SUBWAY JALAPENO 250 - DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Nationwide Series Race #17 of 35 for the 2010 season
Last Race - New Hampshire
Next Race - Chicagoland
Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Daytona: #3-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway for his first Nationwide Series win since 2006 in the first race for the new Nationwide Series car. He held off #20-Joey Logano on a green white checker finish. #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr finished 3rd, followed by #22-Brad Keselowski, #33-Kevin Harvick, #21-Clint Bowyer, #18-Kyle Busch, #1-Ryan Newman, #16-Brian Ickler, and #7-Steve Arpin. There were 4 cautions for 16 laps and 13 lead changes among 8 leaders. Complete results are posted on the Daytona race results page.(7-2-2010)
Daytona Race Fast Facts:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, his 23rd victory in 115 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2010.
This is his sixth victory and 11th top-10 finish in 19 races at Daytona International Speedway.
Joey Logano (second) posted his third top-10 finish in four races at Daytona International Speedway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2010.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Daytona International Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (third) was the highest finishing rookie.
Brad Keselowski leads the point standings by 277 points over Carl Edwards.(NASCAR Statistics)(6-26-2010)
Driver standings following Daytona:
1) #22-Brad Keselowski 2806
2) #60-Carl Edwards 2529, -277
3) #12-Justin Allgaier 2318, -488
4) #18-Kyle Busch 2291, -515
5) #33-Kevin Harvick 2163, -643
6) #98-Paul Menard, 2077, -729
7) #20-Joey Logano 1933, -873
8) #66-Steve Wallace 1922, -884
9) #62-Brendan Gaughan 1895, -911
10) #38-Jason Leffler 1839, -967
Complete standings are posted on the driver standings page.(7-2-2010)
Owner Standings following Daytona are posted. The top 30 are now locked in the race at Chicago. With his 3rd place finish, #6-Ricky Stenhouse moved into the top 30, bumping #81-Michael McDowell out by 32 points.(7-2-2010)
Keselowski on pole at Daytona: #22-Brad Keselowski won the Coors Light Pole for the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway with a speed of 183.031mph. #26-Parker Kligerman, running a Penske Dodge is second. #3-Dale Earnhardt, Jr will start third. The rest of the top 10:#12-Justin Allgaier, #18-Kyle Busch, #6-Ricky Stenhouse, #88-Greg Sacks, #1-Ryan Newman, #33-Kevin Harvick, and #20-Joey Logano. Did Not Qualify: #68-Carl Long. The starting lineup is posted on the Daytona starting lineup page.(7-2-2010)
Daytona Qualifying Notes:
Brad Keselowski won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola with a lap of 49.172 seconds, 183.031 mph.
This is his seventh pole in 121 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his fourth pole and 10th top-10 start in 2010.
This is his first pole in six races at Daytona International Speedway.
Parker Kligerman (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2010 and his first in one races at Daytona International Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (third) posted his 10th top-10 start at Daytona International Speedway. It is his second in two races this season.
Parker Kligerman (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(7-2-2010)
McDowell fastest in Happy Hour: #81-Michael McDowell was quickest during the final practice session at Daytona International Speedway with a speed of 182.234mph. He was followed by: #1-Ryan Newman, #66-Steve Wallace, #23-Robert Richardson, #56-Kevin Lepage, #11- Brain Scott, #26-Parker Kligerman, #21-Clint Bowyer, #05-David Starr, and #09-Ken Schrader. Only 22 teams practiced. #11-Brian Scott spun early in the practice but did not hit anything. Complete results are posted on the Daytona practice results page.(7-1-2010)
Harvick fastest in second practice: #33-Kevin Harvick was the fastest in the second practice session for the Subway Jalapeno 250. His top speed was 187.477mph. #62-Brendan Gaughan was second fastest followed by: #2-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #99-Trevor Bayne, #15-Michael Annett, #7-Steve Arpin, #38-Jason Leffler, #70-Shelby Howard, #22-Brad Keselowski, and #10-Tayler Malsam. There were a few spins during the session including #27-Jennifer Jo Cobb and #60-Carl Edwards. Neither suffered severe damage. Also, some lead weight fell out of a car onto the track, causing damage to #66-Steve Wallace and #32-Reed Sorenson. They will both go to backup cars. 40 cars practiced during the session. Complete results are posted on the Daytona practice results page.(7-1-2010)
Sorenson fastest in opening practice: #32-Reed Sorenson had the fastest speed in the 4-hour practice/test session Wednesday at Daytona at 188.111mph. #16-Brian Ickler was second, followed by #38-Jason Leffler, #20-Jeoy Logano, #1-Ryan Newman, #60-Carl Edwards, #18-Kyle Busch, #6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #33-Kevin Harvick, and #15-Michael Annett. The session was optional for teams since it's the debut of the new car. Several teams did not get through technical inspection and other teams are limiting their time on the track because they only have one car. During the session #98-Paul Menard spun but didn't hurt the car. #88-Greg Sacks wrecked on the frontstretch and will have to go to a backup car. #1-Ryan Newman blew an engine. There will be two practice sessions on Thursday. Complete results are posted on the Daytona practice results page.(6-30-2010)
Entry List: UPDATE: There are 44 cars on the preliminary entry list for Friday's Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Some notes:
Ryan Newman and the #1 Phoenix Racing team return to the track;
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. drives the #3 Chevy;
David Starr will be in the #05 for Wayne Day;
Ken Schrader will drive the #09 for RAB Racing;
Brian Ickler returns to the Roush #16;
Parker Kligerman will drive the #26 for K Automotive;
Jennifer Jo Cobb will drive the Baker Curb #27;
Chrissy Wallace is entered in the Baker Curb #43;
Carl Long is enterd in the #68;
Greg Sacks will drive the JR Motorsports #88;
Not entered: #61 Specialty Racing, #92 K-Automotive, #90 & #91 D'Hondt Humphrey Motorsports teams;
(6-28-2010)
UPDATE: Chrissy Wallace has been replaced by Johnny Chapman in the #43.(6-29-2010)
See the complete list on the Daytona entry list page.
If qualifying is rained out or canceled the teams making the race would be:
#3-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. [past champion], #24-Eric McClure [31st in owner points, 16 attempts], #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. [32nd, 16], #05-David Starr [33rd, 16], #70-Shelby Howard [35th, 16], #26-Parker Kligerman [36th, 16], #89-Morgan Shepherd [38th, 16], #56-Kevin Lepage [41st, 15], #73-Derrike Cope [42nd, 14], #1-Ryan Newman [34th, 12], #04-Jeremy Clements [40th, 11], #49-Mark Green [45th, 8], #07-Danny Efland [46th, 5]
1 missing the race would be: #68-Carl Long [0,0]
Owner Standings following New Hampshire are posted. The top 30 are now locked in the race at Daytona. The #87-Joe Nemechek/NEMCO moved back in to the locked in positions and #24-Eric McClure/Team Rensi fell out.(6-26-2010)
Dale Jr. in Wrangler #3 in Nationwide Series Race at Daytona: The NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night, July 2, and ESPN will have a live telecast of the Subway Jalapeno 250. The race will mark the debut of NASCAR's new car for the Nationwide Series and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will compete driving a #3 Wrangler Chevy similar to cars his famous father raced in NASCAR in the 1980s. NASCAR Countdown presented by Wrangler airs at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the race telecast starts at 8 p.m. with the green flag at 8:19 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the series all season, with selected races airing on ESPN and ABC. Also from Daytona, ESPN2 will televise NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice on Thursday, July 1, at 5:30 p.m. and qualifying on Friday at 1 p.m. Allen Bestwick will be the lap-by-lap announcer, joined in the booth for analysis by Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Dr. Jerry Punch and Shannon Spake while Tim Brewer will report from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage. Nicole Briscoe will host NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio, with analysis by Jarrett and Brad Daugherty.(ESPN PR)(6-28-2010)
NASCAR Nationwide Series New Car Makes Historic Debut At Daytona
During the first on-track test for the new car at Richmond International Raceway in 2007, NASCAR
Nationwide Series director Joe Balash was told he looked like a “proud papa.”
Now, his look can best be described as watching one of his kids graduate from college and preparing to head out on their own.
“We’re all anxiously anticipating a great first event,” Balash said of the historic official points race for the new car, Friday night at Daytona International Speedway. “We’ve had numerous tests on various-sized tracks. We’ve had a lot of great participation from the teams and manufacturers. That tells us the project is headed in the right direction.”
The debut also will show off some iconic models as Dodge brings its Challenger and Ford will showcase its Mustang. Chevrolet introduces a new model to the series with its Impala while Toyota’s standard Camry model has a sporty new look.“With our first race at Daytona, we’re starting with a track that the owners — the ‘shareholders’ of our series, if you will — selected,” Balash said.
“They gave us the direction of what four events to start with this year.”
The new car also will be on track later this season at Michigan International Speedway (Aug. 14), at Richmond (Sept. 10) and at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Oct. 15) before being fully integrated in 2011, starting at Daytona next February
“I don’t really know what to expect this weekend with the new car but I’m still excited about it,” said Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota).
“Going into this weekend, there’s not much you can do to be prepared but just make sure your car is put together right and go from there. Having that test day on Wednesday is really important and will allow us more time to adjust to these cars, and give us a better idea of what to expect on Friday night.”
“The Nationwide Series is a great series with competitive racing week in and week out,” added Leffler, a veteran of six full seasons in the series. “I think the transition to this new car is only going to make it that much better.”
Annett Adept At Climbing Ladder Of Improvement
For a young, up-and-coming driver, the goal is to show steady improvement with each race.
Michael Annett (No. 15 Germain.com Toyota) is a perfect example.
His NASCAR Nationwide Series career, his 2010 season, and his statistics at Daytona are an encouraging example of improvement.
Take his career, for instance. Last year at this juncture, the then-rookie Annett sat 15th in the series standings, 294 points outside the top 10.
Currently, though only one spot better in 14th, Annett is in a much better position to land in the top 10 by season’s end. He comes to Daytona 126 points behind 10th-place Trevor Bayne (No. 99 Out! Pet Care Toyota).
Or take Annett’s 2010 season. In the first nine races, he scored only two finishes within the top 15. But over the last seven, he’s done that four times.
Then there’s his step-by-step improvement at Daytona International Speedway. This will be Annett’s fourth race at Daytona, and there are signs that it will be his best.
His first Daytona race was a definite feeling out process. He finished 35th, and had a low Driver Rating of 52.8 and an Average Running Position of 31.1. Only three of his laps were spent running among the Top 15.
Those first-time jitters evaporated a bit in the second race. Though the finish – 35th – was exactly the same, Annett’s performance was much stronger. In that event, he had a Driver Rating of 72.0, an average Running Position of 26.8, and spent 30 Laps in the Top 15.
The pattern continued earlier this year in February. Everything looked like it was coming together in Year 2. In the season-opener at Daytona,
Annett finished 12th – his third-best result of the season. In that race, he had a Driver Rating of 85.4, an Average Running Position of 14.1 and spent 76 laps in the Top 15.
Annett has tasted victory at Daytona, having won in the ARCA Racing Series in 2008.
Everything Old Is New Again: Earnhardt Jr. Brings His Father’s No. 3 Back To Daytona
The debut of the new car will be heightened by a blast from the past as two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet made famous by his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., especially when the elder Earnhardt ran on the high banks of Daytona.
Earnhardt Sr. — who won the first NASCAR Nationwide Series race in 1982, also at Daytona — won a total of seven times at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. That stat still stands as the most among all drivers.
He also won 22 times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series in the No. 3 Wrangler Chevy, with eight of those victories coming at Daytona.
Earnhardt Jr. is second among all drivers with five NASCAR Nationwide Series victories at Daytona, including two in this race.
Earnhardt Jr. has one other NASCAR Nationwide Series start this year, in the season-opener at Daytona. Despite leading seven laps, he finished 29th following an accident on Lap 92.
Bayne Finds Top-10 Niche
It only took 31 races – not even a full season – to reach an important rite of passage in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
But for Trevor Bayne (No. 99 Out! Pet Care Toyota), and like most teenagers who can’t wait to make the next step into adulthood, it probably seemed like forever.
Bayne, 19, cracked the top 10 in the NASCAR Nationwide standings for the first time in his career after his best-ever fifth place finish last Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
He’s the fourth teenager in the last three seasons to rank in the top 10 in points, following Joey Logano (No. 20 SportClips Toyota) and Bryan Clauson, both 18 in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Additionally, James Buescher, also 19, was in the top 10 earlier this year.
Bayne is the 12th different driver in 16 races this season to occupy the 10th position.
“It’s cool to work our way back into the top 10 after the season we have had so far,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. We started the season off with a 41st-place finish at Daytona and just have struggled since. However, over the past couple of weeks, we’ve started to hit our stride and grab some solid finishes. We had a good car in Kentucky and finished 11th, stayed on the race track at Road America and finished 10th. We also had a really fast race car in New Hampshire and finished fifth. It’s like
we are finally starting to get the finishes we deserve. When we can have solid weeks like this, it gives us something to build off of.”
NNS Etc.: Daytona Edition
► Schrader Returns To NNS
Kenny Schrader will make his debut with RAB Racing in the No. 09 Ford in Friday night’s Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola.
A fan favorite, Schrader, 55, has led 519 laps in 57 combined starts at Daytona in NASCAR’s three national series. His Daytona stat line among the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NACAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at DIS: 19 top fives, 58 top 10s and six poles.
Schrader has 940 starts in NASCAR’s top three series, including 115 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He last ran in the series in 2006, which also was his most recent NNS race at Daytona. In 10 NASCAR Nationwide starts at Daytona, Schrader has two top fives, four top 10s and two poles.
► Wallace Nationwide ‘Driver of Week’
Steve Wallace (No. 6 5-Hour Energy Toyota) is the Nationwide Insurance “Driver of The Week” at Daytona.
The program is a first-year initiative by series sponsor Nationwide Insurance to increase awareness about the drivers in the series, with special emphasis on series-only regulars.
Wallace, who currently ranks eighth in the points standings and had three consecutive top-10 finishes before placing 11th last week at New Hampshire, will participate on a live web chat with fans on Wednesday, June 30 at 12 p.m. ET on NASCARnationwideseries.com.
He’ll also make some appearances for the series sponsor at the track during the week.
Follow Wallace on Twitter: @SteveWallace66.
► ESPYs To Have NNS Flair
The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be well-represented at the ESPYs, ESPN’s 18th annual awards show where winners in various categories are voted upon by fans.
Reigning series champion and this year’s wins leader, with six — Kyle Busch (No. 18 NOS Toyota) — has been nominated in the “Best Driver” category.
Danica Patrick, who has competed in four NASCAR Nationwide Series races for JR Motorsports this year and will drive in 10 more before the season is over, will serve as a presenter for the second consecutive year.
In addition to Busch’s nomination, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has been nominated in the “Best Male Athlete” category, while Johnson, and four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. join Busch as nominees in the “Best Driver” category.
The ESPYs will be televised from the Nokia Theater at L.A. LIVE on ESPN on Wednesday, July 14 beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
► Manufacturers’ Standings
Dodge is making its strongest showing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Manufacturers’ standings at this point in the season for the first time since entering the series in 2002. Its four wins after 16 races are already tied for third among the manufacturers’ season bests. Yet Daytona is a track where Dodge has yet to make its mark, having been held without a win in 19 previous attempts.
Chevrolet is the all-time series leader in wins at Daytona with 25; Tony Stewart added to that lead with his victory in February. Ford and Toyota have won twice at Daytona.
► Raybestos Rookie Standings
Driver Team Points
1. Brian Scott Braun 167
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. RFR 133
3. Colin Braun RFR 119
4. James Buescher N/A 97
5. Parker Kligerman SPR 26
►Up Next: Chicagoland Speedway
The July 9 Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway, Race No. 18 on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, marks the halfway point in the 35-race season.
It’s the second of consecutive Friday night races for the series. ESPN will carry the broadcast
beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Joey Logano is the defending winner. Carl Edwards (No. 60 COPART Ford) last year’s Coors Light pole, his second at the track.
Fast Facts
Next Race: Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola
The Place: Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile tri-oval)
The Date: Friday, July 2
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
The Distance: 250 miles / 100 laps
TV: ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio (Local-WNDB-AM 1150, WKRO-FM 93.1)
2009 Winner: Denny Hamlin
2009 Pole Winner: Bryan Clauson
Schedule prior to race day (times ET): Wednesday: Practice, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday: Practice, 2 p.m.-3:50 p.m.; Final Practice, 5:30 p.m.-6:25 p.m.; Friday: Qualifying, 1:05 p.m.
Driver 201Points
2010 Point Standings
1 Brad Keselowski 2,641
2 Carl Edwards 2,394
3 Justin Allgaier 2,201
4 Kyle Busch 2,140
5 Kevin Harvick 2,003
6 Paul Menard 1,998
7 Brendan Gaughan 1,819
8 Steve Wallace 1,804
9 Joey Logano 1,758
10 Trevor Bayne 1,721
