As the official Nationwide Writer for Nascar Ranting and Raving, I often find myself playing hype man for the Series. Most of the time the Nationwide Series has lived up to the hype, showcasing rising young talent, exciting action, and new faces every week. Things got a little muddy this week again as Joey Logano won his second straight win, and his fifth of the year. It’s muddy because Joey Logano is a young rising talent, but, he is a full time Sprint Cup Star and cannot win the Championship in the Nationwide Series. Logano is just 22 years old but already has 126 career Sprint Cup Starts and just 99 Nationwide Starts. By comparision, last year’s Nationwide Champion is 25 years old with 86 career Nationwide Starts and only two Cup starts.
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The guy who finished second this week is James Buescher, who is also 22, but is not even a full time Nationwide Driver yet. Logano has had more opportunities then most others at 22, and this leads to some resentment. Joey has great success in the Nationwide Series, but has squandered his opportunity only scoring two wins in his Sprint Cup Career. There are some, me included, that think that Logano would actually run better if he only focused on one Series - with the nod going to the Nationwide Series.
This is the second stretch of three straight Sprint Cup winners this year. 2010, the final year that drivers were allowed to win any championship, we saw a stretch of twenty straight races with a Sprint Cup winner. Last year, the first 11 races were won by Sprint Cup stars, with stretches of nine and five straight. So far, this year has started better, but more needs to be done.
Next week the Nationwide Series will head to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Hopefully the ‘Nationwide Only’ drivers can break the streak.
Results and more after the Jump!
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 3 | 18 | Joey Logano | Dollar General (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 2 | 4 | 30 | James Buescher | Amway / Gaddes Foundation (Steve Turner) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 3 | 15 | 54 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy (Kyle Busch) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 4 | 2 | 88 | Cole Whitt | Clean Coal - America's Power (JR Motorsports) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 5 | 1 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Advocare (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 6 | 11 | 12 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | Alliance Truck Parts (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 125 | running |
| 7 | 13 | 20 | Michael McDowell | Pizza Ranch (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 8 | 7 | 33 | Paul Menard | Menards / Rheem (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 9 | 17 | 11 | Brian Scott | Dollar General (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 10 | 9 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Discount Tire (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 125 | running |
| 11 | 6 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 12 | 18 | 43 | Michael Annett | Pilot Travel Centers / Flying J Coffee (Richard Petty Motorsports) | Ford | 125 | running |
| 13 | 16 | 44 | Mike Bliss | Bandit Chippers (Mark Smith) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 14 | 8 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Brandt (Steve Turner) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 15 | 23 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | AMFM Energy / Pellet & Wood Stoves (Joe Nemechek) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 16 | 14 | 70 | Johanna Long | Foretravel Motorcoach (Mary Louise Miller) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 17 | 22 | 14 | Jeff Green | Hefty / Reynolds Wrap (Mark Smith) | Toyota | 125 | running |
| 18 | 5 | 7 | Danica Patrick | GoDaddy.com / KickstartAmerica.us (JR Motorsports) | Chevrolet | 125 | running |
| 19 | 19 | 81 | Jason Bowles | American Majority / PledgeToVote.com (Pat MacDonald) | Toyota | 124 | running |
| 20 | 30 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Tradebank / Carl Ent (Johnny Davis) | Chevrolet | 124 | running |
| 21 | 28 | 19 | Tayler Malsam | G-Oil / Ryobi (Mark Smith) | Toyota | 124 | running |
| 22 | 27 | 40 | Erik Darnell | TheMotorsportsGroup.com (Curtis Key) | Chevrolet | 124 | running |
| 23 | 36 | 8 | Tony Raines | Black Cat Fireworks (Randy Hill) | Ford | 124 | running |
| 24 | 12 | 38 | Brad Sweet | Great Clips (Steve Turner) | Chevrolet | 123 | running |
| 25 | 20 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | Roush-Fenway Racing 25th Anniversary (Jack Roush) | Ford | 123 | running |
| 26 | 32 | 41 | Timmy Hill | Poynt.com (Rick Ware) | Ford | 123 | running |
| 27 | 33 | 4 | Danny Efland | TradeBank (Johnny Davis) | Chevrolet | 122 | running |
| 28 | 37 | 24 | Angela Cope | Dillon Manuf. / United Mobile Auctions (Jason Sciavicco) | Chevrolet | 119 | running |
| 29 | 21 | 23 | Jamie Dick | Viva Auto Group (Robert Richardson, Sr.) | Chevrolet | 116 | crash |
| 30 | 24 | 39 | Josh Richards | NSW Kids (Archie St. Hilaire) | Ford | 116 | crash |
| 31 | 31 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Diamond Pistons (Jeremy Clements) | Chevrolet | 76 | engine |
| 32 | 35 | 50 | T.J. Bell | Hantz Bank / Gulf Coast Loss Prevention (Mark Beaver) | Chevrolet | 56 | engine |
| 33 | 39 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Racing With Jesus / MorganSheperd.com (Morgan Shepherd) | Chevrolet | 42 | handling |
| 34 | 10 | 99 | Kenny Wallace | Family Farmers (Robby Benton) | Toyota | 32 | engine |
| 35 | 42 | 52 | Tim Schendel | Victory Precision Valves (Jimmy Means) | Chevrolet | 15 | overheating |
| 36 | 34 | 15 | Blake Koch | Rick Ware Racing (Rick Ware) | Chevrolet | 12 | vibration |
| 37 | 38 | 75 | Scott Riggs | Rick Ware Racing (Rick Ware) | Chevrolet | 11 | engine |
| 38 | 29 | 46 | Chase Miller | The Motorsports Group (Curtis Key) | Chevrolet | 9 | overheating |
| 39 | 26 | 42 | Josh Wise | The Motorsports Group (Curtis Key) | Chevrolet | 8 | engine |
| 40 | 41 | 71 | Michael Guerity | Rick Ware Racing (Rick Ware) | Chevrolet | 6 | vibration |
| 41 | 40 | 47 | Matt DiBenedetto | The Motorsports Group (Curtis Key) | Chevrolet | 5 | vibration |
| 42 | 25 | 10 | Kevin Lepage | TriStar Motorsports (Mark Smith) | Toyota | 4 | vibration |
| 43 | 43 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Koma Unwind Relaxation Drink (Mike Harmon) | Chevrolet | 1 | vibration |
Some thing may be very wrong in the #6 pits. Another bad week has put Ricky Stenhouse way back in points, and drops him to third. Out of the ashes, a new contender arrives as Austin Dillon moves to just eight points back of point leaderElliott Sadler. Here’s how things shake up:
| Rank | Number | Driver | Points | Diff |
| 1 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | 488 | |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 480 | -8 |
| 3 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 461 | -27 |
| 4 | 12 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | 443 | -45 |
| 5 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | 407 | -81 |
| 6 | 88 | Cole Whitt | 407 | -81 |
| 7 | 43 | Michael Annett | 396 | -92 |
| 8 | 44 | Mike Bliss | 333 | -155 |
| 9 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | 316 | -172 |
| 10 | 19 | Tayler Malsam | 305 | -183 |
| 11 | 7 | Danica Patrick | 305 | -183 |
| 12 | 11 | Brian Scott | 301 | -187 |
| 13 | 01 | Mike Wallace | 282 | -206 |
| 14 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | 259 | -229 |
| 15 | 81 | Jason Bowles | 259 | -229 |
| 16 | 40 | Erik Darnell | 227 | -261 |
| 17 | 50 | T.J. Bell | 197 | -291 |
| 18 | 70 | Johanna Long | 190 | -298 |
| 19 | 16 | Trevor Bayne | 180 | -308 |
| 20 | 15 | Timmy Hill | 154 | -334 |
Join us later in the week for a preview of Road Course Racing from Road America!
Enjoy!
