A weekend off is just another chance for Landon Cassill and Josh Wise to race. While fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors relax on a beach, some other exotic locale or at home this weekend, Cassill and Wise will compete in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Austria. There will be little time for sightseeing, even though this is Cassill’s first trip to Europe. The race, held Sunday and shown on NBCSN later this year, is half the distance of a full Ironman triathlon with a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run. Cassill attempted to qualify for the world championship in June at Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, Canada, but his time of 4 hours, 47 minutes – hindered by cramping during the run – was not good enough to do so. Wise and Cassill’s dad each qualified for Austria at that event. That led to Cassill competing in a half Ironman the day of the Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway in July. He drove in the Xfinity race the night before, flew to Muncie, Ind., got a couple of hours of sleep, competed in the event and then drove in the Cup race that night, finishing 28th. His time of 4:36.44 at Muncie – a personal best – placed him high enough to qualify for the world championships, which is expected to have about 2,700 athletes from more than 70 countries. Cassill says that if he can finish in 4:30, he believes he could place in the top 75. Another goal is to be in the top 20 after the swim because he says that has been his strong point. He’s hoping to run the half marathon in about 90-95 minutes.(NBC Sports)(8-28-2015)
