Let’s get right into this. Matt had a great article about the end of the race, but I intend to take back the reins tonight.
Stenhouse vs. Sadler 2.0 just got interesting: The O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Review
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I want to make it clear. I am very happy with the way the 2012 campaign has gone so far. We’ve only had one Sprint Cup winner in the mix, and our two biggest stars both have two wins. The rookie race is the best in years with Cole Whitt and Austin Dillon leading the charge. But more needs to be done. We could have had a top five finish that looked like this:
- Stenhouse
- Dillon
- Allgaier
- Patrick
- Annett
Instead we’ve got three Cup regulars blocking what would have been a great match-up of young stars fighting for the finish line. That being said, The Nationwide Series is still boasting some of the best racing every week.
Results and Points after the Jump!
| FIN | STR | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | Status |
| 1 | 3 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 6 Pure Michigan / Cargill Ford | 200 | 47 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | Paul Menard | 33 Rheem / Menards Chevrolet | 200 | NP | Running |
| 3 | 8 | Kasey Kahne | 38 Great Clips / EA Sports Chevrolet | 200 | NP | Running |
| 4 | 2 | Denny Hamlin | 18 Sport Clips / GameStop Toyota | 200 | NP | Running |
| 5 | 4 | Austin Dillon | 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet | 200 | 40 | Running |
| 6 | 30 | David Ragan | 27 Mercury Marine / Fish TV Ford | 200 | NP | Running |
| 7 | 16 | Justin Allgaier | 31 Brandt Chevrolet | 200 | 37 | Running |
| 8 | 17 | Danica Patrick | 7 GoDaddy.com / Tissot Chevrolet | 200 | 36 | Running |
| 9 | 18 | Michael Annett | 43 Pilot Travel Centers / Flying J Ford | 200 | 35 | Running |
| 10 | 9 | Steve Arpin | 30 Mike's On The Rocks Chevrolet | 200 | 34 | Running |
| 11 | 14 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 12 Wurth / Dodge Dealers Dodge | 200 | 33 | Running |
| 12 | 5 | Elliott Sadler | 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet | 200 | 33 | Running |
| 13 | 7 | Cole Whitt | 88 TaxSlayer / Air Hogs Chevrolet | 200 | 31 | Running |
| 14 | 20 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 5 Degree Men Chevrolet | 200 | NP | Running |
| 15 | 12 | Joey Logano | 20 Lego Batman 2 / GameStop Toyota | 200 | NP | Running |
| 16 | 10 | Mike Bliss | 44 TriStar Motorsports Toyota | 199 | 28 | Running |
| 17 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | 87 SWM International Toyota | 199 | 27 | Running |
| 18 | 23 | Jason Bowles | 81 American Majority Toyota | 199 | 26 | Running |
| 19 | 24 | Mike Wallace | 01 G&K Services Chevrolet | 198 | 25 | Running |
| 20 | 15 | Johanna Long | 70 Foretravel / Biomet Chevrolet | 197 | 24 | Running |
| 21 | 21 | Kyle Fowler | 08 Texas Tech University Ford | 196 | 23 | Running |
| 22 | 31 | Kelly Bires | 39 FentonMotors.com Ford | 196 | 22 | Running |
| 23 | 27 | Erik Darnell | 40 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet | 196 | 21 | Running |
| 24 | 42 | Eric McClure | 14 Hefty / Reynolds Wrap Toyota | 192 | 20 | Running |
| 25 | 28 | Tayler Malsam | 19 G-Oil Toyota | 192 | 19 | Running |
| 26 | 40 | T.J. Bell | 50 Gulf Coast Software Chevrolet | 192 | 18 | Running |
| 27 | 38 | Tim Schendel | 52 Means Motorsports Chevrolet | 192 | 17 | Running |
| 28 | 26 | Timmy Hill | 41 Poynt / Lilly Trucking Ford | 191 | 16 | Running |
| 29 | 37 | Jeremy Clements | 51 U.S. Petroleum Chevrolet | 188 | 15 | Running |
| 30 | 6 | Kurt Busch | 54 Monster Energy Toyota | 187 | NP | Out of race |
| 31 | 25 | Danny Efland | 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet | 187 | 13 | Running |
| 32 | 19 | Ryan Truex | 09 Grime Boss Toyota | 182 | 12 | Out of race |
| 33 | 41 | Benny Gordon | 24 Silestone Chevrolet | 175 | 11 | Running |
| 34 | 39 | Robert Richardson | 23 Tia Rosa Chevrolet | 169 | 10 | Running |
| 35 | 13 | Brad Keselowski | 22 Discount Tire Dodge | 159 | NP | Running |
| 36 | 29 | Blake Koch | 15 ChristianCinema.com Chevrolet | 92 | 8 | Out of race |
| 37 | 11 | Brian Scott | 11 Dollar General Toyota | 61 | 7 | Out of race |
| 38 | 34 | Scott Riggs | 75 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet | 9 | NP | Out of race |
| 39 | 36 | Chase Miller | 46 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet | 8 | 5 | Out of race |
| 40 | 32 | Josh Wise | 42 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet | 7 | NP | Out of race |
| 41 | 35 | Scott Speed | 47 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet | 7 | NP | Out of race |
| 42 | 43 | Kevin Lepage | 74 Koma Unwind Chevrolet | 4 | 2 | Out of race |
| 43 | 22 | Jeff Green | 10 TriStar Motorsports Toyota | 3 | 1 | Out of race |
Double tap there from Matt, but I like my format.
Take a look at the top 10 in points:
| RAN | Car # | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Owner | Points |
| 1 | 2 | Elliott Sadler (W2) | One Main Financial | Chevy | Richard Childress Racing | 247 |
| 2 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr (PC) (W2) | Kelloggs Pop Tarts/Pure Michigan | Ford | Roush Fenway | 243 |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Dillon ® | Advocare/Bass Pro Shops | Chevy | Richard Childress Racing | 227 |
| 4 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr | Alliance Truck Parts | Dodge | Penske Racing | 193 |
| 5 | 43 | Michael Annett | Pilot Flying J | Ford | Richard Petty Motorsports | 183 |
| 6 | 88 | Cole Whitt ® | Hellmann's/TaxSlayer/Degree | Chevy | JR Motorsports | 182 |
| 7 | 60 | Trevor Bayne | Roush 25 Years | Ford | Roush Fenway | 180 |
| 8 | 19 | Tayler Malsam ® | G-Oil | Toyota | Tri-Star Motorsports | 163 |
| 9 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt | Chevy | Turner Motorsports | 163 |
| 10 | 44 | Mike Bliss | Bandit Chippers | Toyota | Tri-Star Motorsports | 147 |
How can you not be excited week in and week out to see which young star will be able to bring down Elliott Sadler?
It’s important to note that we can’t have too much fun, so next week is another off week before we reach the meat of the schedule. Check back soon for more Racing Action!
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