The NASCAR Nationwide Series season is winding down as the tour heads to the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. Championship battles are still to be decided and another crack at victory lane is in the works.
No driver has been able to conquer Phoenix in NNS like Kyle Busch. The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver has won the last three events there and dominating every contest. JGR also has the last four victories dating back to November 2012. Joey Logano picked up the other win and his teammate made his NNS return on that day as well, 2003 series champ Brian Vickers.
Although neither Logano nor Vickers will race this weekend, the No. 22 Penske Racing car sees another name on the driver’s side. Brad Keselowski returns for the first time since his win at Charlotte. The 2012 Sprint Cup Series champ has never won a race at Phoenix, but hurt some feeling in Nov. 2009 there. Keselowski’s best finish at the one-mile track is a runner-up finish in Nov. 2011 and secured a 1-2 day for Penske, with Sam Hornish, Jr. going on to win the race.
But aside from the Cup regulars, the story heading into Phoenix could be rookie Chase Elliott clinching the NNS title at 18 years old. No rookie has ever won the championship in its 32-year history. The previous youngest champion was Vickers at 20 years old in 2003. Elliott could break that either on Saturday or next weekend at Homestead.
A tale of two Elliotts, as Sadler looks to finish his time with Joe Gibbs Racing out with another victory. The NASCAR veteran won at Phoenix in Mar. 2012 for his first win in the series since Nov. 1998 at the defunct North Carolina Speedway. Sadler went on to battle for the championship that season and finish second in the standings to Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
With one win on the season, Sadler could make it two on Saturday and get closer to finishing second in points.
Aside from Chase Elliott’s commanding 48-point lead over JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith, the battle from second through fifth in point is heating up. 27 points separate those four drivers, as nothing is given for the last two races. Smith can make it a 1-2 points finish for JR Motorsports, if either he or Elliott wins the championship and the other finishes second.
15 points behind second-place Smith, third through fifth is separated by a closer margin, 12 points. Since Ty Dillon’s win at Indianapolis in July, the No. 3 isn’t on the same championship caliber level as Smith and Elliott. Bobbles by Dillon set the team in fifth place in points. Sadler dealt with food poisoning at Texas last weekend and stayed in the No. 11 car, before Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) driver relieved him and drove the machine to a top-10 finish.
Brian Scott has been quietly hovering around the top five in points, as nothing has been announced about his future yet. The Richard Childress Racing driver hasn’t found victory lane in 2014, but has been close last year and this season as well. His team has been the only RCR team in NNS to not yet find victory lane. Two more chances are coming up at Phoenix and Homestead. Scott is still within striking distance of second-place Regan Smith, sitting only 15 markers behind.
Alex Bowman makes his second start of the year for JR Motorsports in the No. 5 LINE-X Chevrolet. His other appearance for the team came at Charlotte four weeks ago. Erik Jones also returns to NNS for the first time since Bristol in August to wheel the No. 20 GameStop Toyota for JGR. The 18-year-old will drive full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, as well as a limited schedule for JGR in the Xfinity (now Nationwide) Series in 2015.
The green flag for the DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veterans drops at 4 p.m. ET Saturday and will be shown on ESPN.
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