AHelluva Good! preview of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Helluva Good! 200
Kyle Busch battles Brad Keselowski during the NASCAR Nationwide Series BUBBA burger 250 at Richmond International Raceway. While Busch started in first and led 62 laps, Keselowski dominated the last portion of the race, leading 189 laps via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com. Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images
By far one of the best names for a race. It happens to be it's own slogan.
It should be a very good race.
And can anyone stop the Joe Gibbs Bad Boys Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch? Can anyone catch Brad Keselowski and make a race for the championship? Should Nationwide have a Chase?
The answers are Maybe, Probably not, and Oh God Please!
The subject of a Chase for the Nationwide Cup was brought up in Sporting News magazine (which is still one of the few magazines that still has weekly Nascar coverage). I think there should be a Chase. You would most likely see Cup guys in all but one or two spots, but it would increase the chances of a guys like Jason Leffler or Justin Allgaier winning the championship. Let me know what you think.
Entry List and some observations after THE JUMP!
| Ent. | Car # | Driver | Sponsor | Manu. | Owner | |
| 1 | 1 | Ryan Newman | Phoenix Racing | 10 Chevy | James Finch | |
| 2 | 01 | Mike Wallace | JDavisMotorsports.com | 10 Chevy | Lori Davis | |
| 3 | 05 | Willie Allen | 31-W Insulation | 10 Chevy | Wayne Day | Not In Top 30 |
| 4 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | CITIFINANCIAL | 10 Ford | Jack Roush | Not In Top 30 |
| 5 | 7 | Landon Cassill | GoDaddy.com | 10 Chevy | Bryan Mullet | |
| 6 | 09 | Chad McCumbee | TBA | 10 Ford | Robby Benton | |
| 7 | 10 | Jason Leffler | ABF Freight | 08 Toyota | Todd Braun | |
| 8 | 11 | Brian Scott | TBD | 10 Toyota | Harry Scott Jr | |
| 9 | 12 | Justin Allgaier | Verizon Wireless | 09 Dodge | Roger Penske | |
| 10 | 15 | Michael Annett | Germain.com | 10 Toyota | Bob Germain | |
| 11 | 16 | Colin Braun | CONWAY | 10 Ford | Jack Roush | Not In Top 30 |
| 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Combos | 10 Toyota | Joe Gibbs | |
| 13 | 20 | Denny Hamlin | Food Lion | 10 Toyota | Joe Gibbs | |
| 14 | 21 | Clint Bowyer | ZAXBY'S | 10 Chevy | Richard Childress | |
| 15 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Ruby Tuesday | 10 Dodge | Jodi Geschickter | |
| 16 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr | R3 Motorsports | 09 Chevy | Robert Richardson | |
| 17 | 24 | Eric McClure | Hefty | 09 Ford | Ed Rensi | |
| 18 | 26 | Brian Keselowski | K-Automotive Motorsports | 10 Ford | Bob Keselowski | Not In Top 30 |
| 19 | 27 | Greg Biffle | Redman Moist Snuff | 10 Ford | Mike Curb | |
| 20 | 28 | Kenny Wallace | TBA | 10 Chevy | Jay Robinson | |
| 21 | 31 | Donnie Neuenberger | Plan B Technologies-EZslider | 10 Chevy | Rick Ware | Not In Top 30 |
| 22 | 32 | Reed Sorenson | Dollar General Stores | 08 Toyota | Todd Braun | |
| 23 | 33 | Kevin Harvick | Ollie's Bargain Outlet | 10 Chevy | Delana Harvick | |
| 24 | 34 | Tony Raines | Continental Fire & Safety | 10 Chevy | Bob Jenkins | |
| 25 | 35 | Jason Keller | TBA | 10 Chevy | Mark Smith | Not In Top 30 |
| 26 | 38 | Kasey Kahne | Great Clips | 08 Toyota | Ralph Braun | |
| 27 | 39 | Danny O'Quinn Jr | Blow Bros. | 10 Ford | Archie St Hilaire | Not In Top 30 |
| 28 | 40 | Mike Bliss | TBA | 10 Chevy | Curtis Key Sr | |
| 29 | 43 | Scott Lagasse Jr | TBA | 10 Ford | Mike Curb | |
| 30 | 52 | Kevin Hamlin | I-Hop | 10 Chevy | Jimmy Means | Not In Top 30 |
| 31 | 56 | Kevin Lepage | TBA | 10 Chevy | John McNelly | Not In Top 30 |
| 32 | 60 | Carl Edwards | FASTENAL | 10 Ford | Jack Roush | |
| 33 | 61 | Josh Wise | TBA | 10 Ford | Doug Taylor | Not In Top 30 |
| 34 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | South Point Casino and Hotel | 09 Toyota | Rusty Wallace | |
| 35 | 66 | Steve Wallace | 5 Hour Energy | 09 Toyota | Rusty Wallace | |
| 36 | 70 | Mark Green | TBD | 10 Chevy | Mary Louise Miller | Not In Top 30 |
| 37 | 73 | Derrike Cope | TBA | 09 Dodge | Derrike Cope | Not In Top 30 |
| 38 | 81 | Michael McDowell | MOBILE-Shop | 10 Dodge | Pat MacDonald | |
| 39 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | TBA | 09 Chevy | Andrea Nemechek | |
| 40 | 88 | Jamie McMurray | K'Nex | 10 Chevy | Dale Earnhardt Jr | |
| 41 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Racing with Jesus | 10 Chevy | Cindy Shepherd | Not In Top 30 |
| 42 | 90 | Chase Miller | D'Hondt Humphrey Motorsports | 09 Chevy | Eddie D'hondt | Not In Top 30 |
| 43 | 91 | David Gilliland | T.B.A. | 09 Chevy | Randy Humphrey | Not In Top 30 |
| 44 | 92 | Dennis Setzer | K-Automotive Motorsports | 10 Dodge | Brian Keselowski | Not In Top 30 |
| 45 | 96 | Johnny Chapman | K-Automotive Motorsports | 10 Dodge | Kay Keselowski | Not In Top 30 |
| 46 | 98 | Paul Menard | MENARDS | 10 Ford | Jack Roush | |
| 47 | 99 | Trevor Bayne | Diamond Waltrip Racing | 10 Toyota | Michael Waltrip |
47 Teams are entered into the Dover Race, so 4 drivers will go home.
Chad McCumbee returns to the #09 RAB Ford this week. The RAB team has been slipping back in points (possibly because of using Chad McCumbee instead of Scott Riggs, who was doing a great job). So it’s closing in on a make or break time for RAB.
Jason Leffler will be pushed into the #10 Toyota again this week as Kasey Kahne returns to the #38 again. Last week Kahne finished 4th but failed post race inspection. We are still waiting to hear about what kind of penalty, if any, he will recieve. Any kind of points penalty won’t matter to Kahne, but it will to Braun Racing, who is trying to win the Owners Championship with the #38.
Colin Braun returns to his #16 Ford this week. Kenseth couldn’t get the job done so lets see if Braun can do it himself.
If you took a look at the points this week you may have noticed something kind of funny; in 5 races, John Wes Townley had 484 points and in 5 races Clint Bowyer had 478. In those terms, Clint isn’t much of an upgrade to ol’ John Wes.
I couldn’t post the Nationwide Rookie Points on the Roundup since they just got released Tuesday, so here they are:
1. Brian Scott 103
2. James Buescher 97
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 94
4. Colin Braun 74
5. Parker Kligerman 25
It’s good to see Brian Scott having such a good year. Scott doesn’t exactly have this thing locked up as Buescher has been running pretty good BUT:
- James Buescher has left Phoenix Racing. This marks the second driver to leave James Finch’s For Sale Race team. Buescher, as you see, is second in rookie points. He plans to run the rest of the year in the Truck Series, where he is currently outside of the top 25 in points, and thus could miss a race. Ryan Newman has been named driver for the #1 Chevy for at least Dover.
If the Roush Rookies ever get those things running like they should, they could be on top of that list.
Jason Leffler returns to the #10 Toyota, thanks to Kasey Kahne returning to the 3#8 this week. Last race, Kahne finished 4th, but failed post race inspection. Still waiting to see if they will get penalized. A point penalty doesn’t mean a whole lot to Kahne, But it means alot to Braun Racing. They are trying to win the Owners Championship with the #38 Toyota.
It was Muscial Chairs again this week as Danny O’Quinn moves from the #90 Chevy to Archie St. Hilaire’s #39 Ford. Jason Bowles tried to race the #39 once this year. Chase Miller will take O’Quinn’s #90 for a spin - well, for at least 20 laps, since the #90 belongs to Start and Park OG, D’Hondt Humphrey Motorsports.
Kevin Hamlin will try to make his first start of 2010 in the IHOP #52 Chevy for Jimmy Means. Mmmmmm. IHOP. I loves me some IHOP. Oh, Sorry. Got a little carried away there.
So, tune into the Helluva Good! 200 Saturday May 15th, at 230 Eastern on ABC. Wait....ABC? ABC is showing a Nationwide race? Awesome. ‘Bout time Nationwide got some respect.
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