In another impressive Nationwide Series performance, Kyle Busch is back in victory lane for the third straight race. Busch has been on a roll so far this season and four wins in six races isn’t too bad. He managed to stay out front all night and was there to take the checkered flag when it fell. Although lots of big-time Cup Drivers were in the race, Kyle Busch was the best of all and that put him in victory lane at the end of the night. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Sam Hornish Jr
Royal Purple 300 Preview
West Coast racing returns this weekend as NASCAR’s Nationwide Series heads out to Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. The drivers will take on the daunting two-mile “D” shaped-oval this weekend after racing at Bristol which is just about the complete opposite type of track. Fans will surely see a different race on Saturday, compared to last weekend since the field will likely spread out all-over the track versus having bumper-to-bumper racing which we saw at Bristol. The transition between one of the smallest tracks on the circuit to one of the biggest will be a tough animal to tame for the drivers but, it will surely make the racing interesting as the fifth different type of track this season for the new Gen 6 cars. Continue reading
King of Bristol Does It Again
After another Bristol win, Kyle Busch definitely deserves the keys to the Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch has had a tremendous amount of success at Bristol and today’s win in the Nationwide Series race only added to his Bristol dominance. Busch didn’t come away cleanly with this one since rookie sensation Kyle Larson bounced off Busch as they took the checkers and Larson just barely was beaten out. A 2013 turnaround is in full-swing for Busch since he has now won half of the Nationwide Series races this season. Busch is proving he is better than ever this season and today’s victory at Bristol proved that once again. Continue reading
Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 Preview
Thunder Valley will come alive this Saturday afternoon as the NASCAR Nationwide Series rolls in for their fourth race of the season. After Bristol under-went surface changes prior to last Augusts’ race weekend, the racing similar to “Old Bristol” returned which featured lots of beatin’ and bangin’.
The Nationwide Series race last August featured lots of carnage along with bumping between the drivers. If that race indicates how the race will play-out this Saturday afternoon, you won’t want to take your eyes off of the cars. “Old Bristol” is back and great racing will be on display during the Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 this Saturday. Continue reading
Sam Hornish Jr. Seals the Deal at Las Vegas
“Sin City” belonged to Sam Hornish Jr. Saturday afternoon in the Nationwide Series race when Hornish Jr. dominated and held off Las Vegas native Kyle Busch on a late restart to take the win.
Hornish Jr. proved he had a fast car all day and he was rewarded with his first trip to victory lane at Las Vegas. Hornish Jr. is off to one heck of start to the 2013 season and this win emphasizes that he is here to compete for the championship this season. Hornish Jr. was hot from the get-go and he raced to the front quickly and stayed in contention throughout most of the race.
After qualifying was rained out on Friday, the field was set by last year’s owner’s points and that meant Brian Vickers had the pole for the race. Receiving the pole assisted Vickers by allowing him to lead some laps early in the race. The first yellow flag of the day flew on lap three when Eric McClure had an engine issue.
Hornish Jr’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, was the first one to take the lead from Vickers and hold on to it for a period of time, when he did so on lap 23. The competition caution came out on lap 36 and all of the leaders came down pit road. Championship-contender Trevor Bayne won the race off of pit road and he acquired the lead.
Lap 55 featured the third caution of the day when Mike Wallace got into Joe Nemechek and Nemechek got into the turn two wall and he then spun around on the backstretch.
On the ensuing restart, Brian Vickers was out front and couldn’t hold the lead for long since Sam Hornish Jr went three-wide on the restart as the cars headed for turn one. Hornish Jr. was able to clear Vickers and then went on to battle Regan Smith for the top spot. By lap 61, Hornish Jr. had sole possession of the lead for the first time of the afternoon.
When Robert Richardson Jr. brought out the fourth caution, Trevor Bayne’s crew played some pit strategy as Bayne was the new leader on the restart. Bayne was battling Kyle Larson for the lead as the cars were heading into turn four. When Bayne slid up the banking, he got into Larson and both drivers made contact with the wall. Bayne managed to escape with the least amount of damage, but Larson had heavy damage to the right side of his car. Both drivers were able to continue in the race.
Hornish Jr. was able to re-gain the lead with 47 laps to go and he held onto that lead for just about all of the remaining laps.
The caution that shook everything up came out with 18 laps to go when Scott Lagasse Jr. spun in turn two. Hornish Jr. led on the restart, and faced a stiff battle from Kyle Busch on his inside. The battle lasted for just about half a lap before the eighth and final caution of the day came out.
When Ryan Sieg in the No.51 car got into Joey Gase, causing Gase’s car to slide up the track and slam into Kyle Larson, they both hit the backstretch wall with a hard impact. The incident occurred on the entry to the backstretch and both cars suffered a lot of damage. Despite the hard impact, both drivers were okay.
That incident set up an exciting restart with seven laps remaining in the race. Hornish Jr. and Busch were lined up side-by-side on the restart and they battled that way for a few laps before Hornish Jr. was able to clear Busch and take off. Hornish Jr. cruised for the final few laps in route to his first win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hornish Jr. had a tough 2012 and this win meant a lot to him and his team. They both bounced back real well for 2013 and under the new direction of Greg Erwin, they were able to succeed. Hornish Jr. is off to a torrid start to the season and this win just proves how well prepared Hornish Jr. is for 2013. Leading the points is not always the best thing when we’re just three races into the season but, it does show how dominant Hornish Jr. has been and how great he could continue to be throughout the season. This may be the first win for Hornish Jr. this season but, it certainly won’t be his last.
Results via ESPN.com
POS | DRIVER | CAR | MANUFACTURER |
LAPS |
MONEY |
START |
LED |
PTS |
BONUS |
PENALTY |
1 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 12 | Ford |
200 |
7 |
114 |
48 |
5 |
0 |
|
2 | Kyle Busch | 54 | Toyota |
200 |
23 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3 | Brian Vickers | 20 | Toyota |
200 |
1 |
27 |
42 |
1 |
0 |
|
4 | Trevor Bayne | 6 | Ford |
200 |
2 |
21 |
41 |
1 |
0 |
|
5 | Elliott Sadler | 11 | Toyota |
200 |
15 |
0 |
39 |
0 |
0 |
|
6 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet |
200 |
4 |
1 |
39 |
1 |
0 |
|
7 | Regan Smith | 7 | Chevrolet |
200 |
12 |
4 |
38 |
1 |
0 |
|
8 | Alex Bowman | 99 | Toyota |
200 |
18 |
0 |
36 |
0 |
0 |
|
9 | Brian Scott | 2 | Chevrolet |
200 |
3 |
0 |
35 |
0 |
0 |
|
10 | Travis Pastrana | 60 | Ford |
200 |
31 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
|
11 | Ty Dillon | 33 | Chevrolet |
200 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
12 | Brad Sweet | 5 | Chevrolet |
200 |
17 |
0 |
32 |
0 |
0 |
|
13 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | 30 | Chevrolet |
200 |
11 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
0 |
|
14 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 88 | Chevrolet |
200 |
32 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
15 | Justin Allgaier | 31 | Chevrolet |
199 |
10 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
0 |
|
16 | Reed Sorenson | 43 | Ford |
198 |
9 |
0 |
28 |
0 |
0 |
|
17 | Mike Bliss | 19 | Toyota |
198 |
20 |
0 |
27 |
0 |
0 |
|
18 | Ryan Sieg | 51 | Chevrolet |
198 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
19 | Johanna Long | 70 | Chevrolet |
198 |
27 |
0 |
25 |
0 |
0 |
|
20 | Scott Lagasse Jr. | 8 | Chevrolet |
198 |
40 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
|
21 | Blake Koch | 24 | Toyota |
198 |
22 |
0 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
|
22 | Jamie Dick | 55 | Chevrolet |
197 |
36 |
0 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
|
23 | Dexter Stacey | 92 | Ford |
197 |
37 |
0 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
|
24 | Hal Martin | 44 | Toyota |
197 |
14 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
|
25 | Josh Wise | 40 | Chevrolet |
195 |
26 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
|
26 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 79 | Ford |
195 |
34 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
0 |
|
27 | Joe Nemechek | 87 | Toyota |
194 |
16 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
|
28 | Juan Carlos Blum | 15 | Ford |
193 |
30 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
|
29 | Robert Richardson Jr. | 23 | Chevrolet |
192 |
29 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
|
30 | Parker Kligerman | 77 | Toyota |
189 |
8 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
|
31 | Daryl Harr | 4 | Chevrolet |
189 |
25 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
|
32 | Kyle Larson | 32 | Chevrolet |
182 |
13 |
1 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
|
33 | Joey Gase | 52 | Chevrolet |
181 |
38 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
|
34 | Mike Wallace | 01 | Chevrolet |
167 |
19 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
|
35 | Jason White | 00 | Toyota |
156 |
28 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
36 | Kevin Lepage | 74 | Chevrolet |
153 |
35 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
|
37 | Brad Keselowski | 22 | Ford |
144 |
6 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
38 | Jeff Green | 10 | Toyota |
16 |
33 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
39 | Chase Miller | 42 | Chevrolet |
5 |
39 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
40 | Eric McClure | 14 | Toyota |
2 |
24 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |