Carquest 300 News and Notes

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Matt Tuck

It will be a tough road ahead for the Nationwide Regulars this week.

With this week's race occurring at Lowe's Motor Speedway in a companion race with the Coke 600, the Claim Jumpers will be in full force. For the most part, Nationwide Regulars will be fighting for scraps. However, there are some key Regulars that will go a long way toward extending your salary cap.

Claim Jumpers

Not that it is any real news, but Kyle Busch tops the list of early favorites. Since 2003, he has won two at Lowe's as well as three more top-fives and four top-10s. Last year, he was eighth in the Carquest 300, and then ran second in Charlotte in the fall. What makes him even more appealing is his statistics on the "cookie-cutter" tracks. Dating back to last summer, he has earned two wins and five top-fives in the last seven such races. Those numbers would be better if it hadn't been for bad luck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year.

There is no touching the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas this year. No matter the driver, one of the Gibbs Camrys seems to contend every week. This time around, Denny Hamlin gets the nod in the No. 20 Toyota, and he will not disappoint. Although he has not started a "cookie-cutter" race in the Nationwide Series this year, his last four tries on such tracks have all ended with him between third and seventh. He was fifth at Lowe's last fall, so there is definitely a reason to feel confident in his abilities this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having so much fun in the Nationwide series, that he decided to roll out a third JR Motorsports/Hendrick Motorsports Chevy. He hasn't run very many races this season, but he's made the most of his five appearances by sweeping the top 15 and finishing in the top 10 in all but one event.

Another reason to roll out an extra car at Hendrick Motorsports is to give Jimmie Johnson a ride in the No. 5. As dominant as that driver has been in the Cup series, however, he is not a particularly good value in Nationwide competition with only one top-five and three top-10s in seven starts. Every other result has been outside the top 30.

Nationwide Regulars

Jason Leffler has been tough on the "cookie-cutters" this season even if Lowe's has not always been his favorite track. His last two such starts both ended with him in the top 10—specifically with an eighth at Atlanta and a ninth at Texas. Leffler has not had a top-10 in Charlotte since 2005, but he has been on a tear lately. He has two top-10s and three straight top-20s heading into the Carquest Auto Parts 300.

Brad Keselowski has cooled off from his earlier pace, but he can get back on track this week. He has been doing a great job on the "cookie-cutter" speedways since joining the Nationwide series. He has started each of the last seven "cookie-cutter" races and only twice has he failed to earn a top-20. What's more is that he has two top-10s and four top-20s in the past five such events. He has not had a top-10 in four races, which means he is due for a good finish.

Kelly Bires has not done much to get attention this year, but don't let him fall too far under the radar this week. Last fall, he made his first career start in Charlotte and walked away with an impressive ninth. That was no fluke. The "cookie-cutters" seem to fit his driving style as he has two top-10s and a five-race top-20 streak heading into Lowe's. His last top-10 was a fifth at Nashville SuperSpeedway seven races ago on the intermediate, concrete track. Since then, he has just three top-20s, so he is in need of a good run.

Fanball.com

Bliss hopes Lowe's track has aged to his liking

If Mike Bliss is going to post his second Nationwide Series victory this weekend, it likely will have to come at the expense of the team that provided him with his lone win, Joe Gibbs Racing.

JGR drivers Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin have won the past six Nationwide races, and Busch and Hamlin are among the entries for Saturday night's Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

"They have it going on right now," said Bliss, whose victory came at Lowe's in October 2004. "When race teams have something going, it's easy to just keep it all rolling. I think it will just take a couple of us to knock the wind out of their sails and slow them down."

Bliss, who finished a career-best fifth in the points standings that year, has six starts on the Charlotte-area track with three top-five runs. But since the track was resurfaced in 2006, he has finishes of 29th and 39th.

"It's always a tough battle," Bliss said of racing at Lowe's. "All of us want to win at Charlotte because it's our home racetrack. It's a lot different since they resurfaced it. It has a different characteristic to it. Since they've done that, I haven't run the same as in the past. I'm hoping since the surface is older, that the old feel is coming back. I consider it like Daytona: Everybody sees it as a big race they want to win."

Bliss is fifth in the point standings -- best among non-full-time Cup drivers -- despite jumping from cash-strapped Fitz Racing to James Finch's Phoenix Racing team after six races. Bliss replaced Johnny Sauter at Phoenix Racing and has four top 10s in the six races since the move. He had two top-10 finishes in the first six races.

"It's been a crazy year," Bliss said. "I don't know why I get myself into these situations. I don't want to be changing rides all of the time. I'm very fortunate that I found another ride and it's a good one.

"We've been competitive since I came here (to the Finch team). To run top 10 is pretty good, but to get from 10th to the top three is very difficult. We've been running well, but we just haven't put the whole race together. I think if we can do that, we can win a race this year."

Fast facts

What: Carquest Auto Parts 300.
Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway; Concord, N.C.
When: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
TV: ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET.
Radio: PRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128.
Track layout: 1.5-mile oval.
Race distance: 200 laps/300 miles.
2007 winner: Kasey Kahne.
2007 polesitter: Matt Kenseth.
Points leaders: 1. Clint Bowyer, 1,740; 2. Kyle Busch, 1,628; 3. Carl Edwards, 1,590; 4. David Reutimann, 1,572; 5. Mike Bliss, 1,545; 6. David Ragan, 1,521; 7. Brad Keselowski, 1,500; 8. Jason Leffler, 1,480; 9. Mike Wallace, 1,385; 10. David Stremme, 1,327.

sportingnews.com

Vickers edges Ragan for Nationwide pole

Concord, NC (Sports Network) - Going out last of 46 qualifiers, Brian Vickers won the pole for tonight's Carquest Auto Parts 300 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. The No.10 Toyota driver circled the 1.5-mile, banked tri-oval in 30.016 seconds (179.904 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Vickers' second of the season and third of his 85-race Nationwide career.

"I thought I left a little bit in (Turns) 1 and 2, but I definitely got it all in (Turns) 3 and 4," said Vickers.

Starting alongside Vickers was the man that led for most of the afternoon - David Ragan. Ragan's time was 30.085 seconds.

"Now we have to focus on the race," said Ragan.

Greg Biffle (30.171) and Kasey Kahne (30.190) will make up row two.

While Tony Stewart won the last race, it was Clint Bowyer's second-place finish that helped him put some distance between his No.2 Chevrolet and the competition. The RCR driver, who will start 15th, has built his lead to 112 points over Kyle Busch and 150 over defending series champion Carl Edwards when both drivers had trouble at Darlington. Edwards completed just three laps and an accident stopped Busch after just 101 laps.

But it appears that the trio along with David Reutimann and Mike Bliss will compete for the top-five throughout the season. Bliss' only series win to date came at the 2004 fall race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway when he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. Add rising start Ragan and youngster Brad Keselowski and you have the makings for a good title chase.

Stewart winner of the last race, and four of six starts in the series, is not on the entry list this week. But that doesn't mean the race is open for anyone to win. Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won have been victorious in the last six races and eight of 12 this season. With Denny Hamlin sitting in the driver's seat of a JGR Toyota, don't be surprised if they make is seven in a row.

Kahne won the 2007 Carquest Auto Parts 300 and is back to defend his title. Kahne is coming off a win in the Sprint All-Star Race after the fans voted him into the main event. If momentum is a factor, maybe Kahne can find a way to upset the JGR juggernaut.

The race is schedule to drop the green flag tonight at 7:30 p.m.