It’s Sprint Break as focus shifts to Montreal

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is taking a break this weekend, the last one before the end of the season, so that leaves us to watch the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in its inaugural race at Chicagoland and the NASCAR Nationwide Series in Montreal.
Last week’s race in Bristol had mixed reviews; some thought it was boring while others, like me, found it exciting. If you are watching the Bristol race to see a demolition derby-style race then I guess you were a bit disappointed, but if you were watching the race to find out the fate of those in and around the 12th and final Chase spot, you weren’t let down at all.

Kyle Busch, who is trying to get into the top 12, had an outstanding performance and won the race. Fellow competitor Clint Bowyer, who is also trying to get into the top 12, had a dismal performance finding himself essentially out of the Chase. He may still be in it mathematically, but realistically, his Chase hopes ended and being the competitor he his, I imagine he is not going to have an enjoyable weekend off.

So just what do Cup drivers do on an off weekend?

Well Scott Speed is going on his honeymoon, while others are just going to stay at home with their wives and kids, hang out and spend some family time together. Yet there are others, like David Ragan and Kyle Busch, who will be at a track somewhere else.

Ragan will be doing a driver appearance in Vermont and Busch will be in the truck race in Chicago and in the Montreal race with other Cup stars such as Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose.

The entry list for Montreal has a mixture of Nationwide regulars, up-and-comers like Jeffrey Earnhardt and Steven Wallace, veterans Kenny Wallace and Morgan Shepherd, and Canadians Ron Fellows, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Tagliani and Jacques Villeneuve.

The drivers I’ll be watching during the race and looking to see battling for the win at the end of it will be Busch, Fellows, Ambrose, and Edwards.

But I wouldn’t be surprised to see others in there like Carpentier.

Who is going to win?

I really don’t care as long as it is a good race and the driver is Canadian, but I have a feeling a certain “Tasmanian Devil” will have something to say about that as Australian Ambrose has been a terror on road courses this year and is a clear favourite to be in contention for the win.

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Site: Montreal

Schedule: Saturday, practice, qualifying (ESPN2, 9 to 11 p.m.); Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 2 to 6 p.m.)

Track: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (road course, 2.709 miles)

Race distance: 200.466 miles, 74 laps