TOP GEAR 300 - CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Nationwide Series Race #13 of 34 for the 2011 season
Last Race - Iowa
Next Race - Chicago
Kenseth wins at Charlotte: #16-Matt Kenseth, filling in for Trevor Bayne, won the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his first Nationwide race of 2011. It is his 26th Nationwide Series win. #60-Carl Edwards finished second, followed by #18-Kyle Busch, #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., #32-Reed Sorenson, #22-Brad Keselowski, #66-Steve Wallace, #11-Brian Scott, #88-Aric Almirola, and #2-Elliott Sadler. There were 5 cautions for 25 laps and 17 lead changes among 8 leaders. The announced attendance was 45,000. Complete results are posted on the Charlotte race results page.(5-28-2011)
Charlotte Race Fast Facts:
Matt Kenseth(i) won the 30th Annual Top Gear 300 , his 26th victory in 248 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his first victory and first top-10 finish in 2011.
This is his third victory and 11th top-10 finish in 20 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Carl Edwards(i) (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 13 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his ninth top-10 finish in 2011.
Kyle Busch(i) (third) posted his 13th top-10 finish in 16 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Timmy Hill (23rd) was the highest finishing rookie.
Elliott Sadler leads the point standings by 1 points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
(NASCAR Statistics)(5-28-2011)
Driver standings following Charlotte:
1) #2- Elliott Sadler 452
2) #6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 451 -1
3) #32-Reed Sorenson 450 -2
4) #31-Justin Allgaier 430 -22
5) #88-Aric Almirola 401 -51
6) #38-Jason Leffler 398 -54
7) #09-Kenny Wallace 379 -73
8) #66-Steve Wallace 352 -100
9) #11-Brian Scott 339 -113
10) #7-Josh Wise 316 -136
Complete standings are posted on the driver standings page.(5-28-2011)
Owner Standings following Charlotte are posted. The top 30 in owners points are locked in at Chigaco. There were no changes after Charlotte.(5-28-2011)
Stenhouse, Jr. on pole at Charlotte: #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won the Coors Light Pole for the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 186.994mph. #33-Kevin Harvick will start second. The rest of the top 10: #16-Matt Kenseth, #18-Kyle Busch, #60-Carl Edwards, #32-Reed Sorenson, #12-Sam Hornish, Jr., #88-Aric Almirola, #30-Kasey Kahne, #2-Elliott Sadler. Did Not Qualify: #46-Chase Miller & #40-Charles Lewandoski. The starting lineup is posted on the Charlotte starting lineup page.(5-28-2011)
Charlotte Qualifying Notes:
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 30th Annual Top Gear 300 with a lap of 28.878 seconds, 186.994 mph.
This is his third pole in 52 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his second pole and 10th top-10 start in 2011.
This is his first pole in four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick(i) (second) posted his fifth top-10 start of 2011 and his 12th in 20 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Matt Kenseth(i) (third) posted his 14th top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his first in one races this season.
Blake Koch (27th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(5-28-2011)
Stenhouse fastest in happy hour: #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was quickest during happy hour at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 181.873mph. He was followed by #33-Kevin Harvick, #16-Matt Kenseth, #18-Kyle Busch, #30-Kasey Kahne, #88-Aric Almirola, #11-Brian Scott, #38-Jason Leffler, #12-Sam Hornish, Jr., and #99-Cole Whitt. Complete results are posted on the Charlotte practice results page.(5-26-2011)
Leffler fastest in first practice: #38-Jason Leffler was fastest during opening practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 178.536mph. #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was second, followed by: #18-Kyle Busch, #30-Kasey Kahne, #60-Carl Edwards, #33-Kevin Harvick, #32-Reed Sorenson, #16-Matt Kenseth, #12-Sam Hornish, Jr., and #99-Cole Whitt. Complete results are posted on the Charlotte practice results page.(5-26-2011)
Entry List:There are 46 cars on the preliminary entry list for Saturday's Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Some notes:
Kelly Bires will be in the #04 for Go Green Racing;
Trevor Bayne is back on the entry list and is expected to race;
Scott Wimmer is listed as driver of the Key Motorsports #40;
Tim Andrews is listed as driver of both the Key Motorsports #46 and the 2nd Chance #79;
David Green will be in the Jay Robinson #49;
Kevin Lepage returns to the Means Motorsports #52;
John Jason and the #72 team return;
Kimi Raikkonen will drive the #87 for NEMCO and Joe Nemechek will drive the #97.
(5-23-2011)
UPDATE: Charles Lewandoski tweeted that he will drive the #40 again this week.(5-23-2011)
UPDATE 2: Tim Andrews has been removed as driver of the #46. He will apparently be in the #79. Jeffrey Earnhardt will be in the Rick Ware #41 and Carl Long moves tot he #75.(5-24-2011)
UPDATE 3: Matt Kenseth will drive the #16 in place of Trevor Bayne.(5-25-2011)
UPDATE 4: The #68 team withdrew so they are 45 cars at the track.(5-26-2011)
See the complete list on the Charlotte entry list page.
Nationwide Series Live from Charlotte on ABC: The NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend and ABC will have a live telecast of the Top Gear 300 on Saturday, May 28. NASCAR Countdown airs at 2 p.m. ET with the race's green flag at 2:46 p.m. Also from Charlotte, ESPN2 airs coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Saturday at 10 a.m. Allen Bestwick will call the action with analysis by Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Reports from Tim Brewer will air from the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage, while pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. NASCAR Countdown from the ESPN pit studio will be hosted by Nicole Briscoe with analysis by Rusty Wallace and Ricky Craven. The studio team will interact with the booth during the telecast of the race.(ESPN)(5-23-2011)
Wednesday, May 25th
1:00 PM NNS HAULERS ENTER (TRUCK PARKING ONLY)
Thursday, May 26th
7:30 AM NNS REGISTRATION OPENS
8:00 AM NNS GARAGE OPENS
1:00 PM NNS ROOKIE & SPOTTER MEETINGS & RANDOM DRAWING
2:00 PM-3:20 PM NNS PRACTICE
5:10 PM-6:30 PM NNS FINAL PRACTICE
7:00 PM NNS REGISTRATION CLOSES
8:30 PM NNS GARAGE CLOSES
Friday, May 27th
NO TRACK ACTIVITY SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY
Saturday, May 28th
6:00 AM NNS GARAGE & REGISTRATION OPENS
10:10 AM NNS QUALIFYING (TWO LAPS, ALL POSITIONS)
12:30 PM NNS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING (MEDIA CENTER)
2:00 PM NNS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
2:30 PM NNS RACE (200 LAPS, 300 MILES)
3:00 PM NNS REGISTRATION CLOSES
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Number of Tires:
Nationwide: Left-side -- 525, Right-side -- 525
Set limits:
Nationwide: 6 sets for weekend
Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4428; Right-side -- D-4430
Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 87.3 in.; Right-side -- 88.4 in.
Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi;
Right Front -- 55 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi;
Right Front -- 54 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi
Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same tire codes at Charlotte this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Sprint Cup teams ran in the Sprint Showdown and All-Star races at Charlotte last weekend . . . both Cup and Nationwide teams also ran this right-side tire code (D-4430) at Darlington earlier this month . . . this tire set-up came out of a Goodyear tire test at Charlotte last fall . . . drivers participating in that test were Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex . . . compared to what was run at Charlotte last season, this tire set-up features softer compounds on both the left and right side, which will give the cars more grip . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Charlotte . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
