nascar 2012 - race 17

Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky




Submitted by Rick A. Talford

NASCAR Enthusiast



SPARTA, KENTUCKY - The Nascar Nationwide Series ran the one and a half mile oval at the Kentucky Speedway on Friday Night. The race ran 200 laps. Prior to the race starting, the temperatures were over 100 degrees, yet by race start they had dropped to the mid-seventy’s in just twenty minutes, due to a front that moved through. The Pole Sitter was # 3 Austin Dillon, with # 33 Kevin Harvick starting right beside him.



The first caution came out on lap 26, when # 24 Jamie Mosley spun out on track. By lap 138, the race had gone green the entire time, and only seven cars were on the lead lap. Austin ran the race in a record fashion. On lap 143 came the second and final caution of the race, when # 01 Mike Wallace was tagged and ran into the wall. On lap 179, # 11 Brian Scott had an engine failure, and went to the garage. His teammate # 18 Denny Hamlin had the same fate, but earlier in the race.



The Final Lap came , with # 3 Austin Dillon taking the checkered flag easily. He had led 192 of 200 laps. This would be his first NNS Victory of his career. He was the Truck Series Champion just a year ago, also in the # 3, owned by his grandfather Richard Childress. The 22 year old took over the points lead for the series with his victory at Kentucky.



The rest of the top ten were: # 54 Kurt Busch, # 33 Kevin Harvick, # 43 Michael Annett, # 31 Justin Allgaier, # 12 Sam Hornish Jr., # 22 Brad Keselowski, # 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., # 2 Elliott Sadler, and # 30 James Buescher. Danica Patrick finished in 12th spot, 2 laps down. She is currently in ninth place for points. Only the top eight cars finished on the lead lap.



The next race for NNS will be at Daytona, next Friday Night on ESPN2 at 6 PM.







Quaker State 400



SPARTA, KENTUCKY - The Nascar Sprint Cup Series ran at the oval track on Saturday Night. They would run 267 laps on the mile and a half speedway. The Pole Sitter was # 48 Jimmie Johnson, with # 18 Kyle Busch starting beside him. This was Johnsons first pole since 2010. This years race was only the second time the NSCS would race at the track. Last years winner was Kyle Busch, in the inaugural race. Laura Bell Bundy sang the National Anthem, and the T-45’s did a fly over prior to the start of the race. Driver of the # 2 Brad Keselowski was the only driver this weekend to drive in all three races at the track. He finished second, in the truck race, and seventh in the NNS race.



Kyle Busch started the race, by taking the top spot right away at the green flag. On lap 26 # 14 Tony Stewart had troubles and had to go to the garage for repairs. A sensor was the problem, and he was able to return to the race, many laps down. He finished in the mid-thirties. Lap 42 brought out the first caution of the race, when # 23 Scott Riggs slowed on the track, and limped back to pit road.



On lap 53 # 5 Kasey Kahne had a loose wheel and had to pit under green. He fell a lap down, but rebounded very well by the end of the race. Caution number two came out on lap 126, for debris on the front stretch. It was a plastic bag or rag, that NASCAR called the caution. On lap 149 # 36 Dave Blaney had a engine expire, bringing out the third caution. After everyone pitted and the race went green again, # 39 Ryan Newman ran into the back end of # 20 Joey Lagono, sending Lagono’s car sideways into 15 Clint Bowyer. Both Bowyer and Lagono would eventually have to pit for the damages they received in the incident.



On lap 194, # 18 Kyle Busch had troubles for the fourth week in a row. He had hit the wall earlier in the race, and broke a shock. The pit crew did an great job in fixing the problem during their pit stops, keeping Busch on the lead lap. The final caution came out on lap 210, when # 39 Ryan Newman started losing oil and hit the wall hard. # 78 Regan Smith was also collected in the crash.



At the end, # 2 Brad Keselowski won his third race of the season. He drove more than any driver in the past three days, and took the victory at a very tough, and rough track. Bristol and Talladega are his other two victories of the year. He now has the most wins of the season. The rest of the top ten were: # 5 Kasey Kahne, # 11 Denny Hamlin, # 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr., # 24 Jeff Gordon, # 48 Jimmie Johnson, # 17 Matt Kenseth, # 56 Ryan Truex Jr., # 22 AJ Allmendinger, and # 18 Kyle Busch. The fastest pit stop in the race was the # 31 Jeff Burton , with a 12.1 second stop. The race took 2 hrs and 50 minutes to complete.



The next race will be on Saturday night at Daytona. The Coke Zero 400