This is a little late getting up since I spent the past two days suffering from a wicked flu. I’m still pretty sick, but I’ve managed to pull myself up off my bathroom floor and get to a computer.
Busch extends Gibbs legacy, and his own: The Campingworld.com 300 Review
I was able to watch the Nationwide race while laying down on my couch sipping my uncarbonated 7Up. From my horizontal perspective it was a pretty good race.
The winner was of no surprise.
Kyle Busch won his record extending 12th of the season, and Joe Gibbs Racing has now won 6 straight Auto Club Nationwide Races. Busch makes up 4 of those wins while Logano and Stewart have the other two.
The other thing that really caught my eye was the improvement of one Penelope Pitstop aka Danica Patrick. Patrick fought back up to 13th and was on the lead lap with 10 to go until she went high and clipped James Buescher. Buescher then turned into the side of the 7 Chevy, sending Patrick headfirst into the wall. Patrick would eventually collect Ricky Carmicheal and Ricky Stenhouse, who has been running very strong as of late until his ru-in with Danica.
There was clear audio of Patrick’s spotter telling her “car high”. Maybe she didn’t hear him in time, or maybe she got loose, not sure on that one. The only thing I am sure of, is that Danica made vast improvements this race. It was her first repeat track, and althought the finish doesn’t show it, she advanced leaps and bounds. With the IRL season over, Patrick can focus a bit more on the remaining few races she intends to run.
Results and more after the JUMP!
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Pts | Bns | Driver Rating | Winnings | Status | Tms | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | NOS Energy Drink Toyota | 150 | 190 | 5 | 133.5 | $88,400 | Running | 4 | 38 |
| 2 | 3 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | America's Tire Dodge | 150 | 175 | 5 | 120.8 | $54,300 | Running | 1 | 22 |
| 3 | 2 | 33 | Kevin Harvick | Jimmy John's Chevy | 150 | 175 | 10 | 143.1 | $50,800 | Running | 4 | 86 |
| 4 | 6 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Copart Ford | 150 | 165 | 5 | 111.7 | $33,200 | Running | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 5 | 20 | Joey Logano | GameStop/Triton Toyota | 150 | 155 | 115.0 | $27,675 | Running | |||
| 6 | 8 | 88 | Aric Almirola | GT Vodka Chevy | 150 | 150 | 95.8 | $32,243 | Running | |||
| 7 | 10 | 1 | Ryan Newman | El Monterey Chevy | 150 | 146 | 99.3 | $26,935 | Running | |||
| 8 | 11 | 12 | Justin Allgaier | Verizon Wireless Dodge | 150 | 142 | 105.8 | $31,663 | Running | |||
| 9 | 16 | 40 | Mike Bliss | Key Motorsports Chevy | 150 | 138 | 84.7 | $28,568 | Running | |||
| 10 | 12 | 32 | Reed Sorenson | Dollar General Toyota | 150 | 134 | 99.2 | $30,993 | Running | |||
| 11 | 20 | 17 | Trevor Bayne | Roush-Fenway Ford | 150 | 130 | 86.2 | $20,875 | Running | |||
| 12 | 7 | 98 | Paul Menard | Richmond/Menards Ford | 150 | 127 | 87.4 | $20,475 | Running | |||
| 13 | 35 | 16 | Colin Braun # | Con-way Ford | 150 | 124 | 74.6 | $27,643 | Running | |||
| 14 | 30 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Gator.com Chevy | 150 | 121 | 74.9 | $26,443 | Running | |||
| 15 | 23 | 09 | Brian Scott # | Shore Lodge Ford | 150 | 118 | 71.9 | $26,518 | Running | |||
| 16 | 25 | 35 | Jason Keller | Tri Star Racing Chevy | 150 | 115 | 56.0 | $25,243 | Running | |||
| 17 | 18 | 11 | James Buescher # | BigSpot.com Toyota | 150 | 112 | 74.5 | $25,093 | Running | |||
| 18 | 27 | 81 | Michael McDowell | Red Line Oil/Drive Reply Dodge | 150 | 109 | 71.3 | $24,968 | Running | |||
| 19 | 37 | 34 | Tony Raines | Long John Silver's Chevy | 150 | 106 | 58.0 | $24,818 | Running | |||
| 20 | 22 | 15 | Michael Annett | Pilot Flying J Coffee Toyota | 150 | 103 | 84.9 | $25,843 | Running | |||
| 21 | 15 | 01 | Mike Wallace | JDavisMotorsports.com Chevy | 150 | 100 | 61.6 | $24,568 | Running | |||
| 22 | 21 | 05 | Willie Allen | 31-W/ALS Association Chevy | 150 | 97 | 53.2 | $24,443 | Running | |||
| 23 | 42 | 28 | Kenny Wallace | Blue Ox Chevy | 149 | 94 | 44.7 | $24,693 | Running | |||
| 24 | 28 | 83 | John Borneman III | Twisted X Boots/Red Line Oil Ford | 149 | 91 | 52.6 | $24,168 | Running | |||
| 25 | 4 | 99 | Martin Truex Jr. | Torrent Toyota | 149 | 93 | 5 | 93.1 | $18,425 | Running | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | 39 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | R3 Motorsports Chevy | 148 | 85 | 42.9 | $24,068 | Running | |||
| 27 | 41 | 70 | Mark Green | Blue Ox Chevy | 148 | 82 | 39.1 | $24,168 | Running | |||
| 28 | 38 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Victory in Jesus Chevy | 148 | 79 | 47.0 | $23,618 | Running | |||
| 29 | 17 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # | Blackwell Angus Ford | 147 | 76 | 75.3 | $23,493 | Running | |||
| 30 | 14 | 7 | Danica Patrick | Tissot/GoDaddy.com Chevy | 141 | 73 | 70.1 | $23,668 | Accident | |||
| 31 | 36 | 10 | Ricky Carmichael | Monster Energy Toyota | 141 | 70 | 56.5 | $23,238 | Accident | |||
| 32 | 29 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota | 125 | 67 | 73.0 | $23,103 | Accident | |||
| 33 | 9 | 66 | Steve Wallace | 5-hour Energy Toyota | 78 | 64 | 72.7 | $23,118 | Accident | |||
| 34 | 40 | 27 | Brad Baker | Baker Curb Racing Ford | 27 | 61 | 36.0 | $16,415 | Handling | |||
| 35 | 32 | 90 | Danny O'Quinn Jr. | D'Hondt Humphrey Racing Chevy | 21 | 58 | 46.3 | $16,310 | Transmission | |||
| 36 | 19 | 91 | David Gilliland | D'Hondt Humphrey Racing Chevy | 16 | 55 | 43.5 | $16,275 | Electrical | |||
| 37 | 13 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Great Clips Toyota | 15 | 52 | 49.1 | $22,708 | Engine | |||
| 38 | 43 | 52 | Kevin Lepage | BH Contractors/Blaha Construction Chevy | 10 | 49 | 36.7 | $16,185 | Rear End | |||
| 39 | 34 | 07 | Danny Efland | Danny Efland Racing Chevy | 6 | 46 | 34.6 | $16,145 | Ignition | |||
| 40 | 31 | 26 | Brian Keselowski | K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge | 4 | 43 | 32.5 | $16,115 | Brakes | |||
| 41 | 33 | 82 | Chase Miller | MOBILE-Shop.com Dodge | 3 | 0 | 33.4 | $16,080 | Electrical | |||
| 42 | 26 | 92 | Dennis Setzer | DoubleTree Dodge | 3 | 37 | 31.9 | $16,035 | Brakes | |||
| 43 | 24 | 36 | Jeff Green | Tri Star Motorsports Chevy | 2 | 34 | 30.3 | $15,973 | Fuel Pressure |
It looked like for a while that Martin Truex would be a challenger for Busch, but a flat tire ended his run to the front.
Looks like the fight for the top 30 in points will come down to the last few races. Michael McDowell needs to make up 106 points in the next couple of races if he intends on having the 81 locked in to the first five races of 2011. Here’s the battle:
| 28 | Keller | 35 | 2,645 | |||
| 29 | Howard | 70 | 2,601 | |||
| 30 | Richardson | 23 | 2,600 | |||
| 31 | McDowell | 81 | 2,494 | |||
| 32 | Allen | 05 | 2,451 | |||
| 33 | McClure | 24 | 2,290 |
Next week is the final COT race of 2010. Next season it will be the new Nationwide ride in all 35 events. I intend to bring you news of next season as I find it. Join us later in the week as we bring you a preview of the Dollar General 300 from Charlotte, NC! Enjoy!
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