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	<title>Lead Lap&#039;s NASCAR News &#187; Elliott Sadler</title>
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		<title>Busch Dominates Darlington For 56th Nationwide Win</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2013/05/11/busch-dominates-darlington-for-56th-nationwide-win/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2013/05/11/busch-dominates-darlington-for-56th-nationwide-win/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2013 04:41:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NASCAR Wire Service</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Vickers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joey Logano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matt Kenseth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Kyle Busch dominated the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway, leading 107 of 147 laps on his way to his 56th Nationwide Series victory.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/kybudarlington2013a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-9408" alt="Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, celebrates after performing a burnout following his win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway on May 10, 2013 in Darlington, South Carolina." src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/kybudarlington2013a.jpg" width="350" height="223" /></a>Kyle Busch kept it simple Friday night at Darlington Raceway.</p>
<p>The strategy was basic—win the pole, stay out front and win the race with the strongest car, and Busch did an admirable job in every category. He dusted the rest of the field at the venerable track in the South Carolina sandhills, pulling away to win the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 by .935 over Elliott Sadler, who recovered from an early spin to finish second.</p>
<p>Brian Vickers came home third, followed by Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth. With cars in first, second, third and fifth, Joe Gibbs Racing became the first organization to place four cars in the top five of a Nationwide Series race.</p>
<p>Rookie Kyle Larson ran sixth, followed by Regan Smith, who extended his series lead by 28 points over eighth-place finisher Sam Hornish Jr.</p>
<p>The victory was Busch&#8217;s fifth in eight NNS starts this season. Busch, who led 107 of 147 laps, extended his career win record in the series to 56. Busch scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0, his 16th perfect rating since NASCAR started keeping the statistic in 2005.</p>
<p>Busch won the race on a track that has started to regain the abrasive characteristic of the racing surface that was a hallmark of the Darlington before a repaving project in 2008. Realizing that, Busch insisted on a four-tire stop on lap 121, even though his tires were only eight laps old, and that move helped win the race.</p>
<p>Busch also was able to pull away from his rivals trough Turns 1 and 2, the wider end of the egg-shaped track.</p>
<p>&#8220;You want to be good at both ends here, but there&#8217;s a lot of speed in 1 and 2, so you&#8217;re going to have to take advantage of that as best you can,&#8221; Busch said. &#8220;Three and 4 is an end where—I&#8217;m not going to say slower is faster—but maintaining a minimum speed is faster down there.</p>
<p>&#8220;But it seems like it&#8217;s a little easier to do than not having a good-handling car in 1 and 2. There&#8217;s a littler margin of error in Turn 1 and 2.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sadler found that out the hard way when he spun in that corner while trying to keep up with Busch. Sadler explained that he simply misjudged the corner and got loose.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was pushing it, trying to keep up with the 54 (Busch),&#8221; Sadler said. &#8220;I wanted to get up there and try to lead some laps and just went in there too hard and got loose and had to make a decision whether to spin out or try to correct it, and I overcorrected and spun out.</p>
<p>&#8220;Lady Luck helped me from not hitting anything.&#8221;</p>
<p>About the only thing that could slow Busch&#8217;s progress was an issue on pit road. Busch came out sixth after a slow stop on Lap 51 under yellow for Sadler&#8217;s spin.</p>
<p>Charging forward after the restart, Busch was on Kenseth&#8217;s bumper, challenging for the lead by the time the race reached Lap 74, just past halfway.</p>
<p>For the next eight laps, Busch hounded Kenseth, finally clearing his teammate for the lead on Lap 82. Busch held the top spot until a caution on Lap 119 for Kyle Fowler&#8217;s wreck changed the running order again.</p>
<p>Logano and Austin Dillon stayed out on old tires and led the field to a Lap 125 restart. Sadler restarted third after a two-tire stop, while Busch took the green in fourth on four fresh tires.</p>
<p>Busch made short work of the drivers on older rubber and passed Logano for the lead on Lap 130. Game over.</p>
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		<title>Hornish Jr. Runs Away With Vegas Nationwide Race</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2013/03/11/hornish-jr-runs-away-with-vegas-nationwide-race/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2013/03/11/hornish-jr-runs-away-with-vegas-nationwide-race/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NASCAR Wire Service</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Vickers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sam Hornish]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trevor Bayne]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lead-lap.com/?p=9230</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sam Hornish Jr. drove an absolutely dominant car to victory Saturday afternoon, streaking away from Kyle Busch during a seven-lap dash to the finish in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/shvegas2013a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-9232" alt="Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the #12 Wurth Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada." src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/shvegas2013a.jpg" width="350" height="223" /></a>Sam Hornish Jr. drove an absolutely dominant car to victory Saturday afternoon, streaking away from Kyle Busch during a seven-lap dash to the finish in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The win was Hornish’s second in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series and his first since Nov. 12, 2011 at Phoenix. It was the first Las Vegas victory for Penske Racing in any NASCAR series and the first Nationwide triumph for crew chief Greg Erwin, a winning Sprint Cup crew chief who signed on with Penske during the offseason.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Penske organization also collected its first victory after switching from Dodge to Ford between seasons.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Busch rolled across the finish line in second, 1.1 seconds behind Hornish. Brian Vickers ran third, followed by Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler. Bayne recovered from an early brush with the wall to post the fourth-place result.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hornish, who led 114 of the 200 laps, leads the series by 19 points over Sadler, Justin Allgaier (15th Saturday) and Brian Scott (ninth).</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It wasn’t until race day that Hornish learned of the similarity between his name and that of the title sponsorship.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">&#8220;I didn’t know until this morning that this was the Sam’s Town 300,&#8221; Hornish said. &#8220;It’s kind of cool that I was able to win it… It’s great to get Penske Racing’s first win back in a Ford.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">&#8220;Man, the car was awesome today. It was a real joy to drive. I’ve got to thank all the guys on the Penske team for giving me an awesome car to race with. When you have a car that good, you’re always worried something bad is going to happen or you’ll get caught in somebody else’s problem. I’m glad that didn’t happen today.&#8221;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Busch, who had dominated at Phoenix a week earlier, had an excellent car on Saturday—but not quite strong enough.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">&#8220;It was a tough race out there today all around,&#8221; Busch said. &#8220;Cars were really getting loose out there in the early stages of the race through the middle part of the race… The second-to-last run and the last run, I felt like our car was really good. There wasn’t much else that we could do to make it better.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">&#8220;Sam was just that much faster than us. He was beating us a little bit everywhere, all the way around the race track. Certainly, when he stepped on the gas, that thing would go forward in a hurry. Us two were kind of the class of the field, but he was the class of everybody.&#8221;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hornish dropped from the lead to third during pit stops on Lap 139, after NASCAR called a debris caution one lap earlier. Eight circuits after a restart on lap 145, Hornish regained the top spot, sailing past Busch and driving away.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hornish led Busch by almost three seconds when Scott Lagasse Jr.’s spin in Turn 1 on Lap 182 caused the seventh caution of the race. The top seven cars stayed on track under the yellow while those behind them came to pit road for fresh rubber on Lap 184.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Four laps later, moments after Hornish led the field to the green flag, a hard wreck in Turn 2 involving rookie Kyle Larson, Joey Gase and Ryan Sieg slowed the race for the eighth time and left Larson’s No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro a smoking ruin.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Larson, whose car flew into the catch fence on the final lap of the NNS season opener at Daytona, hastily climbed from his car as safety workers arrived with fire extinguishers.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bayne and Larson made track-position plays on Lap 83, taking fuel only under caution for Robert Richardson Jr.’s spin in Turn 2. Though they started at the front of the field, the strategy backfired, as both Bayne and Larson hit the outside wall battling for the lead on Lap 87.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Larson, in the outside lane, crowded Bayne on the bottom as the drivers raced side by side. Bayne’s No. 6 Ford broke loose, carrying both cars into the wall. Bayne remained on the lead lap, but Larson’s No. 32 Chevrolet was damaged more extensively, and the rookie lost two laps during repairs.</span></span></p>
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		<title>Busch Dominates At Phoenix For 52nd Nationwide Win</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2013/03/07/busch-dominates-at-phoenix-for-52nd-nationwide-win/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2013/03/07/busch-dominates-at-phoenix-for-52nd-nationwide-win/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2013 04:31:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NASCAR Wire Service</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brad Keselowski]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justin Allgaier]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trevor Bayne]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Kyle Busch overcame a pit road speeding penalty to win the Nationwide Series Dollar General 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/kybuphoenix2013a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-9213" alt="Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Toyota, celebrates with a burn out after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 200 fueled by AmeriGas at Phoenix International Raceway on March 2, 2013 in Avondale, Arizona." src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/kybuphoenix2013a.jpg" width="350" height="223" /></a>Nothing was going to keep Kyle Busch out of Victory Lane on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.</p>
<p>Not a pit road speeding penalty. Not a spate of cautions that kept bunching the field. Not Brad Keselowski, who in the past has found magic out front on old tires.</p>
<p>The prohibitive favorite in the Dollar General 200—after he won the pole in a laydown earlier in the day—Busch overcame a speeding penalty that dropped him to 22nd position for a restart on Lap 44.</p>
<p>That was a momentary setback. Working his way through traffic in short order, Busch passed Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead on Lap 89. He lost the top spot briefly by pitting under caution on Lap 152, as Keselowski and three other drivers remained on the track, but Busch regained the lead on Lap 164, clearing Keselowski as the cars streaked into Turn 3.</p>
<p>Busch stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was his first in the No. 54 Toyota and a record 52nd in the Nationwide Series.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s great to be back, working with (crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and these guys,&#8221; said Busch, who was winless last year in the Nationwide Series driving for his own team. &#8220;It was a bummer deal not to be able to get a win at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) last year, but (owner) Joe (Gibbs) putting me back in his operation and being back with the Joe Gibbs Racing side of things and Mark Cronquist engines, it&#8217;s a phenomenal day for us to get back to Victory Lane, to feel the taste of it again.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was almost nervous, feeling like it was my first win, although it&#8217;s win No. 52 in the series. It&#8217;s nice to be back.&#8221;</p>
<p>Keselowski held second by stretching his fuel to the end without pitting. Justin Allgaier ran third and leaves Phoenix tied for the series lead with Sam Hornish Jr., who came home seventh. Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler completed the top five.</p>
<p>Jimmie Johnson, using a rare Nationwide Series appearance to get some extra laps on a track that has befuddled him since its resurfacing in 2011, finished 12th.</p>
<p>Even though he tried a contrarian strategy, Keselowski knew that tactics alone wouldn&#8217;t be enough to overcome Busch&#8217;s advantage in speed.</p>
<p>&#8220;I knew I had a shot if something happened to Kyle, and we had to put ourselves in position for good things to happen,&#8221; Keselowski said. &#8220;But Kyle&#8217;s car was so fast. I probably could have had four tires and he could have had none, and it still wouldn&#8217;t have mattered. He&#8217;d still have drove through the field.</p>
<p>&#8220;When you have that much speed, you&#8217;re pretty much immune to strategy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Beginning his fifth full season of Nationwide racing, Allgaier is off to the best start of his career.</p>
<p>&#8220;The first five (races) kind of get you kicked off for the next 10 or 15,&#8221; Allgaier said. &#8220;This has been huge for us, for Turner Scott Motorsports. Our program has come a long way during the offseason. I&#8217;ll be the first to tell you that, at the end of the year last year, we were kind of scratching our heads. We knew we had a great organization. We just didn&#8217;t know what we were missing.</p>
<p>&#8220;Everybody at the team really buckled down &#8230; This is the strongest season start I&#8217;ve had. I hope we can keep that going and transfer it into a championship.&#8221;</p>
<p>The race wasn&#8217;t yet two laps old when Johanna Long drove hard into Turn 3 and tagged the back of the Ford of Hornish, the series leader entering the race.  With the front of her car damaged by the contact, Long slapped the wall exiting Turn 4, triggering a chain-reaction wreck that collected five other cars, including those of Hornish (who had fallen behind her) and Travis Pastrana.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know; it just took off on me,&#8221; Long said of her contact with the wall. &#8220;I got in a little too hard, there (into) Hornish, felt bad, got under him. I got into the gas, and it just took off.</p>
<p>&#8220;I definitely didn&#8217;t want to finish like this. It&#8217;s really disheartening. I feel really bad. I don&#8217;t know what else to say.&#8221;</p>
<p>The aftermath of the wreck turned bizarre when the scoring transponder from Jamie Dick&#8217;s car (another victim of the accident) lodged in the nose of Hornish&#8217;s Ford. Though Hornish lost two laps on pit road while the transponder was removed, NASCAR restored the No. 12 to the lead lap because the extraction — to prevent Dick&#8217;s car from being scored improperly &#8211; was ordered by the sanctioning body.</p>
<p>Hornish&#8217;s travails weren&#8217;t quite over. After restarting sixth on Lap 109, Hornish spun in Turn 2 a lap later to bring out the fifth caution but remained on the lead lap. The nose and hood of his car heavily taped, Hornish salvaged the seventh-place finish.</p>
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		<title>Dillon To Move To Sprint Cup Full Time In 2014</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2013/01/15/dillon-to-move-to-sprint-cup-full-time-in-2014/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2013/01/15/dillon-to-move-to-sprint-cup-full-time-in-2014/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:45:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael J Smith</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sprint Cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Austin Dillon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Camping World Truck Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Circle Sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cole Whitt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hermie Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Phoenix Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Childress Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sprint Cup Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephen Leicht]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tony Raines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ty Dillon]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Austin Dillon will move to the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2014, according to AutoWeek. Dillon is slated to run in the Nationwide Series full time this year before making the move in 2014. The plan seems to be to run Dillon in six to eight, possibly more, Cup races this season to prepare [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/07/02/dillon-no-3-rcr-nationwide-team-penalized-for-kentucky-infractions/145173814jh103_history_300_/" rel="attachment wp-att-8127"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8127" alt="Austin Dillon" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/adillon2012a.jpg" width="350" height="223" /></a>Austin Dillon will move to the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2014, according to <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130114/nascar02/130119920">AutoWeek</a>. Dillon is slated to run in the Nationwide Series full time this year before making the move in 2014.</p>
<p>The plan seems to be to run Dillon in six to eight, possibly more, Cup races this season to prepare him for 2014.</p>
<p>Dillon will drive for Circle Sport, a satellite team of Richard Childress Racing, the team owned by his grandfather. Dillon will also drive one race for Phoenix Racing and owner James Finch.</p>
<p>Dillon made one start for Circle Sport in the Sprint Cup Series last season, finishing 24th in the No. 33 Chevy in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Stephen Leicht, Tony Raines, Elliott Sadler, Hermie Sadler, and Cole Whitt also drove for Circle Sport in 2012, with Leicht winning Rookie Of The Year honors.</p>
<p>Childress indicated that he didn&#8217;t know how many Cup races his grandson would run, saying that it depended on sponsorship.</p>
<p>Austin&#8217;s younger brother Ty Dillon may also run some Cup races. In 2014, the younger Dillon will move from the Camping World Truck Series to the Nationwide Series full time.</p>
<p>Many speculate that the elder Dillon may drive the No. 3 Chevy, which hasn&#8217;t been run in Cup since 2001, when Dale Earnhardt Sr died in a last lap crash in the Daytona 500.</p>
<p>Dillon finished third in the Nationwide Series standings, winning two races last year. He will look to improve upon that in 2013.</p>
<h3>Related Stories</h3>
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<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/09/report-harvick-to-join-shr-in-2014/">Report: Harvick To Join SHR In 2014</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2011/09/20/childress-still-seeking-sponsorship-for-bowyer-for-2012/">Childress Still Seeking Sponsorship For Bowyer For 2012</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2010/07/13/dillon-will-never-be-more-than-driver-of-the-3/">Dillon Will Never Be More Than ‘Driver Of The 3?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Scott Will Drive RCR&#8217;s No. 2 In Nationwide Series In 2013</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/22/scott-will-drive-rcrs-no-2-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/22/scott-will-drive-rcrs-no-2-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Nov 2012 16:05:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael J Smith</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asides]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Scott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Vickers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joe Gibbs Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Childress Racing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lead-lap.com/?p=8980</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Brian Scott will drive Richard Childress Racing's No. 2 Nationwide Series entry, according to GodfatherMotorsports.com.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/brianscott2012a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8972" title="brianscott2012a.jpg" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/brianscott2012a.jpg" alt="Brian Scott" width="350" height="223" /></a>Brian Scott will drive Richard Childress Racing&#8217;s No. 2 Nationwide Series entry, according to <a href="http://motorsports-soapbox.blogspot.com/2012/11/scott-to-replace-sadler-at-richard.html">GodfatherMotorsports.com</a>. Scott replaces Elliott Sadler who was <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/04/sadler-not-returning-to-rcr-in-2013/">let go by the team</a> at the end of the season, and has since <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/21/sadler-to-drive-for-jgr-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/">signed with Joe Gibbs Racing</a>.</p>
<p>Scott drove for JGR last season, finishing ninth in points, with two top 5s, and 11 top 10s. Scott lost his ride when JGR signed <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/21/sadler-to-drive-for-jgr-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/">Elliott Sadler</a> and <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/06/vickers-to-drive-full-nationwide-season-with-jgr/">Brian Vickers</a> to drive in the Nationwide Series full time in 2013.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Brian Scott will drive  the #2 Shore Lodge Chevy Camaro for the RCR in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Phil Gould, car chief for the No. 2 team in 2012, has been promoted to crew chief for the team.</p>
<h3>Related Stories</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/21/sadler-to-drive-for-jgr-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/">Sadler To Drive For JGR In Nationwide Series In 2013</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/06/vickers-to-drive-full-nationwide-season-with-jgr/">Vickers To Drive Full Nationwide Season With JGR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/26/sadler-reportedly-close-to-deal-with-jgr/">Sadler Reportedly Close To Deal With JGR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/04/sadler-not-returning-to-rcr-in-2013/">Sadler Not Returning To RCR In 2013</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Sadler To Drive For JGR In Nationwide Series In 2013</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/21/sadler-to-drive-for-jgr-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/21/sadler-to-drive-for-jgr-in-nationwide-series-in-2013/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:51:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael J Smith</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darrell Wallace Jr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Drew Herring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joe Gibbs Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch Motorsports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Childress Racing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lead-lap.com/?p=8961</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[OneMain Financial announced that it has formed a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing to be the primary sponsor of the No. 11 OneMain Financial Toyota driven by Elliott Sadler in the Nationwide Series. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/sadler2012a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8425" title="sadler2012a.jpg" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/sadler2012a.jpg" alt="Elliott Sadler during the NASCAR Champions Contenders Press Conference at Lummus Park on November 17, 2011 in Miami Beach, Florida." width="350" height="223" /></a>OneMain Financial announced that it has formed a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing to be the primary sponsor of the No. 11 OneMain Financial Toyota driven by Elliott Sadler in the Nationwide Series.</p>
<p>Sadler is <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/04/sadler-not-returning-to-rcr-in-2013/">leaving Richard Childress Racing</a> after finishing second in the points the past two seasons. There was speculation that Sadler would also drive a limited Sprint Cup schedule for JGR, but that is not in the plans according to team president JD Gibbs.</p>
<p>JGR will field a second car that will be driven by Kyle Busch, Drew Herring, and Darrell Wallace Jr.</p>
<p>Wallace may also drive in the Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports.</p>
<h3>Related Stories</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/26/sadler-reportedly-close-to-deal-with-jgr/">Sadler Reportedly Close To Deal With JGR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/04/sadler-not-returning-to-rcr-in-2013/">Sadler Not Returning To RCR In 2013</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Smith Wins; Stenhouse Captures Second Title</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/18/smith-wins-stenhouse-captures-second-title/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/18/smith-wins-stenhouse-captures-second-title/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:53:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NASCAR Wire Service</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Austin Dillon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brendan Gaughan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regan Smith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Stenhouse Jr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sam Hornish]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lead-lap.com/?p=8939</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Regan Smith won the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in his Nationwide Series return. Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished sixth, securing the title. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rshomestead2012a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8928" title="rshomestead2012a.jpg" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rshomestead2012a.jpg" alt="Ricky Stenhouse Jr poses with his two Nationwide Series championship trophies following the NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 17, 2012 in Homestead, Florida." width="350" height="223" /></a>There was no rust on Regan Smith.</p>
<p>Making his first NASCAR Nationwide Series start in five years, Smith drove the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to victory in Saturday&#8217;s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, beating polesitter Kyle Busch to the finish line by 1.375 seconds.</p>
<p>As Smith scored his first victory in the series for the team that has hired him full-time for next year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rolled to a workmanlike, problem-free sixth-place result to lock up his second straight Nationwide championship.</p>
<p>Brendan Gaughan ran third, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon. Elliott Sadler came home ninth and held on to second place in the final series standings.</p>
<p>When Smith last raced in the Nationwide Series in 2007, there were no tapered spacers restricting horsepower, and the body styles were markedly different. On Saturday, Smith showed how well he could adapt.</p>
<p>&#8220;For me, I think there&#8217;s been a ton of changes since &#8217;07,&#8221; Smith said. &#8220;The tapered spacer, I think, is probably the biggest thing, because it chokes the motor down so much. That took some time to get used to in the first practice, and even at the start of the second practice, I was still getting used to what I could do with the throttle.</p>
<p>&#8220;It didn&#8217;t hurt that I had a fast race car from the start, so I didn&#8217;t have to worry about a lot of things. We made a lot of changes and tried a lot of stuff, but, at the same time, that balance was always there pretty close… It&#8217;s definitely a good start.&#8221;</p>
<p>Stenhouse is the sixth driver to win consecutive Nationwide Series titles, joining Sam Ard, Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. with that distinction. He&#8217;s also the first Roush Fenway Racing driver to achieve that feat.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really neat to be able to go back-to-back, when only now six of us have done it,&#8221; said Stenhouse, who will drive full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway next year. &#8220;That&#8217;s pretty special. It really makes me see how hard that 48 team (of Jimmie Johnson) works on the Cup side with five in a row.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was a great two years and we&#8217;ve had a lot of fun. We look forward to our opportunity next year.&#8221;</p>
<p>Trying to extend an eight-year streak of winning at least one Nationwide race per year, Busch led 65 of the first 66 laps, pulling out to a lead of more than nine seconds over second-place Regan Smith. The dynamic of the race charged dramatically, however, after two quick cautions, the first on Lap 66 for Ryan Truex&#8217;s crash in Turn 4.</p>
<p>Busch&#8217;s Toyota developed an extremely loose handling condition, and Smith and Dillon took turns at the front of the field. As the race progressed, Dillon became every bit as dominant as Busch had been earlier, building a lead of more than eight seconds over Smith before a cycle of green-flag pit stops that ran from Lap 145 through Lap 152.</p>
<p>Dillon&#8217;s lead shrank to 3.093 seconds after the exchange of pit stops, and Smith subsequently chopped it down to 1.7 seconds before NASCAR called the fourth caution, for debris, on Lap 174.</p>
<p>Busch took advantage to the late cautions to regain his form but was no match for Smith over a 15-lap green-flag run to the finish.</p>
<p>Danica Patrick ran 13th and finished 10th in the final Nationwide standings, the highest ever for a female driver in one of NASCAR&#8217;s top three touring series.</p>
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		<title>Logano Triumphs At Phoenix; Late Wreck Costs Sadler</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/11/logano-triumphs-at-phoenix-late-wreck-costs-sadler/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/11/logano-triumphs-at-phoenix-late-wreck-costs-sadler/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Nov 2012 15:13:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NASCAR Wire Service</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brian Vickers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joey Logano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kasey Kahne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyle Busch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Stenhouse Jr]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lead-lap.com/?p=8880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Joey Logano smoked the field, while Elliott Sadler's title dreams went up in smoke.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/jlphoenix2012a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8881" title="jlphoenix2012a.jpg" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/jlphoenix2012a.jpg" alt="Joey Logano does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 10, 2012 in Avondale, Arizona." width="350" height="223" /></a>Joey Logano smoked the field, while Elliott Sadler&#8217;s title dreams went up in smoke.</p>
<p>Logano, the polesitter, dominated Saturday&#8217;s Great Clips 200 Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, beating new Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brian Vickers to the finish line to win for the ninth time in 21 starts this season, the first time at PIR and the 18th time in his career.</p>
<p>Sadler&#8217;s wreck forced the race to a green-white-checkered-flag finish and extended the length of the race from the scheduled 200 laps to 204.</p>
<p>Defending NNS champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran third and opened his lead in the series standings to 20 points over Sadler, whose late crash led to a 22nd-place finish.</p>
<p>For the second straight year at Phoenix, Elliott Sadler&#8217;s championship hopes took a severe blow. Coming to the white flag in 12th position, Sadler tangled with the Chevrolet of Cole Whitt, backed into the outside wall and turned sideways into the path of Richard Childress Racing teammate Brendan Gaughan.</p>
<p>The blow from Gaughan&#8217;s Chevy tore the nose off Sadler&#8217;s car. NASCAR red-flagged the race, and Sadler sat in his crippled car, after driving away from the accident scene. Sadler lost a lap in the pits while his car was repaired and rolled across the finish line at half speed.</p>
<p>&#8220;I did it to myself,&#8221; said Sadler, who started from the rear after slapping the wall during time trials and going to a backup car. &#8220;I put my team in a hole, qualifying like I did. We tried to work on this car as much as we could, and I just got a little loose there, getting under the 88 (Whitt).</p>
<p>&#8220;I just wanted to say, &#8216;My fault.&#8217; I should have done a better job for these guys. I just apologized to them for putting them in this position heading to Homestead (site of next Saturday&#8217;s season finale). We&#8217;re going to go there and fight, but I definitely dug ourselves a hole.&#8221;</p>
<p>The caution for Sadler&#8217;s wreck interrupted a fierce battle between Logano and Vickers, both of whom thought they would have won had the race continued to green to the checkered flag. Logano pulled ahead after the drivers swapped the lead following a restart on Lap 196.</p>
<p>&#8220;He got underneath me, and then I crossed him over off of (Turn) 4,&#8221; said Logano, who led 168 laps. &#8220;And then I was able to clear in the middle of 3 and 4, and it was like, &#8216;OK, I&#8217;ve got him now.&#8217; I think my car was good enough to take off…</p>
<p>&#8220;I got pretty nervous when he passed me (after the restart). It was like, &#8216;Uh, oh. This is not good. I&#8217;m about to give this thing away.&#8217; Brian did an awesome job. It was a heck of a race.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sadler started from the rear in a backup car after slapping the wall during qualifying. From the drop of the green flag, he worked his way toward the front, climbing to the 18th position before John Blankenship&#8217;s spin on Lap 32 brought out the second caution.</p>
<p>After a two-tire call on Lap 71, under the third yellow for Blankenship&#8217;s second spin, Sadler restarted eighth. When Paulie Harraka looped his car in Turn 4 on Lap 89, NASCAR called the fifth caution. Sadler stayed out and restarted fourth &#8212; and quickly gave back almost everything he had gained to that point.</p>
<p>Sadler went wide into the marbles on the restart on Lap 95 and nearly lost control of the No. 2 Chevrolet. By the time he had regained his momentum, Sadler was 15th and running behind Stenhouse, who had pitted for fuel and tires.</p>
<p>Running 11th on Lap 148 when Mike Wallace tapped Timmy Hill&#8217;s Chevrolet and sent it spinning, Sadler chose to pit for four tires under caution on Lap 149, leaving him 14 spots behind Stenhouse in fourth for a restart on Lap 154.</p>
<p>Sadler, however, gained five positions to 13th before contact from Kyle Busch&#8217;s Toyota turned Sam Hornish Jr. on Lap 155. By then, Stenhouse was running second to Logano.</p>
<p>Stenhouse can lock up his second straight title with a finish of 16th or better at Homestead, 17th if he leads a lap and 18th if he leads the most laps.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to keep doing what we&#8217;re doing,&#8221; Stenhouse said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve given up 20 points in one race, so it&#8217;s not even close to over… It&#8217;s going to be tough, because obviously I&#8217;m going to have to not push the limits as much as I like. I like going for race wins, too, so it&#8217;s going to be a fine balance there.&#8221;</p>
<p>Logano extended the lead of the No. 18 JGR car to 33 points in the owners&#8217; standings over the No. 6 Ford driven by Stenhouse. JGR will win the owners&#8217; title if the 18 finishes 28th or better at Homestead, 29th if it leads a lap or 30th if it leads the most laps.</p>
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		<title>Report: Harvick To Join SHR In 2014</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/09/report-harvick-to-join-shr-in-2014/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2012/11/09/report-harvick-to-join-shr-in-2014/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:10:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael J Smith</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Camping World Truck Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sprint Cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Austin Dillon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clint Bowyer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dale Earnhardt Sr.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Danica Patrick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jeff Burton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joe Gibbs Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Harvick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michael Waltrip Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paul Menard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Childress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Childress Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ryan Newman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stewart Haas Racing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tony Stewart]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ty Dillon]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lead-lap.com/?p=8864</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kevin Harvick signed a multi-year agreement to drive for Stewart Haas Racing in 2014, according to ESPN.com]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/harvick1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-5876" title="harvick1" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/harvick1.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="223" /></a>Kevin Harvick signed a multi-year agreement to drive for Stewart Haas Racing in 2014, according to <a href="http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8611398/kevin-harvick-leave-rcr-drive-stewart-haas-2014&amp;">ESPN.com</a>, which cited multiple anonymous sources. Harvick is under contract to drive for Richard Childress Racing in 2013, and he plans to honor the rest of his contract, sources said.</p>
<p>Harvick said:</p>
<blockquote><p>I&#8217;m looking forward to finishing out this season on a strong note with RCR and continuing to build our program going into the 2013 season with the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Anything beyond that, once I know what my future plans are set, I&#8217;ll let you know.</p></blockquote>
<p>In 2014, Harvick will join the SHR stable, which includes Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Danica Patrick.</p>
<p>RCR owner Richard Childress wouldn&#8217;t talk about the rumor:</p>
<blockquote><p>I&#8217;ve got a contract for 2013 and this is 2012. I&#8217;m not talking to you about nothing (regarding that).</p></blockquote>
<p>Harvick has 18 career Sprint Cup victories, and has driven for RCR since his Cup career began, the week after Dale Earnhardt Sr was killed in a crash at Daytona International Speedway.</p>
<p>In 2010, Harvick considered leaving the team, but decided to stay in good faith. This time, he chose to leave because he thinks SHR will provide motivation that seems to be lacking at RCR.</p>
<p>RCR shrunk to three cars this season, after Clint Bowyer <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2011/09/09/bowyer-to-leave-rcr-at-seasons-end/">left due to a lack of sponsorship</a>. Reports indicated that Bowyer had a sponsor lined up, but RCR wasn&#8217;t interested. As a result, Bowyer <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2011/10/07/its-official-mwr-signs-bowyer-to-multi-year-deal/">left to join Michael Waltrip Racing</a> and had arguably the best season of his career.</p>
<p>Childress&#8217; grandsons both drive in NASCAR&#8217;s lower levels. Austin Dillon is driving in the Nationwide Series, where he sits third in points. Dillon will drive the No. 33 in the Daytona 500 next season.</p>
<p>Ty Dillon drives in the Camping World Truck Series, where he sits second in points.</p>
<p>Childress is grooming RCR for his grandsons to eventually take over. While there is nothing to indicate that this has anything to do with Harvick&#8217;s decision, it is possible that it does.</p>
<p>Paul Menard and Jeff Burton have been struggling this season, with both out of the top 15 in the standings and winless.</p>
<p>Elliott Sadler, who drives the team&#8217;s Nationwide Series entry, is tied for the N&#8217;Wide series points lead. He <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/04/sadler-not-returning-to-rcr-in-2013/">will not return to RCR</a> next season. He is rumored to be <a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/26/sadler-reportedly-close-to-deal-with-jgr/">close to a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing</a>. Ty Dillon could move up to the Nationwide Series next season.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Stewart was asked to comment on the rumor. He said:</p>
<blockquote><p>Well, it&#8217;s actually Dale, Jr. And (NASCAR reporter) Marty Smith is actually going to be in the fourth car. Yes, that&#8217;s where we are at. I will tell you this, when we have something to tell you guys, we&#8217;ll tell you. I&#8217;ve always said that. You guys can throw darts, but when we have something to tell you that&#8217;s different than what we&#8217;ve got going on, we&#8217;ll obviously tell you.</p></blockquote>
<p><strong>Update 2:</strong> Kevin Harvick is said to be taking Budweiser and Jimmy Johns with him to Stewart Haas Racing in 2014.</p>
<h3>Related Stories</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/26/sadler-reportedly-close-to-deal-with-jgr/">Sadler Reportedly Close To Deal With JGR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2012/09/04/sadler-not-returning-to-rcr-in-2013/">Sadler Not Returning To RCR In 2013</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2011/10/07/its-official-mwr-signs-bowyer-to-multi-year-deal/">It’s Official: MWR Signs Bowyer To Multi-Year Deal</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lead-lap.com/2011/09/09/bowyer-to-leave-rcr-at-seasons-end/">Bowyer To Leave RCR At Season’s End?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Stenhouse Rallies For Improbable N&#8217;Wide Win at Kansas</title>
		<link>http://lead-lap.com/2012/10/21/stenhouse-rallies-for-improbable-nwide-win-at-kansas/</link>
		<comments>http://lead-lap.com/2012/10/21/stenhouse-rallies-for-improbable-nwide-win-at-kansas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Oct 2012 14:14:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>NASCAR Wire Service</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Austin Dillon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cole Whitt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elliott Sadler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joey Logano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NASCAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nationwide Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ricky Stenhouse Jr]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rallied from two laps down to win Saturday's Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway and tighten the battle for the series championship.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/rskansas2012a.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8779" title="rskansas2012a.jpg" src="http://lead-lap.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/rskansas2012a.jpg" alt="Ricky Stenhouse Jr requests the checkered flag after winning the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway." width="350" height="223" /></a>Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rallied from two laps down to win Saturday&#8217;s Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway and tighten the battle for the series championship.</p>
<p>During a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race six laps beyond its scheduled distance of 200 laps, Stenhouse surged to the front in the final turn after Kyle Busch ran out of fuel.</p>
<p>Austin Dillon ran second, .288 seconds behind Stenhouse. Polesitter Joey Logano finished third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Cole Whitt.</p>
<p>In winning for the sixth time this season and the eighth time in his career, Stenhouse cut Sadler&#8217;s series lead from 13 points to six with three races left in the season.</p>
<p>To get to Victory Lane, Stenhouse had to survive a collision with Logano&#8217;s No. 18 Toyota &#8212; an incident team owner Jack Roush said was Stenhouse&#8217;s fault just past the halfway point.</p>
<p>&#8220;The guys did an awesome job getting the car back together, and we never gave up,&#8221; Stenhouse said. &#8220;Mike made great calls and adjustments to fix how the car drove with the damage, and it was still one of the fastest cars out there.</p>
<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t see the win coming like this, but we will take it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Saturday&#8217;s event was the first NASCAR race on a track that was newly repaved and reconfigured with graduated banking, and there were some growing pains. The race produced a record 12 cautions for a total of 50 laps.</p>
<p>The championship battle took an ominous turn for Stenhouse, the defending series champion, just after the midpoint of the race. Stenhouse and polesitter Logano collided off Turn 2, damaging both cars, but both were able to continue.</p>
<p>Stenhouse was following Logano closely just before the contact.</p>
<p>&#8220;We had a lot of debris on the grille, and we were 300 (degrees) on water and oil, and I thought we would have to pit to come get that off before we blew up,&#8221; Stenhouse said. &#8220;I was trying to get behind him to get the debris off and he checked up at the last second and I turned and just drove right into the side of him. There wasn&#8217;t much he could do about it, and I thought it ruined our day, but we were able to bounce back from it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Stenhouse lost two laps during a green-flag pit stop but got them back on a wave-around before a Lap 142 restart and a free pass as the highest-scored lapped car under the 10th caution of the afternoon.</p>
<p>Back on the lead lap for a restart on Lap 167, Stenhouse had charged to 13th by the time Mike Bliss&#8217; slide through the tri-oval caused the track-record-tying 11th caution. Stenhouse was two spots behind Sadler in fifth when first-time Nationwide starter Hal Martin and Scott Lagasse Jr. wrecked off Turn 2 on Lap 198.</p>
<p>Fearing they would run out of fuel in overtime, Sadler and Dillon both pitted for a splash of fuel under the 12th caution. Stenhouse restarted fourth and took the checkered flag when Kyle Busch ran out of fuel on the final lap.</p>
<p>So ended another disappointing day for Busch, still trying to win for the first time behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota he owns.</p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s our year, man &#8212; nothing else to it than that,&#8221; said Busch, who rolled across the finish line in sixth place. &#8220;…What a frustrating defeat.&#8221;</p>
<p>Notes: The race marked the first appearance for a Pakastani driver in a NASCAR event. Nur Ali finished 33rd in his NASCAR debut after slamming the Turn 3 wall on Lap 69… Derek White, who wrecked in Turn 4 on Lap 138 to cause the ninth yellow, was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation… Danica Patrick (10th) posted her third top-10 finish of the season, but she&#8217;ll remember this race for a spectacular three-wide pass of Sadler and Ryan Blaney for the sixth spot on Lap 171.</p>
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