DOLLAR GENERAL 300 MILES OF COURAGE - CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Nationwide Series Race #31 of 34 for the 2011 season
Last Race - Kansas
Next Race - Texas
Edwards wins at Charlotte: #60-Carl Edwards won the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He took the lead with five laps to go and held off #18-Kyle Busch for his 8th win of the season. The rest of the top 10: #16-Trevor Bayne, #2-Elliott Sadler (who won the $100,000 Nationwide Dash 4 Cash), #11-Brian Scott, #22-Brad Keselowski, #31-Justin Allgaier, #33-Paul Menard, #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and #32-Brian Vickers. There were 7 cautions for 31 laps and 11 lead changes among 7 leaders. The estimated attendance was 45,000. Complete results are posted on the Charlotte race results page.(10-14-2011)
Charlotte Race Fast Facts:
Carl Edwards(i) won the 30th Annual Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage, his 37th victory in 241 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his eighth victory and 24th top-10 finish in 2011.
This is his second victory and eighth top-10 finish in 14 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch(i) (second) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 17 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his 18th top-10 finish in 2011.
Trevor Bayne (third) posted his first top-10 finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Blake Koch (18th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads the point standings by 15 points over Elliott Sadler.
(NASCAR Statistics)(10-14-2011)
Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Kansas and their finish
Caution 1: #01-Wallace, 22nd
Caution 2: #50-Bell, 23rd
Caution 3: #28-Cope, 24th
Caution 4: #62-Annett, 17th
Caution 5: #7-Wise, 14th
Caution 6: #12-Hornish, 12th
Caution 7: #81-Koch, 18th
(NASCAR)(10-8-2011)
Driver standings following Charlotte:
1) #6-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1100
2) #2-Elliott Sadler 1085 -15
3) #88-Aric Almirola 1013 -87
4) #31-Justin Allgaier 1009 -91
5) #82-Reed Sorenson 1006 -94
6) #30-Jason Leffler 949 -151
7) #09-Kenny Wallace 894 -206
8) #11-Brian Scott 877 -223
9) #66-Steve Wallace 870 -230
10) #62-Michael Annett 859 -241
Complete standings are posted on the driver standings page.(10-14-2011)
Owner Standings following Charlotte are posted. The top 30 in owners points who have attempted all races are locked in at Texas.(10-14-2011)
Menard on pole at Charlotte: #33-Paul Menard won the Coors Light Pole for the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 185.701mph. #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will start second. The rest of the top 10: #22-Brad Keselowski, #20-Joey Logano, #60-Carl Edwards,#18-Kyle Busch, #12-Sam Hornish, Jr., #11-Brian Scott, #32-Brian Vickers, and #31-Justin Allgaier. #46-Chase Miller wrecked during his qualifying attempt but walked away. He did not qualify. #7-Josh Wise hit the wall coming off turn 4. The team will repair the car. Did Not Qualify: #75-Carl Long, #71-Matt Carter, #08-Casey Roderick, #48-Dennis Setzer, #49-Mark Green, #46-Chase Miller. The starting lineup is posted on the Charlotte starting lineup page.(10-14-2011)
Charlotte Qualifying Notes:
Paul Menard(i) won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 30th Annual Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage with a lap of 29.079 seconds, 185.701 mph.
This is his fourth pole in 172 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his second pole and seventh top-10 start in 2011.
This is his first pole in nine races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (second) posted his 23rd top-10 start of 2011 and his third in five races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Brad Keselowski(i) (third) posted his third top-10 start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is his 20th in 26 races this season.
Ryan Truex (16th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(10-14-2011)
Logano fastest in happy hour: #20-Joey Logano was quickest during happy hour for the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage with a speed of 182.587mph. He was followed by: #22-Brad Keselowski, #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., #7-Josh Wise, #18-Kyle Busch, #33-Paul Menard, #32-Brian Vickers, #60-Carl Edwards, #30-Jason Leffler, and #12-Sam Hornish, Jr. Complete results are posted on the Charlotte practice results page.(10-13-2011)
Menard fastest in first practice: #33-Paul Menard was fastest during opening practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a speed of 182.939mph. #6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was second, followed by: #16-Trevor Bayne, #2-Elliott Sadler, #22-Brad Keselowski, #31-Justin Allgaier, #32-Brian Vickers, #20-Joey Logano, #12-Sam Hornish, and #38-Kasey Kahne. #08-Casey Roderick spun late in the session but only make light contact with the wall. The practice was halted trice for light rain showers. Complete results are posted on the Charlotte practice results page.(10-13-2011)
Entry List:There are 52 cars on the preliminary entry list for Friday night's Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Some notes:
Jamie McMurray returns to the #1 for Phoenix Racing;
Tim Andrews will drive the #04 for GoGreen Racing;
Sam Hornish and the #12 Penske team return to the track;
Robert Richardson will return to the #23 for R3;
Joey Gase remains in the Go Green #39;
Charles Lewandoski will drive the Key Motorsports #40;
The #42 & #47 of Key Motorosports (which start and park) are TBA;
Reed Sorenson is listed in the #82 for MacDonald Motorsports;
Kevin Conway will drive the NEMCO #87, which Joe Nemechek moves to the #97;
Ryan Truex returns to the Pastrana Waltrip #99.(10-10-2011)
UPDATE: Jennifer Jo Cobb has withdrawn her #13 entry. The #1 Phoenix Racing team will not make an attempt either.(10-11-2011)
UPDATE 2: Angela Cope is in the #70 and Scott Speed will be in the #47.(10-13-2011)
See the complete list on the Charlotte entry list page.
Wednesday, October 12th
1:00 PM NNS HAULERS ENTER
Thursday, October 13th
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
6:10 PM-7:00 PM NNS FINAL PRACTICE
7:00 PM NNS REGISTRATION CLOSES
9:00 PM NNS GARAGE CLOSES
Friday, October 14th
12:00 PM NNS GARAGE & REGISTRATION OPENS
3:05 PM NNS QUALIFYING (TWO LAPS, ALL POSITIONS) IMPOUND
5:30 PM NNS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING (MEDIA CENTER)
7:00 PM NNS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS-SECURITY
7:30 PM NNS RACE (200 LAPS, 300 MILES)
8:00 PM NNS REGISTRATION CLOSES
Roush Fenway Racing Looking To Make Series Championship History
Roush Fenway Racing could become the first team in NASCAR national series history to win a drivers championship and an owners championship in the same series in the same season – but with different drivers.
That impressive feat seems very real, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. closing in on his first drivers title in the No. 6, and Carl Edwards and RFR’s No. 60 closing in on the owners standings lead.
Stenhouse Jr., the current driver standings leader, is 20 points in front of second-place Elliott Sadler with five races to go. Stenhouse has ripped off five consecutive top-10 finishes in the last five weeks, and four of them were top fives. He sat on the pole at Charlotte earlier this season and finished fourth. His pre-race Driver Rating is 67.0 and his average finish at Charlotte is 24.5.
Sadler hasn’t given up. He gained two points on Stenhouse after his third-place finish at Kansas last weekend. In nine starts at Charlotte, he has posted one top five and two top 10s. His pre-race Driver Rating is 82.3 and his average finish at Charlotte is 21.6. Both are better than Stenhouse.
At the other end of the spectrum, Edwards has his sights set on the series owner championship. He’s moved his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing team to within seven points of the owner champion leader, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Edwards has made up a lot of ground over the last few weeks, especially in races where Kyle Busch has been absent. However, Busch, winner of four of the last seven overall series races at Charlotte (but shut out of the last two), is back in the No. 18 on Friday night. He’ll run twice more this year while Edwards will compete in each of the last five races.
In head-to-head competition this year, Busch has eight wins while Edwards has five. But here’s where Edwards has made up the deficit: He has two wins and six other top-five finishes in 10 of the 11 races in which Busch hasn’t competed (neither ran at Road America).
NASCAR Unites To Bring Awareness To Breast Cancer At Charlotte Motor Speedway
Breast Cancer Awareness has been a big focus for many of the nation’s major sports entities this month, and this weekend NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway will be doing their part to bring awareness and support for a disease that has touched so many of the sport’s friends and family.
NASCAR is uniting to support kids who have been affected by the loss of a loved one to breast cancer. The NASCAR Foundation will raise funds to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure College Scholarship Program through online donations, online auctions and an at-track donation program.
Also, NASCAR participants and officials will have several different ways this weekend to show support for breast cancer: pink NASCAR Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon A-Post decals for the participating cars and pace car, pink NASCAR Unites lanyards to be worn by officials, teams and fans, pink Mechanix Wear gloves to be worn by officials and teams and pink NASCAR Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon firesuit patches for officials.
Charlotte Motor Speedway will also honor 101-year-old Nanny Sue Neal, of Waxhaw, N.C., on Friday night. She is North Carolina’s oldest living breast cancer survivor.
Charlotte Marks The Final “Dash 4 Cash” In 2012
Friday night’s race marks the fourth and final NASCAR Nationwide Series “Dash 4 Cash” event of the 2012 season. This go-round, the highest finisher among Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Truex and Kenny Wallace will collect $100,000 on top of the race prize money.
Four drivers have been eligible for the bonus in each of the four “Dash 4 Cash” races during the season’s second half – Daytona, Iowa, Richmond and the finale at Charlotte. The first field at Daytona’s July race was set via the top four in driver points entering that event. For the next three “Dash 4 Cash” races, the field was set by the four highest finishers in those races among driver championship contenders. This quartet was decided by their finishes at Richmond last month: Stenhouse was third, Truex a career-best fourth, Wallace was fifth and Sadler, sixth.
Truex, who has blossomed in the five of his late-season six-race deal with Joe Gibbs Racing (one top five, two top 10s, no finish lower than 13th), is racing at Charlotte is a story in itself. The two-time K&N Pro Series East champion, 19, started the season with Pastrana-Waltrip Racing but was free to find another ride when sponsorship ended after 10 races. He wasn’t scheduled to run for JGR at Charlotte, but PWR stepped up to reunite Truex with the No. 99 Toyota for this big chance at a big payday.
Another interesting note on one of the four “Dash 4 Cash” contenders is Kenny Wallace, who is seventh in the points, will make his 519th career start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, tying the mark set by his good friend, Jason Keller. Wallace is expected to set a new standard in two weeks at Texas.
Additionally, Wallace – a three-time NASCAR Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver and a long-time fan favorite – will have his regular No. 09 RAB Racing Toyota dressed in a “Thank You Fans!” scheme.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Etc.
Morgan Shepherd celebrates his 70th birthday this week (Oct. 12). Shepherd has made 316 series starts posting 15 wins and six poles. … As part of the ‘ExtenZe Local Hero’ program, driver Kevin Conway is stepping up to assist the Concord Police Department in the unsolved double homicide case of Donna Barnhardt and Darrell Noles. His No. 87 ExtenZe Toyota will carry an image of Barnhardt and Noles along with contact information on the car’s deck lid.
NASCAR Nationwide Series -- Race No. 31 -- Dollar General 300 Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) – Concord, N.C.
Fast Facts for October 13-15, 2011
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Number of Tires:
Nationwide: Left-side -- 525, Right-side -- 525
Set limits:
Nationwide: 6 sets for the 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 teams in both series ran during Charlotte Speedweeks this past May . . . both Cup and Nationwide teams also ran this right-side tire code (D-4430) at Darlington earlier this season . . . 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.
