MISSOURI-ILLINOIS DODGE DEALERS 250 - GATEEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Nationwide Series Race #19 of 35 for the 2010 season
Last Race - Chicagoland
Next Race - O'Reilly Raceway Park
Edwards wins at Gateway: #60-Carl Edward won the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway, for his second win of the season. #22-Brad Keselowski had the lead on a green-white-checker restart and he and Edwards traded the lead on the last 2 laps. On the last lap, Keselowski nudged Edwards and too the lead. Coming to the checkered flag, Edwards hit Keselowski in the rear, turning him into the wall and giving Edwards the win. Keselowski's car came to a stop before the start-finish line, but then was hit by a couple different cars and pushed him over the line. #32-Reed Sorenson finished second. The rest of the top 10: #99-Trevor Bayne, #98-Paul Menard, #66-Steve Wallace, #11-Brian Scott, #16-Colin Braun, #7-Josh Wise, #6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and #34-Tony Raines. Keselowski was credited with a 14th place finish. There were 6 cautions for 30 laps and 12 lead changes among 4 leaders. Complete results are posted on the Gateway race results page.(7-17-2010)
Gateway Race Fast Facts:
Carl Edwards won the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250, his 27th victory in 195 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his second victory and 15th top-10 finish in 2010.
This is his third victory and sixth top-10 finish in seven races at Gateway International Raceway.
Reed Sorenson (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in six races at Gateway International Raceway. It is his 11th top-10 finish in 2010.
Trevor Bayne (third) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Gateway International Raceway.
Brian Scott (sixth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Brad Keselowski leads the point standings by 168 points over Carl Edwards.(NASCAR Statistics)(7-17-2010)
Driver standings following Gateway:
1) #22-Brad Keselowski 3042
2) #60-Carl Edwards 2874, -168
3) #12-Justin Allgaier 2545, -497
4) #18-Kyle Busch 2486, -556
5) #33-Kevin Harvick 2434, -608
6) #98-Paul Menard 2367, -675
7) #66-Steve Wallace 2204, -838
8) #62-Brendan Gaughan 2127, -915
9) #20-Joey Logano 2108, -934
10) #38-Jason Leffler 2088, -954
Complete standings are posted on the driver standings page.(7-17-2010)
Owner Standings following Gateway are posted. The top 30 are now locked in the race at O'Reilly Raceway Park. There were no changes in the top 30. The #43 Baker-Curb team remains 30th. #24-McClure/Team Rensi moves to 31st, 47 points back.(7-17-2010)
Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Gateway and their finish
Caution 1: #10-Malsam, 18th
Caution 2: #6-Stenhouse, Jr., 9th
Caution 3: #12-Allgaier, 25th
Caution 4: #05-Allen, 15th
Caution 5: #62-Gaughan, 17th
Caution 6: #33-Harvick, 16th
(NASCAR PR)(7-17-2010)
Bayne on pole at Gateway: #99-Trevor Bayne won the Coors Light Pole for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway with a speed of 133.567mph. It is his second career pole. #16-Trevor Bayne will start second. The rest of the top 10: #22-Brad Keselowski, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #98-Paul Menard, #11-Brian Scott, #18-Brad Coleman, #60-Carl Edwards, #66-Steve Wallace, and #33-Kevin Harvick. Did Not Qualify: #52-Chris Lawson, #73-Derrike Cope, #04-Jeremy Clements, and #81-Michael McDowell. The starting lineup is posted on the Gateway starting lineup page.(7-17-2010)
Gateway Qualifying Notes:
Trevor Bayne won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 with a lap of 33.691 seconds, 133.567 mph.
This is his second pole in 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his first pole and eighth top-10 start in 2010.
This is his first pole in two races at Gateway International Raceway.
Colin Braun (second) posted his fifth top-10 start of 2010 and his first in one races at Gateway International Raceway.
Brad Keselowski (third) posted his second top-10 start at Gateway International Raceway. It is his 12th in 19 races this season.
Colin Braun (second) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(7-17-2010)
Harvick fastest in Happy Hour: #33-Kevin Harivck was quickest during the final practice session at Gateway International Speedway with a speed of 134.312mph. Austin Dillon also practiced the car to give Harvick a break before the Truck race. He was followed by: #99-Trevor Bayne, #22-Brad Keselowski , #16-Colin Braun, #11-Brian Scott, #98-Paul Menard, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #00-Ryan Truex, #18-Brad Coleman, and #88-Steve Arpin. #6-Ricky Stenhouse wrecked early in the session and will have to go to a backup car. Complete results are posted on the Gateway practice results page.(7-17-2010)
Keselowski fastest in opening practice: #22-Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the opening practice session for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. His top speed was 133.960mph. #33-Kevin Harvick and #99-Trevor Bayne rounded out the top 3. The rest of the top 10: #60-Carl Edwards, #27-Kelly Bires, #32-Reed Sorenson, #62-Brendan Gaughan, #12-Justin Allgaier, #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and #98-Paul Menard. There were a couple of cautions during the session for incidents with #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr and #04-Jeremy Clements. Clements will have to go to a backup car. Complete results are posted on the Gateway practice results page.(7-17-2010)
Entry List: There are 49 cars on the preliminary entry list for Friday's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway.
Some notes:
#00-Ryan Truex will attempt to make his series debut;
Brian Ickler is listed as driver of the Roush #6, in place of Ricky Stenhouse;
Josh Wise is back in the #7 for JR Motorsports;
Landon Cassill is back in the RAB #09;
Brad Coleman returns to the JRG #18 and Matt Dibenedetto to the #20 for JGR;
Clint Bowyer is listed as the driver of the #21 for RCR, but that's expected to be Morgan Shepherd again;
Alex Kennedy will attempt his second race in the #23 for R3 Motorsports;
Kelly Bires will drive the #27 for Baker Curb;
Johnny Sauter will drove the TriStar #36;
Kevin Swindell will be in the Baker Curb #37;
Brad Baker will be in the Baker Curb #43;
Chris Lawson returns in the Jimmy Means #52;
Steve Arpin is back in the JR Motorsports #88;(7-12-2010)
UPDATE: Ricky Stenhouse will be in the #6.(7-13-2010)
UPDATE 2: Morgan Shepherd will be in the #21. The #61 Specialty Racing team has withdrawn.(7-15-2010)
UPDATE 3: #07-Danny Efland withdrew. There are 47 cars at the track.(7-16-2010)
See the complete list on the Gateway entry list page.
If qualifying is rained out or canceled the teams making the race would be:
#81-Michael McDowell [31st in owner pooints, 18 attempts], #24-Eric McClure [32nd, 18], #05-Willie Allen [33rd, 18], #70-Shelby Howard [35th, 18], #26-Brian Keselowski [36th, 18], #89-Johnny Chapman [37th, 18], #56-Kevin Lepage [39th, 17], #92-Dennis Setzer [43rd,17], #90-Danny O'Quinn [41st, 15],#91-Chase Miller [44th, 14], #04-Jeremy Clements [40th, 13], #49-Mark Green [45th, 10], #73-Derrike Cope [42, 15]
5 missing the race would be: #52-Chris Lawson [55,7], #07-Danny Efland [46, 6], #37-Kevin Swindell [59, 2], #36-Johnny Sauter [65, 1], #00-Ryan Truex [0, 0]
Nationwide Series Live from St. Louis in Prime Time: The NASCAR Nationwide Series races in prime time at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis on Saturday night, July 17, and ESPN2 will have a live telecast in high definition. NASCAR Countdown airs at 7 p.m. ET, while the race telecast starts at 8 p.m. with the green flag at 8:15 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the series all season, with selected races airing on ESPN and ABC. Also from Gateway, ESPN2 will air coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Dave Burns will be the lap-by-lap announcer, joined in the booth for analysis by Rusty Wallace and Ricky Craven. Pit reporters will be Mike Massaro, Dr. Jerry Punch and Shannon Spake while reports fromTim Brewer will originate from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.(ESPN PR)(7-12-2010)
Owner Standings following Chicago are posted. The top 30 are now locked in the race at Gateway. There were no changes after Chicago, however, the #43-Baker Curb team, which has been starting and parking has now fell to 30th. #81-Michael McDowell/MacDonald Motorsports remains in 30th.(7-9-2010)
Turf War: Midwest Drivers Need “A” Game Against Keselowski
Beginning Saturday night at Gateway International Raceway, the next three NASCAR Nationwide Series
events will be run at tracks that don’t host the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, however, does compete with the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Gateway and also at O’Reilly Raceway Park. That series will run on Friday at both events. The July 31 race at Iowa Speedway wraps up this trio of stand-alone races for the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Now past the halfway point in the season, Brad Keselowski (#22 Discount Tire Dodge) remains the standings leader, a post he’s manned following the last 11 races.
But a group of Midwest drivers racing hope they can put a dent in Keselowski’s advantage.
Carl Edwards (#60 Aflac Ford) is second, 227 points back. That’s the closest the Columbia, Mo., native has been to the leader since the series raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. At that point, he was fourth, 163 points behind Keselowski.
Edwards, the 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, has been a second-half challenger the last two seasons. He was 192 points behind reigning series champion Kyle Busch at this stage last year, and 188 behind eventual champion Clint Bowyer in 2008. Last year, four of Edwards’ five wins were collected in the second half. In 2008, he won six of his seven total races after Race # 18.
Edwards is one of three drivers entered who has two wins at Gateway. He won in 2006 and ‘08. Twotime series champion Kevin Harvick (#33 Jimmy John’s Chevy) joins Dale Earnhardt Jr., another two-time series champion, as the only drivers to win back-to-back races at the 1.25-mile track; Harvick did in 2000-01. Reed Sorenson (#32 Dollar General Toyota) also has multiple wins, in 2005 and ‘07.
Justin Allgaier (#12 Verizon Wireless Dodge), from Riverton, Ill., is the lone series-only regular with a win (Bristol Motor Speedway in March) and a pole (Nashville Superspeedway in June) so far this year. He’s only raced once at Gateway, an 11th-place result last year. The 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year in also is fourth in the standings.
Steve Wallace (#66 5-Hour Energy Toyota), who also will compete in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, is arguably in the midst of his best season. He’s eighth in the standings with seven top-10 finishes after 18 races. His career high is nine top 10s last year. He’s been as high as sixth in the standings so far this year and has spent 10 weeks inside the top 10. He’s looking for his first top-10 finish at Gateway, however. In four races, his average finish is 27.2.
This always is a big weekend for the Wallaces. Steve’s uncle, Kenny Wallace (#28 Juggle.com
Chevy) will face Steve’s other uncle, Mike Wallace (#01 J-D Motorsports Chevy) and Steve at Gateway. Although not a St. Louis native like his father, Rusty Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and his uncles, Steve, who was born in North Carolina, considers himself an “honorary native.”
Kenny, the Nationwide Insurance “Driver of the Week” this week, will make the 472nd start of his career
Saturday night, second all-time in series starts to Jason Keller (#35 Tri-Star Motorsports Chevy), who has 506. Mike will make his 366th career series start, which will be sixth on the all-time list.
In 11 starts at Gateway, Kenny has four top 10 finishes. Mike carries the best-finish banner for the family in series competition at the track. He was second in 2005, his best result in nine races there.
Things Are Looking Up For Leffler
Jason Leffler (#38 Great Clips Toyota) hoped for more when last February rolled around.
In 2009, he had just wrapped up the most statistically successful season of his career. His eight top fives matched a career high, and his 20 top 10s were a career high. He finished the year fourth in the standings, which was the second-highest final points position of his career.
There was an abundance of optimism.
That hope washed away almost immediately after a 33rd-place finish at Daytona International Speedway. It didn’t get much better from there. Over the first nine races, Leffler posted only one top-10 finish (ninth at Bristol).
Over those nine races, which put Leffler 15th in the points, he had an average finish of 21.7, an Average Running Position of 20.0 a Driver Rating of 77.3, eight Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 44.6%.
But Leffler’s talent – and luck – finally went his way with race #10 at Darlington Raceway. He notched his first top-five finish of the season, starting a string of three consecutive top 10s.
Over the last nine races, everything seemed to come together. Leffler is back in the top 10 in points, and has scored five top 10s in the last nine races.
Over that most recent span, Leffler has an average finish of 13.0, a Driver Rating of 90.0, an Average Running Position of 14.1, 47 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 71.4%.
The trend of success should continue this weekend at Gateway. Leffler is strong there, with two top fives and three top 10s in seven starts.
Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, a span of five Gateway races, Leffler has a Driver Rating of 93.0, an Average Running Position of 12.2, 36 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 71.7%.
Busch, JGR Draw Line In Owner Standings Sand
Just like its flagship driver, Joe Gibbs Racing is not going quietly into the NASCAR Nationwide Series night.
Although Kyle Busch won’t be defending his driver championship — or his win last year at Gateway — his organization is aiming for its third consecutive owner title.
The #18 Toyota team re-claimed the series owner standings lead by nine points after last Friday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway. Jodi Geschickter, listed as the owner of Brad Keselowski’s #22 Dodge, had been leading that category since late April, following the race at Talladega Superspeedway.
The #22 team also had the lead after the March race at Phoenix International Raceway.
JGR claimed the top spot after the next event at Texas Motor Speedway, but the 22 team had been in control since.
Other leaders include DeLana Harvick, who led after the first race of the year at Daytona International Speedway, and Jack Roush, who led the owner standings after races 2-4 this season.
JGR won its first owner championship with the # 20 Toyota in 2008. Clint Bowyer claimed the driver crown that year. Last year, Busch and JGR unified the titles for the first time since 2006. The first shared title in series history was in 2003.
Gibbs’ #20 car is in third place in the owner standings, 100 points behind the #18. Brad Coleman (#18 Safeway Driving Centers Toyota) takes the baton from Busch this weekend at Gateway and has done his part to keep the #18 team in contention. He has an average finish of 8.3 in his three races this year.
Despite this weekend’s event being his fourth missed race of the season, Busch already has produced seven wins, including last week at Chicagoland. He’s currently scheduled to run 29 races this year, recently adding next week’s event at O’Reilly Raceway Park where he’s also the defending winner.
In 188 career NASCAR Nationwide starts, Busch has 37 wins and now is second on the all-time list, chasing Mark Martin (48 wins in 231 starts). Kevin Harvick, who’s third, has 36 victories in 251 starts.
Busch’s seven wins are tied with two-time series champions Sam Ard and Jack Ingram, who each had seven wins after 18 races in 1984.
Busch had four wins after 18 races in 2008, when he tied Ard’s series record of 10 wins in one season. Busch ran 30 races that year.
Move Over Martin: Another Truex Looks To Make His Name
Stand-alone races are opportunities for younger drivers to showcase their skills. A pair of 18-year-olds get their shots this weekend at Gateway: Matt DiBenedetto returns to the #20 Pizza Ranch Toyota while Alex Kennedy will drive the #23 MediaMaster Chevy.
Both drivers last raced in the June 19 Bucyrus 200 at Road America, which was Kennedy’s series debut.
Now, make way for Ryan Truex (#00 NAPA Toyota).
He’s the younger brother of two-time series champion Martin Truex Jr., who won at Gateway from the pole in his track debut in 2004.
But Ryan comes with solid credentials of his own, including a NASCAR championship. He’s the defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion and currently leads that series after six races this season.
“(They’re) pretty big shoes to fill,” Ryan said, comparing himself to his brother. “I don’t expect to go out and set the world on fire. I’m just going to get my feet wet and just try to get as much experience as I can.
“I’m not going to think I can run top 10 or top five or anything like that. It’s a tough series. It took (Martin) a lot of starts to figure it out. I put more pressure on myself just to run as good as him because of the last name and everything.
“Three years ago I (was) racing a Legend car at Wall (N.J.) Stadium and now I’m here. It’s hard to believe how fast it’s come, but I’m excited, (and) ready to make the most of my opportunity.”
NNS Etc.: Gateway Edition
► Time For Tour de Edwards
For the third consecutive year, Carl Edwards is busy during this NASCAR Sprint Cup open weekend, opting to run in the NASCAR Nationwide race at his home track at Gateway.
He’s also using the week as an opportunity to get some more road work in — on a bicycle.
Edwards and a group of friends will make their annual cycling trek from his hometown of Columbia, Mo., to the track. The ride started Wednesday morning and ends Friday. It will cover over 200 miles.
► Raybestos Rookie Standings
Driver Team Points
1. Brian Scott Braun 180
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. RFR 160
3. Colin Braun RFR 128
4. James Buescher N/A 97
5. Parker Kligerman SPR 46
► Truckin’ Double-Duty Style
In addition to Steve Wallace, three other drivers will pull double-duty in the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Gateway.
Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Johnny Sauter (#36 Long John Silver’s Chevy) also will compete in the truck event Friday night before making the switch to the NASCAR Nationwide Series race the following evening.
Wallace will be making his series track debut in a truck. Harvick hasn’t raced at Gateway in a truck since 1999; Keselowski since 2005. Sauter made his truck track debut last year, finishing second after starting third.
►Up Next: O’Reilly Raceway Park
O’Reilly Raceway Park is one of the series’ most exciting short-track races of the season.
The Kroger 200 — with Kroger as the series’ longest-tenured race sponsor now in its 29th year — is next on Saturday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET. ESPN will have the broadcast.
Last year, Carl Edwards won, while Trevor Bayne (#99 Out! Pet Care Toyota) captured his first career pole.
► Tough Task For New Dad McClure
It’s been a difficult last couple of weeks for Eric McClure (#24 Hefty Odor Block Ford) on the track.
Off the track, though, it’s a different story.
For the third consecutive week, McClure will have to qualify on time. Prior to the July 1 race at Daytona International Speedway, he’d been in the top 30 in owner points. That race marked the first time he had to qualify on time since November, 2007.
But early last Sunday morning, the rough patches evaporated, at least for a while. Just after 3 a.m., he and his wife, Miranda, welcomed their third daughter, Mirabella Rileigh McClure.
The steady rise of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (#6 CitiFinancial Ford) and Jason Keller, drivers who had been outside the top 30 but are now among the automatic qualifiers, have pushed McClure to in-on-time status. His Team Rensi Motorsports organization is 32nd in owner points heading to Gateway.
McClure did make the races at Daytona and Chicagoland.
Fast Facts
Next Race: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250
The Place: Gateway International Raceway (1.25-mile oval)
The Date: Saturday, July 17
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
The Distance: 250 miles / 200 laps
TV: ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio (Local-KFNS-FM 100.7)
2009 Winner: Kyle Busch
2009 Pole Winner: Brad Keselowski
Schedule prior to race day (times CT): Saturday: Practice, 9 a.m.-10:15 a.m.; Final Practice, 10:45 a.m.-12 p.m.; Qualifying, 3:35 p.m.
2010 Standings
1 Brad Keselowski 2,911
2 Carl Edwards 2,684
3 Kyle Busch 2,486
4 Justin Allgaier 2,457
5 Kevin Harvick 2,314
6 Paul Menard 2,207
7 Joey Logano 2,108
8 Steve Wallace 2,049
9 Brendan Gaughan 2,015
10 Jason Leffler 1,994
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials
Number of Tires: Nationwide: Left-side -- 575, Right-side -- 575
Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4238; Right-side -- D-4240
Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.3 in.; Right-side -- 88.6 in.
Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 20 psi; Left Rear -- 20 psi;
Right Front -- 30 psi; Right Rear -- 30 psi
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 15 psi; Left Rear -- 13 psi;
Right Front -- 31 psi; Right Rear -- 28 psi
Notes: Teams in both NASCAR series in action at Gateway this weekend will run the same tire codes, though the Nationwide Series tires will be branded "Goodyear Eagle," while the Camping World Truck Series tires will be branded "Goodyear Wrangler" . . . teams in these two series ran this right-side code (D-4240) with a different left-side code at Gateway last season . . . these teams are familiar with these this set-up, having run this exact combination of left- and right-side tires at Phoenix (both series), Richmond (Nationwide only) and New Hampshire (Camping World Truck only) over the 2009 and 2010 seasons . . . in addition, Nationwide and Truck teams have both run this left-side code (D-4238) with a different right-side at O'Reilly Raceway Park over the past two seasons . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Gateway . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
