Nationwide Standings Report

Here is the top ten Nationwide standings(full ones on scenedaily.com)

1. Clint Bowyer 2506
2. Brad Keselowski -188
3. David Reutimann-190
   
4. Carl Edwards -205
5. Ravid Ragan -305
6. Mike Bliss -314
7. Kyle Busch -413
8. Mike Wallace -553
9. David Stremme -529
10. Jason Leffler -538

So as you can see, Bowyer still has a very comfortable lead. Keselowski lost points last night despite having the better car in the early part of the race. It'll be difficult for him to come back, but considering his talent and the fact that he's concentrating on only the Nationwide Series, I believe he can do it. Reutimann isn't too far behind either.

Edwards has a lot of confidence after last night's win and is with a crew chief that appears to be better for him, but I'm not sure if that deficit is manageable. It certainly won't be easy.

Therefore, Bowyer pretty much just has to run every race from here on out, in my opinion. He knows how to get results in the Nationwide.

The biggest loser for this week was Kyle Busch, dropping two spots, but that doesn't matter anymore, as he's decided to not run all of the races.

I really thought that Stremme could make a run, possibly looking to go into the top five in a few weeks, but last night's race was a huge setback. He'll just have to focus on the next one, still in the ninth spot.

Toyota/Save Mart 350 Preview

I've given you the lineup numerous times for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, so here it is on NASCAR.com.

I know most people don't like it, but I love watching a Cup race at Sonoma. The specialist, who haven't done too well this week, the good road-course racers in the series, and the bad/inexperienced ones mesh in to create an entertaining race.

Qualifying is very important at Infineon Raceway. Passing is almost impossible, with only two or three corners that really offer an opportunity. Therefore, those starting at the back, ala Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, will have a difficult time coming to the front.

Therefore, strategy will be very important tomorrow. You'll see many crew chiefs gamble to get track position, which you need at this track. As we saw last week at Michigan, this can sometimes lead to a win. Whoever uses the best strategy may well be the winner.

Another thing I love about this race is the fact that drivers can't make a mistake. One bad turn on a slippery surface usually means a car spinning out, which puts them in the back. And, we all know that you can't really come to the front from there. Therefore, drivers will try as hard as they can to not make one single mistake. Their full concentration is needed for this hard task.

So when you look at the contenders, you'd think of the specialists, Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, and even Stewart and Harvick, even if they're starting in the back.

For my prediction, I'll go with Jeff Gordon. He's just so good on this track, and needs a win badly. Enjoy the race everyone!

Awful night for Stremme

Tonight was a very disappointing one for David Stremme.

At the beginning of the day, Stremme thought he had the car to finally win a race, being the fastest in the final practice. Combine that with the fact that he always runs very well at Milwaukee, and I thought he had the best chance to win.

It all went down in qualifying though, as Stremme's car wasn't handling well, and he started seventeenth.

The race was ugly as well, as Stremme never really did much. Towards the end, he was wrecked while at the back of the pack, ending an awful day that he thought could be good.

After the incident, when he was understandably angry, he called out the drivers in the back, saying that they were awful and didn't know how to race. Now, this was a little out of line, as everyone in the race knows how to drive a car. Granted, some of them are still learning.

He probably didn't mean those comments, and was just upset at his poor finish at thirty-four. He just needs to put this race behind him and look towards the next one, as difficult as that might be.

Logano Update

Another race, another great finish for Joey Logano, this time second.

I'm sure he's disappointed that he didn't win the race, as he had the opportunity to, but he'll take this. If his pit crew would have been a little bit faster and the pit road a little more wider, he might have taken the checkered flag.

Even with Logano's stellar start to his Nationwide career, Joe Gibbs Racing is not going to have him run the next two races, the latter being at Daytona. Instead, they'll put either Tony Stewart or Denny Hamlins in the twenty car.

This is odd to some fans, as Logano has been so good. However, they don't want to rush him too much, and could use him to test some cars for the team. Plus, one has to prove that they can run a race at Daytona before they're just put into a car. It's tough to do this, but I agree with the move.

And to all of you people who think Logano can do no wrong and is completely ready for Cup action, he showed why he's a rookie tonight. He made contact numerous times, and gave Brad Keselowski just a top-ten finish instead of a well-deserved win. I know he has all the talent in the world, but he still has plenty to learn.

Nice night for Edwards

What a sweet win for Carl Edwards tonight, in many ways.

First of all, it snapped the defending Nationwide champion's thirty-six race winless streak. It was incredibly odd that a man of Carl's skill, who does so well in Nationwide races, hasn't won yet.

Also, it showed that Edwards can work very well with his new crew-chief, Drew Blickensderfer, who came in just this week. It's amazing that it only took one week for these two to win a race.

This was easily Edward's best car and race in the entire year, and the result luckily came out that way. He can now use this win and newfound confidence in his team and crew chief to make a little bit of a run in the standings. He's sitting in fourth right now, and is a long ways away from Clint Bowyer, but he can do it.

In addition to these Nationwide things, it must feel great for Edwards that the long trip he made from Sonoma to Milwaukee was worth it. It was questionable to being with, and I'm sure that Edwards is tired tonight and doesn't feel like racing on a road-course tomorrow, but he'll be going back to Infineon happy.

Camping World RV REntal 250 Recap

In a race that was close up to the final twenty laps, Carl Edwards won at Milwaukee in the Camping World RV Rental 250.

Brad Keselowski dominated the first half of the race, leading one hundred forty-five of the first one hundred and seventy laps. The polesitter clearly had the best car, at least before night came over Wisconsin, and looked to be on his way to at least a top three finish, probably his second victory of the season.

Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, and David Ragan, three Cup drivers who had to start at the back because of not being at qualifying, made their way up quickly despite the Mile being very flat. This was pretty much expected, as these guys had pretty good cars and are much better than the rest of the competition.

At lap one hundred seventy, Joey Logano challenged Zeselowski for the lead. Logano got loose in the corner, and nearly spun him out. The damage was still done however, as Zeselowski's right front fender was scraping the tire, making the car worse, and taking him out of the picture for the race lead.

On lap two hundred and six, caution came out and the leaders pitted. Logano came out fourth in the pits, and made contact with Bowyer coming out.

After the restart, Carl Edwards got past Steve Wallace, who only took two tires and immediately went to the back, for the lead. Clint Bowyer passed Edwards up shortly.

Caution then came out, and shortly after the restart, Edwards passed Bowyer for good, making some contact along the way. Logano then got past Bowyer.

When he got the lead, no one could catch up to Edwards, not even Logano, who had a good car. He got the fairly commanding win.

In the end, there were eight cautions, with twenty-two drivers on the lead lap.

Here's the top ten:

1. Carl Edwards
2. Joey Logano
3. Clint Bowyer
4. David Ragan
5. David Reutimann
6. Scott Wimmer
7. Mike Bliss
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Jason Keller
10. Jason Leffler

Here are the full results on NASCAR.com.

A very notes, thoughts, and observations:

• The Cup boys did much better than I thought they would. As you can see, four of the five finished in the top five despite them being commandingly outmatched. I guess that shows their dominance in these Nationwide races.
• It was a frustrating night for Mike Wallace, who finished eighteenth. He wrecked a few times, both not really his fault, and will take a small hit in the standings.
• Milwaukee is a very physical racetrack, as we saw a ton of small bumps and taps tonight that led to cars spinning out of control.
• Wimmer had a very good car in the early-goings of this race, and I'm surprised that he didn't finish in the top five.
• It's just a shame that Keselowski was wrecked by Logano. He should be very mad, as it wasn't his fault and it cost him a win. He'll still be fine in terms of the standings, though, although he did lose some ground to Bowyer.
• Congratulations to Chase Miller, who had his best ever Nationwide finish at twenty-third.

Ambrose crashed in practice

I just wanted to get a quick note from foxsports.com in. Marcos Ambrose, who had the top Happy Hour time, actually lost control of his car in turn eleven and hit the tires lined up as the wall. As a result, there is some damage to the left side. It should be fine, though, as his team repaired it while he was in route to Milwaukee to the Nationwide race. This is yet another example of how difficult Sonoma is, and even the best can lose control of their cars.