/12/11.

There will be a distinct Nationwide windshield logo for the four competing Dash 4 Cash drivers. Their decal will go from being white to Nationwide blue and the spoilers for the qualified drivers will also be Nationwide Blue.

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