Sam Hornish Jr. was the class of the field in the 2013 Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas. He was able to dominate and out run everybody in the field. Not only was he able to stay at the front, but he was able to move back into the lead when he lost it on a round of pit stops. In the end, Sam Hornish Jr. was unable to be beaten. But he did have to fight some burdens to win the race.
Qualifying that had been scheduled for right before the race was canceled due to rain that had taken away practice time from the drivers on Friday. This meant that the line-up would be based on 2012 Owner Points. Because of this, Brian Vickers started on the pole. He was able to lead the first few laps before the first caution of the day came out on lap 4. Coming into turn 2, Eric McClure's car began to pour out smoke and he had, for sure, blown an engine. No drivers received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued until the second caution of the day on lap 36. Because the drivers had limited practice due to the rain, NASCAR decided to throw a competition caution for teams to check their tires. Scott Lagasse Jr. received the lucky dog. After the confirmation that everything seemed all right with the tires, the drivers pulled their belts tight and got ready for the rest of the race.
The race went green and it continued until the third caution of the race on lap 54. In turn 2, Mike Wallace got loose and went up the track. Joe Nemechek was above him and could not avoid. Nemechek spun down the backstretch, but he was able to keep it off the wall and avoid any damage. Mike Bliss, who was in Eric McClure's back-up car due to a practice crash, received the lucky dog. The race went back green once again. The longest green flag run to that point ended on lap 81 due to the fourth caution of the day. Robert Richardson Jr. got loose in turn 2 and went spinning down the backstretch. Somehow, he was able to keep it off of the wall and receive no damage. Ryan Sieg, who was filling in for the suspended Jeremy Clements, received the lucky dog. But one major thing happened during this caution.
To gain track position, Trevor Bayne and Kyle Larson decided to only take two tires. Because of this, both of them ended up being at the front of the pack. The race went back green and the two of them raced around the track. The second time they went around the track was when it got ugly. In turn 4, Kyle Larson got loose and went up on Trevor Bayne, possibly due to bad tires. Larson hooked Bayne and they both went into the wall. Luckily for Bayne, Larson took the blunt of the incident and received the most damage. This caused the fifth caution of the day to come out on lap 87. Hal Martin received the lucky dog. The green flag went out once again and right after that, one of the contenders in the race would fall out of the picture.
For most of the day, Brad Keselowski had been experiencing a vibration. On lap 117, it came to a point where it was absolutely unbearable. Plus, Keselowski's car had been overheating. Because of this, he was forced to to come to pit road. He lost a couple of laps, but his trouble was far from over. On lap 135, he was forced to pit once again. The shocks on his car had allowed the splitter to drag the ground and it had broken off. Now, Brad Keselowski was in a deep hole. Right after this, the sixth caution of the day came out on lap 138. Parker Kligerman had just pulled into the garage because he thought his engine was gone. Actually, he had blown a left front tire. His blown tire left some debris on the track and NASCAR was forced to throw a caution. Travis Pastrana received the lucky dog. This caution allowed the leaders to pit, but it caused the race to switch to thoughts of fuel mileage and saving fuel.
The race went back green and went fairly smoothly. Most of the thoughts were surrounded by thoughts of saving fuel and staying out front. Sam Hornish Jr. was leading and he was saving fuel, but it was nearly impossible with Kyle Busch right in his tracks. Luckily for the leaders, they wouldn't have to worry because the seventh caution of the day came out on lap 182. Scott Lagasse Jr. became the third victim of turn 2. He got loose coming out of the turn and spun out. He was able to avoid the wall and keep going with no damage. Brad Sweet received the lucky dog. The drivers got buckled in for the end of the race and hoped that the caution laps had saved them enough fuel.
The race went back green and it was a short time before the eighth caution of the day came out on lap 187. Joey Gase, who was running slow coming out of turn 2, got ran over by Ryan Sieg. Gase went up the track and piled into Kyle Larson, with both drivers plowing into the wall. Larson rode down the backstretch, pouring out smoke and a small fire. He would turn out to be okay. Dale Earnhardt Jr. received the lucky dog. The weird part of this was what Kyle Larson did before his car reached a stop. Coming to the inside wall, ESPN caught a video of Kyle Larson pulling off his steering wheel before the car had even come to a halt. Definitely not a smart thing to do with the car on fire and heading to the wall. Nonetheless, Kyle Larson was all right and it was time for the final restart of the race.
The green flag waved for the final time and Sam Hornish Jr. and Kyle Busch were ready for a fight. They ran next to each for the next couple of laps, but Kyle could not out-do Sam Hornish. Hornish was able to cruise across the line and grab his second career NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. What a race it was and what a win for Sam Hornish Jr.
The first installment of Las Vegas action of the weekend was great. The cars were able to run well and we saw somebody new solidify his standing as a championship contender. Not only that, but Hornish is still points leader after three races. In the end, Hornish also led the most laps, 114 to be exact, gaining him even more points. Now the NASCAR Nationwide Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway for what should be a race full of fast speeds, beat-up race cars, and, of course, hotter drivers than their cars can ever dream of. In case you don't know what that means, some drivers are going to pretty angry. I hope you get a chance to catch it because it will be one for the ages.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Eric McClure blew an engine in turn 2.
2nd Caution: Competition caution waved by NASCAR.
3rd Caution: Mike Wallace got loose in turn 2 and spun Joe Nemechek.
4th Caution: Robert Richardson Jr. got loose in turn 2 and spun.
5th Caution: Kyle Larson went down on Trevor Bayne in turn 4 and both drivers went into the wall with Larson receiving most of the damage.
6th Caution: Debris from Parker Kligerman's tire was spotted on the track.
7th Caution: Scott Lagasse Jr. got loose in turn 2 and spun.
8th Caution: Joey Gase got spun from behind by Ryan Sieg. Gase went up into Kyle Larson and both drivers piled into the outside wall with major damage.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Scott Lagasse Jr.
3rd Caution: Mike Bliss
4th Caution: Ryan Sieg
5th Caution: Hal Martin
6th Caution: Travis Pastrana
7th Caution: Brad Sweet
8th Caution: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Sam Hornish Jr.
2nd: Kyle Busch
3rd: Brian Vickers
4th: Trevor Bayne
5th: Elliott Sadler
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Austin Dillon
7th: Regan Smith
10th: Travis Pastrana
11th: Ty Dillon
14th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
37th: Brad Keselowski
Credits:
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Sams_Town_300/B
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
-Image:
http://mng-lang.smugmug.com/02-SPORTS/Sam-Hornish-Jr-wins-NASCAR/i-5gzWrHV/0/L/BS10-NASCARNATIONWIDE-37-WL-L.jpg
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