Sunoco Rookie Elliott Leads Four Horse Championship Title Pursuit   
Just a dozen races remain in the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series title race, and the top four drivers have a mere 13 points separating them as they head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 on Saturday, Aug. 16. Leading the series’ top tier quartet is Rookie of the Year candidate and JR Motorsports driver Chase Elliott who rests 12 points ahead of his teammate Regan Smith in second-place.Smith stands just one point ahead of third-place Elliott Sadler and fourth-place Ty Dillon;who have the same points total in the series standings.

Chase Elliott’s rookie season thus far includes three wins, eight top-fives, 15 top-tens and an average finish of 9.0. The outstanding 18-year old revels in the chance to become the first Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate to win the overall series title in NASCAR Nationwide Series history. He and Smith also vying to bring JR Motorsports its first series title. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s driver duo has looked quite formidable this season, but with 12 races remaining, a lot can still happen.

Consider this, the eventual 2013 series champion Austin Dillon lost his standings lead following Mid-Ohio last season, dropping to fourth in the standings, 15 points back from the lead. In the remaining races he then came back to win the title.

Elliott has proven his craft extends even into the realm of road courses, finishing fourth at Road America and sixth at Watkins Glen – not to mention a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last year – but will he be able to fend off his closest contenders?

Smith’s road course struggles continued this past weekend, finishing 17th at Watkins Glen. Smith could rebound this weekend at Mid-Ohio though, he finished 15th at the 2.258-mile course last season.

Sadler has posted consecutive road course top-ten finishes this season with a ninth at Road America and a seventh at Watkins Glen and is looking to build on his success at Mid-Ohio where he finished sixth last season. Just 13 points behind Elliott, he has a season-to-date Driver Rating of 97.5, one win, five top-fives, 15 top-tens and an average finish of 9.3.

Dillon has discovered his late season stride; in his last 12 starts he has finished in the top-ten nine times – including his first career series win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Though riding high on his recent successes, Dillon’s road course performance is a work in progress. He finished 19th at Road America, but claimed eighth last weekend at Watkins Glen. Dillon has a season-to-date Driver Rating of 96.7 and has posted one win, three top-fives and 15 top-tens in 2014.

Owners Title Calls On Road Course Aces Tagliani, Hornish
The idea of a continuous rotation of drivers within a single team on a quest for an owner title is difficult logistically, but recent years have shown the formula works in the Nationwide Series. Finding the right formula is the challenge.

This season’s top-two challengers atop of the owners standings with 12 races remaining are Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske; both successful owners in NASCAR, both hungry for more series titles. Gibbs now holds the record for the most series owner titles with four and Penske won his first last season.

Currently Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota team holds a three-point lead over the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Though the teams have taken a similar approach, that’s where their similarities end.

Gibbs’ No. 54 team is like a slick two-piece suit tailored to win. The team’s mainstay is the series’ winningest driver Kyle Busch and this weekend’s pilot Defiant, Ohio native Sam Hornish Jr. In 21 starts in the No. 54 Toyota, the two drivers have posted between them four wins, 13 top-three finishes and an average finish of 5.3. Hornish started eighth and finished third at Mid-Ohio last season.

Penske’s No. 22 Ford team is a collective sum of many. A four driver roster has manned the No. 22 Ford this season, led by 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski, Sprint Cup Series contender Joey Logano, Camping World Truck Series points leader Ryan Blaney and this weekend’s driver, former open-wheel great Alex Tagliani. This will be Tagliani’s second start in the No. 22 Ford this season; he ran at Road America back in June sitting on the Coors Light pole and finishing second. The four drivers have come together to post three wins, 13 top-fives and an average finish of 5.2.

• No. 2 of Brian Scott and Richard Childress Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Avery Neely
• No. 6 of Trevor Bayne and Roush Fenway Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Blake Hames
• No. 11 of Elliott Sadler and Joe Gibbs Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Sean Tibbs
• No. 16 of Ryan Reed and Roush Fenway Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Dalton Miller
• No. 22 of Alex Tagliani and Team Penske – Paired with Patient Champion Blaine Snodgrass
• No. 42 of Dylan Kwasniewski and Turner Scott Motorsports – Paired with Patient Champion Reid Zupanc
• No. 43 of Dakoda Armstrong and Richard Petty Motorsports – Paired with Patient Champion Sydney Huber
• No. 60 of Chris Buescher and Roush Fenway Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Luke Benner
• No. 62 of Brendan Gaughan and Richard Childress Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Allie Norman
• No. 99 of James Buescher and RAB Racing – Paired with Patient Champion Tarissa Suchecki

Also Noteworthy in the Nationwide Series
NASCAR in Ohio: There have been 22 NASCAR national series races among nine tracks in the state of Ohio – 14 NSCS, 1 NNS and 7 NCWTS. Dayton Speedway has held the most NASCAR national series events in Ohio with six – all NSCS from 1950-52.

120 drivers with their home state recorded as Ohio have competed in at least one NASCAR national series event. Of the 120 Ohio drivers, six have won in NASCAR national series competition; the most successful being Tim Richmond with 13 NSCS and two NNS wins.