NASCAR Nationwide Series:
• Brad Keselowski won last Saturday afternoon’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Another impressive win for Penske Racing. Your thoughts on the race?
Kelly Crandall: Very ho-hum race that only seemed to be made interesting by tire issues. Even that however, wasn’t a major problem to warrant much of a storyline. Brad Keselowski dominated and took firm control of the owner’s standings while Kyle Busch crashed and didn’t wind up in Texas Victory Lane again. Other than that, was there really anything to talk about?
Chris Knight: It’s been an amazing season for Penske Racing and this No. 22 ride. Between Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, A.J. Allmendinger and Joey Logano it’s been a stout year for them. Keselowski wanted a “cowboy” hat and he finally earned it.
Cary Strome: I am happy for Brad Keselowski. I was not surprised to see him come back up in the later part of the race. He was very strong early in the race. Penske was able to wrap up the owner’s title with that win.
Lori Tyler: Nice run for Brad! This team has put forth a great effort this season.
• Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t announced their driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry for 2014. While, Brian Vickers will head to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, he leaves an open spot in NNS competition. In your eyes, who deserves a shot at the opportunity?
Kelly Crandall: There are so many drivers out there and so little rides. This is a great ride and any driver would be lucky to have it. The question is, what direction does JGR want to go in? There’s Drew Herring who is already in their stable or the likes of a Sam Hornish Jr., who potentially could win the championship this year but doesn’t have a ride for 2014. It’s also entirely possible that JGR doesn’t run this car next year, which I’m starting to believe might happen since we have yet to have any idea or rumor of who could be in this ride next year.
Chris Knight: This is tough to say. Really. We haven’t heard from Joe Gibbs Racing if Dollar General will return to the organization and sponsor this ride in 2014. If they do, it leaves the door wide open on whom can take the seat.
You would think that Darrell Wallace Jr. would be the first person to come to mind, but I also think Drew Herring in on the same pedal stool Personally, I would like to see Darrell Wallace Jr. have another year of trucks under his belts and maybe a limited Nationwide Series schedule before he makes the move.
But, if those two don’t end up the seat, I think Todd Bodine, Ross Chastain, Sam Hornish Jr. and Miguel Paludo should be taken under consideration. Bodine for his veteran-like driving style. Hornish Jr. for obvious reasons and Chastain and Paludo, because I feel that they are still the future of this sport.
Adam Niemeyer: I know everyone will push for Darrell Wallace Jr. to get a shot in this car, and I fully agree, but I’m not sure Bubba would be the best candidate for a full-time ride. I’d love to see Darrell get a shot, but maybe on a part-time basis and allow Cup drivers to help fill in slots at certain races. It would be a good chance for Bubba to get his feet wet in the Nationwide Series before maybe giving it a full-time shot in 2015.
Lori Tyler: There are several drivers Gibbs will have to choose from. I am anxious to see his pick!
• ARCA winner Chad Hackenbracht returns to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend. After running a mixture of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports and a plethora of Nationwide races at TriStar Motorsports. How do you feel Chad has done this year?
Kelly Crandall: He’s flying under the radar as a very solid top 20 driver, not matter what series it’s in. Made more impress and fun to watch drivers like him make the most with what little they have. Sooner or later it’s going to get the attention of the right people, hopefully, and we’ll see a lot more of him in the future. Besides, his name is fantastic and we need that to stick around in NASCAR.
Roger Holtsclaw: Chad has been a solid competitor this season. He has shown that he has the talent, he just needs to be allowed to develop properly before advancing. If he takes his time and methodically moves up the ranks, he will eventually be contending for wins in NASCAR’s top series.
Chris Knight: Chad Hackenbracht has done an exceptional job this year. He’s proved with Kyle Busch Motorsports that he has the speed and the talent to get the job done. He almost won at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, but settled for second.
We know that TriStar Motorsports is not one of the top-tier organizations in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, but they are a good operation for a rookie driver like Hackenbracht to get some seat time, learn and have a shot at top-20 finishes. He’s done that.
Hackenbracht has the potential to be the future of the sport. While he has some sponsorship dollars behind him, he still needs a little more to put him over the top. It’s only a matter of time, before that happens.
Adam Niemeyer: He hasn’t done poorly for a first-timer in both series. Against a competitive Nationwide field he’s finished near 20th in every race he’s run (sans the race where he recorded a DNF due to a mechanical failure at Mid-Ohio). TriStar also has housed Cole Whitt, who I mentioned earlier. These youngsters could make a splash in the future, especially with how well they run in the equipment they’re given now. They’re learning to make it to the finish and that’s half the battle if you ask me.
Cary Strome: I think he is definitely on the rise in this sport. Considering the experience that he has to date, he has done a great job. I look forward to watching him grow into this level of competition and move into a full time ride in the truck series.
Lori Tyler: He’s a very talented driver. I am looking forward to watching him continue to work his way into the upper NASCAR Series’.
• Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway on deck this weekend for the ServiceMaster 200. Austin Dillon leads Sam Hornish Jr. by six points with two races left. Your thoughts?
Kelly Crandall: These are the class of the Nationwide Series (regulars) field and they’re going to go down until the very end fighting for the title. And both are very good at Phoenix so Saturday should be a great show and I don’t think they’ll let each other get too far away. Although I’m surprised that Dillon is in this position, I thought for sure it would take wins to have a shot at the title. Which is what Hornish and Regan Smith, who had a great stretch through the summer, were doing. But Dillon is showing that consistency still matters in this sport.
Roger Holtsclaw: It has been an awesome season for the Nationwide Series. I think Dillon and Hornish have both ran well enough to deserve the title. Hornish may very well be writing his resume now to try to find a quality ride for next season, so this championship is extremely important to him. Dillon is eager to prove that he does deserve what he has been given. Winning this championship also gets him one step closer to becoming the first driver to win a championship in all three series. A feat that would truly solidify him in NASCAR history for his accomplishments not who his grandfather is.
Chris Knight: Should be a good race. The championship battle is tight and the weather will be perfect. Hard to say who will win, but I would expect the normal characters will be up front and don’t be surprised if a few others don’t try to come in and steal the spotlight either.
Adam Niemeyer: Dillon finished 6th and Hornish 7th in the first trip to Phoenix this season. That race was dominated by Kyle Busch (something we seem to say about a lot of Nationwide races). I think this championship race is a going to be lost more than it is won, as Pete Pistone of MRN opined about the Sprint Cup title a few days ago. Whoever makes a mistake may lose the title more than one of these two going out and winning it. Who knows, one of these guys may prove me wrong.
Cary Strome: This could be a close race between these two drivers. They finished third and fifth there in the spring race. I am looking for Austin to come out on top of the two this week. It’s going to be a close one.
Lori Tyler: Sam Hornish has been a man on a mission next year. I think it would be great to see him pull it off.
