Xfinity

Nuts for Nationwide: Texas Brings End Of Break, But Not Cup Dominance

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The Nationwide Series returns to activity this weekend in Texas after a two-week break, with the full-time teams itching to get back racing. But when it comes to coming out on top Friday night? Don’t be expecting much other than yet another victory by a Cup regular.

That’s been the story of the 2013 Nationwide season so far: five races, four victories by full-time Cup competitors. Kyle Busch, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in his No. 54, has already scored three wins after going 0-for in the series in 2012. Tony Stewart added yet another Daytona victory at the beginning of the season. Behind him, Sam Hornish, Jr. remains the only Nationwide points contender with a win, taking a popular first-place finish at Las Vegas.

Nuts for Nationwide: Five Races In, Some Underdogs Showing Promise

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Last week, we looked into the highs and lows of the 2013 Nationwide Series season, five races in. In one small segment, the spotlight turned onto the series’s smaller teams and their progress throughout the season.

As we near the completion of the second straight off-week in the series, let’s take a closer look at the little guys and gals.

The current owner points standings in the series are led by Roger Penske’s No. 12, driven by Sam Hornish Jr., the driver points leader. The following 14 spots, all the way down to 15th, are occupied by the sport’s more successful organizations, from the Nationwide programs of Cup teams like Penske and Roush Fenway Racing to series stalwarts such as Turner Motorsports and JR Motorsports.

Nuts for Nationwide: The Highs and Lows of 2013 (So Far)

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Just five races into the NASCAR Nationwide Series season, we’ve already learned some things–some are important, some you probably couldn’t care less about. Do we know the clear front runners for the title yet? Maybe, but there’s also still a lot of season left to count some drivers out this early in the year. Do we have a good feel on what the 2013 season as a whole will be remembered for? Again, too early, but a few common themes are emerging.

Some of these common themes can be construed as positives. Some, on the other hand, leave us scratching our head or banging said head on a table in frustration. Either way, the 2013 Nationwide season is shaping up to be an interesting year, though it’s unclear as to whether or not it will remembered fondly, if at all. We might remember it as the year Kyle Larson became a household name, or a season of redemption for former Cup drivers like Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, Regan Smith and Sam Hornish, Jr.

Nationwide Breakdown: Royal Purple 300

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Another Nationwide race, another Kyle Busch victory.

For the third time in five races this season, Busch emerged victorious in the second-tier series, leading 92 laps en route to his 54th career win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. It was a commanding performance from the Las Vegas native, who started from the pole and was substantially challenged by points leader and runner-up Sam Hornish Jr., who added 28 laps led.

His win continues a return to form for Busch, who returned to Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series in 2013 after driving for his own team in 2012. After being unable to secure any sort of win in the series last year, he’s already scored enough victories this year to compensate — and then some.

Nuts for Nationwide: A NASCAR Journeyman’s (Comparably) Hot Start

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If you’re looking for a feel-good story four races into the Nationwide Series season, look no further than Mike Harmon.

Harmon, a longtime journeyman contender in multiple NASCAR series and ARCA, published an article with Catchfence last October decrying the change from 43- to 40-car Nationwide fields, writing that he “just [didn’t] think NASCAR has really thought this thing out” and that he was “just about finished with NASCAR.”

Nuts for Nationwide: Time To Retire Those JWT Jokes

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Three years ago, John Wes Townley got what has thus far been his only shot in great equipment at the upper levels of NASCAR. After a 2009 rookie season in the Nationwide Series during which he crashed out of many of the events he made, the much maligned driver hitched a ride with Richard Childress Racing via sponsor Zaxby's – his father's business. A practice crash at Phoenix nixed that almost immediately, and Townley disappeared from the circuit, reappeared with former team RAB Racing, disappeared again, got a DUI and competed full-time in the Camping World Truck Series in 2012 for RAB, with a few one-off Nationwide races. Along the way, his chronic crashing earned him quite a few detractors, who said he was only there on his dad's money. There were even comments of 'worst NASCAR driver ever.' Now, to 2013. JWT is entered in one of the biggest races of the ARCA season, the year-opening Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona. He's entered in a car owned by Venturini Motorsports, arguably the top team in the series. He's come close to victory at the track in the past. This time, he wins it, after Bobby Gerhart runs out of fuel. The Chicken Man triumphs! <div style=\"float:right; width:275px; margin: 20px; border: black solid 1px; padding: 3px;\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/15383.jpg\" width=\"275\" height=\"184\"/><p style=\"margin: 3px; text-align: left; font-weight:bold;\">Jon Wes Townley and his frequent crashes were the butt of many jokes but now he's won in ARCA and started finishing races in NASCAR, making him…just another driver on the track. Which is actually an improvement.</p></div> Is it finally time to stop the jeers? The naysaying? The laughs at his expense? This weekend, Townley makes his first 2013 Nationwide Series start, driving a Venturini Toyota at Bristol. He's running a limited schedule for the team this year, marking the return to NASCAR for the longtime ARCA competitors. He also has a full-time gig in Red Horse Racing's No. 7 in the Camping World Truck Series. He won't light the racing world on fire at Bristol. He may never, unless he pulls a Montoya into a jet dryer. But it just might be time to take Townley more seriously – or, at least as seriously as you might take another so-so competitor in a given series. Granted, while a win is a win no matter how you look at it, JWT still won at a restrictor plate track, which are famous for evening the playing field and allowing unexpected victors. He did it for a team that's strong wherever it goes, not an organization like his former RAB team, which is solid but unspectacular the majority of the time. But it's not just that. The year off in 2011 seems to have done wonders for the guy. In 2012, he scored two top-10 finishes running in the trucks. More importantly, he did it with a mere two DNFs. What's more, he was either on or near the lead lap for most of the races. In a five-race Nationwide schedule? He didn't wreck out of any. Going forward, Townley may still wreck out of races – heck, expect it, because everyone does at some point. It may even happen this weekend at Bristol, if he can get his No. 25 in the show. But it's time to stop seeing John Wes Townley as a driver who can't hold a line without crashing. Instead, look at him as just another NASCAR driver. It's not a very flattering distinction, but it's certainly a step up. <b><u>Quick Hits</u></b> -Do people still have paper calendars? If Michael Annett does, chances are May 4 is circled on his. That's the date the Nationwide Series travels to Talladega, and it's the day Annett hopes to return to the series following the season-opening crash at Daytona that left him with a fractured and dislocated sternum. He had surgery Feb. 28, where doctors repaired the injury with screws and a metal plate. Annett actually hopes he can return a week earlier, at Richmond. Until then, Reed Sorenson is in the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports. -NASCAR reinstated Jeremy Clements just in time for the Bristol race this weekend. According to NASCAR, Clements completed a program with Dr. Richard Lapchick at the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports in order to be reinstated. Said Clements in a statement: \"I would like to thank NASCAR for their support throughout this entire process. I would like to also thank Dr. Lapchick and his team for their time and the opportunity to help me grow. I have learned a lot and am looking ahead, to getting back in the car at Bristol and having a fresh start to the season. I am truly grateful to my sponsors who have stood by me, to my fans for their tremendous outpouring of support and to my family and team for their unwavering love and support.\" Ryan Sieg drove Clements's No. 51 during his absence. -Just a few days after the close of its last sponsored event, Sam's Town renewed its sponsorship of the March Nationwide race at Las Vegas. The agreement extends the sponsorship another four years. <b>Looking forward: Bristol</b> <b>Stats (entered drivers)</b> <b>Most wins:</b> Kevin Harvick (5) <b>Top average finish:</b> Kevin Harvick (7.8, 23 races), Austin Dillon (8.0, 2), Parker Kligerman (9.0, 2), Kyle Busch (9.9, 17), Brad Keselowski (11.6, 11) <b>Bristol Nationwide debuts:</b> Brad Sweet, Juan Carlos Blum, Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, Hal Martin, Travis Pastrana, Dexter Stacey, Alex Bowman *Connect with Kevin!* <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/surfwax83\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/6502.jpg\"></a><a href=\"http://facebook.com/surfwaxamerica\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/6501.jpg\"></a><br> \"Contact Kevin Rutherford\":http://www.frontstretch.com/contact/37802/

Justin Allgaier Diary: All Around The World … And Then On Top Of NASCAR's

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Since last season ended, Ashley and I have had a very busy offseason. We started out spending Thanksgiving in Illinois with our families which was quite a gathering, especially with Ashley's family. It was a nice opportunity to relax for a little while. With the racing schedule as busy as it is, we only get to go home a couple of times a year so getting to spend time with our family during the offseason is extra special. <div style=\"float:left; width:275px; margin: 20px; border: black solid 1px; padding: 3px;\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/13273.jpg\" width=\"275\" height=\"413\"/><p style=\"margin: 3px; text-align: left; font-weight:bold;\">Justin Allgaier's smiling these days about much more than leading the Nationwide Series points. He and wife Ashley are expecting their first child sometime this summer.</p></div> We then jumped on a plane and went on a mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico. We got to go to some orphanages and give to some children who don't have near the blessings that we have here in the United States. It was with a group from Back2Back ministries which includes Gil and Ford Martin and Jeff Green. We didn't get to spend as much time down there as we normally have, but it was still a great time for the couple of days that we were down there with all of the kids at the different orphanages that we visited. It was especially enjoyable getting to see Magali, a young girl that Ashley and I sponsor down there. We came back to the states and headed back to Illinois to spend Christmas with our families. It was the best Christmas ever because we were able to tell our parents that we are expecting our first baby. I know we waited until last week to break the news to everyone else but we wanted to make sure that we were past the first tri-mester before we announced it to the world. We don't know what we're going to have yet but we will find out in a couple of weeks so we'll be sure and include that in the next edition of the diary. It was very hard to not tell anyone over the last couple of months, especially for someone who likes to talk as much as I do. After Christmas, we headed to Tulsa to run the Chili Bowl. It was the first time that I had run at the Chili Bowl in six years. It was the first time I'd been in an open-wheel car, besides a modified, since I'd been in the Chili Bowl last time. We ran pretty well. We finished eighth in our preliminary night with only three cylinders. We ran the B-main and started near the front but unfortunately the night ended early, along with our chance to make the A-main. What a great accomplishment though to run with the best midget drivers in the world and be up front in the B-main before crashing out. It was still a great run and I hope we'll get a chance to run a couple more races this season to be ready when the 2014 Chili Bowl comes around. After the Chili Bowl, we did a bunch of traveling. We made a couple of show appearances with Brandt at San Diego and Orlando. They are such a great sponsor and I love getting the chance to do things with them, for both their customers and their employees. Ashley and I also went on a K-Love Christian Radio Cruise to Cozumel. We got to spend a little time in Cozumel at an orphanage. It always touches my heart to be able to bring a little happiness to the children down in some of the less fortunate areas of the world. It is really neat to see how something as simple as some silly bands can bring so much joy to a kid. Once we wrapped up getting most of the rest of our preseason work done, we headed to Daytona. We not only ran at the big track, but we raced the Modified every night at Volusia. We ended up third in points in the DIRTCar Nationals, which was pretty impressive considering we crashed the first night there during hot laps and moved the front clip two inches to the left. I can only imagine how good we'd have done if we'd had the car straight. Then we raced the Nationwide race and had a good run. I was pushing Brian Scott to the line at the end when they told me they were wrecking in front of us. Unfortunately, on the last lap, you have to push for all you can so I stayed in the gas and we drove into it. My hood popped up almost immediately after my spotter told me they were wrecking so I didn't really see anything. I'm just really glad to know that all of the fans that were injured are doing better. We ended up seventh so, all things considered, we can't complain. We headed on to Phoenix and had a great run with the Brandt Chevrolet, coming home in third place. As a result, we're tied for first in the points. I hope we can stay there all season. I think I've got a great team and we're ready to make a run at the championship. We are getting ready for Vegas having a bunch of fun with a lot of the employees of Brandt. We had a party Thursday night and we'll do another one on Friday night. This is the biggest thing we do outside of Chicago for the Brandt employees every year. \"RUTHERFORD: WHY 2013 COULD BE ALLGAIER'S YEAR\":http://www.frontstretch.com/krutherford/42526/ I'm also running a go-kart for fun up at the Mooresville Motorplex, along with my good friend Michael McDowell, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray and a lot of other drivers. I'm hoping to get a kart together this year to run at Millbridge Speedway too. We have a ton of fun running there on Wednesday nights. That's about all I have for now. I look forward to seeing the fans at the track and catching up with you next month in my next addition of the diary. *Connect with Mike!* <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/mneffshorttrack\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/6502.jpg\"></a><br> \"Contact Mike Neff\":http://www.frontstretch.com/contact/14354/

Nuts for Nationwide: 2013 Could Be Allgaier's Year

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You can't make 2013 without a three and a one. Of course, a three and a one make a 31, the number of Justin Allgaier's car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. I know this is cheesy, but bear with me. Though an established competitor in the series since 2009, the man formerly (maybe still?) known as Little Gator has rarely been in the conversation for weekly victories, let alone a championship. That all may change this season. Two races in, Allgaier is tied for the points lead with Sam Hornish Jr., having scored a seventh-place finish in the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona and following it up with a third at Phoenix last weekend. Of course, he was rarely in contention for the victory – but who really was aside from Kyle Busch at Phoenix, and Daytona is a bit of a crapshoot anyway. <div style=\"float:right; width:275px; margin: 20px; border: black solid 1px; padding: 3px;\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/14541.jpg\" width=\"275\" height=\"184\"/><p style=\"margin: 3px; text-align: left; font-weight:bold;\">31 is 13 backward so is 2013 the year Justin Allgaier has a breakout season?</p></div> This year, I think, could be Little Gator's year. Entering his third season with Turner Scott Motorsports, Allgaier has actually become the senior presence at an organization that includes series rookies Kyle Larson and Nelson Piquet Jr. running full-time. That's not to say he'll beat Larson and Piquet each week, but one has to wonder if the majority of the team's eggs will be put in the No. 31's basket this season – that is, until Larson inevitably starts winning soundly and becomes a constant threat the whole season. Turner Scott has always been a strong organization, able to contend for wins most weeks. It's tough to say just yet what the added investment of Harry Scott will entail in terms of performance, but it may pay great dividends for Allgaier's team especially. Plus, like Allgaier himself, the team has had a few seasons in the series to grow and to simply get better. Seeing them as championship contenders at this point just seems like a no-brainer. It's Allgaier's fifth full season, too. With the exception of the new tracks the circuit visits in 2013, he's been to all speedways, some more than others. Barring major issues with the cars themselves, weekly top-10 finishes seem within grasp. That also gives him an edge over Larson at his own team; the rookie hasn't seen quite a few of the tracks and simply doesn't have the veteran status Allgaier has at this point. That's right – it's weird to say, but Justin Allgaier is basically a Nationwide veteran at this point. But mainly, I see consistency. Throughout his career, Allgaier has been a fairly surefire bet for the top 10. That's a great skill to have, because even if he might lose to Kyle Busch or whatever other Cup driver decides to mingle with the lower series that week, he's still likely to finish near the front. All he has to do is push himself even harder. Though the consistency's been great, we need to see just a little bit more. While his average finish generally hovers around 11, Elliott Sadler produced an average finish of 7.6 in 2012. That's about where Allgaier needs to be – a four-position increase. Can he do it? Absolutely. But a few things need to happen, too. First: as mentioned, that consistency. He needs to be closer to the top five more often while maintaining his lack of poor finishes from crashes, equipment failure and the like. Second: BEAT JOE GIBBS RACING. That's a tall order, so let's just take Kyle Busch out of the equation and focus on Brian Vickers and Elliott Sadler. So far, he's doing good on that; Sadler has a best finish of fifth, and Vickers hasn't even cracked the top 15, though that's due in part to bad luck. Still, he has to keep beating them, and that will be no small feat. Third: quite simply, win some more races. Capitalize on the events sans Cup guys. Show you belong at the top of the points standings. I'm convinced he can do it. He's off to a great start, and given his new position as his team's main guy, as well as the experience gleaned from a handful of years in the series, this could be Justin Allgaier's year. *Connect with Kevin!* <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/surfwax83\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/6502.jpg\"></a><a href=\"http://facebook.com/surfwaxamerica\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/6501.jpg\"></a><br> \"Contact Kevin Rutherford\":http://www.frontstretch.com/contact/37802/

Nuts for Nationwide: Annett’s Anguish, Plus Seven Part-Timers To Watch In 2013

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The crop of young talent in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series is deeper than it has been in years. After many years of Cup guys running the show, more teams are taking chances on rookie drivers to lead them on the path to victory — or, at least, some good finishes here and there.

In 2013, three of those drivers — Alex Bowman of RAB Racing, Kyle Larson of Turner Scott Motorsports and Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Parker Kligerman — lead the charge with full-time efforts and established organizations. Count on at least one, if not more of them making it to Victory Lane by season’s end. That’s how good this group is.