A.J. Allmendinger started on the pole. It was his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series pole. The green flag waved and he made it around to lead the first lap. The strategy calls started on lap 1. Trevor Bayne, Alex Bowman, Michael Annett, Travis Pastrana, Elliott Sadler, Brendan Gaughan, and Andrew Ranger decided to pit on lap 1. Since the cars could not be fueled after qualifying, some drivers decided to make three pit stops while others where only going to try to make two stops. These drivers who pitted on lap 1 were planning on a three stop race. It was a short time after this that the first caution of the race came out on lap 4. Michael McDowell stopped on the track in turn 6 due to a broken distributor in the engine. It was a horrible break for McDowell because he seemed to have a race winning car, but it just wasn't meant to be. No drivers received the lucky dog. Even more strategy calls were made. Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, Brian Vickers, and most of the drivers at the back of the field decided to come in and get fuel. The top few drivers, like A.J. Allmendinger, Billy Johnson, and Owen Kelly, had not made stops at all. The race was starting to shape up and it would be interesting to see which strategy worked.
The race went back green and A.J. Allmendinger jumped out to a nice lead. On lap 7, he ran off course in turn 6 and Billy Johnson was able to get by him for the lead. Allmendinger fell to third as Owen Kelly also got by. More strategy started to take shape shortly after this. Nelson Piquet Jr. and Johnny O'Connell decided to pit on lap 13. Regan Smith, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon decided to pit on lap 14. Austin Dillon would have some trouble on pit road. He was caught speeding on the exit of pit road and he would have to come back down for a pass through penalty. Next, Billy Johnson, A.J. Allmendinger, and Owen Kelly, the leaders of the race, pitted on lap 15 with Sam Hornish Jr. and Max Papis. Billy Johnson, who was in the lead at the time of stops, was caught speeding on pit road and he would have to serve a pass through penalty. At the same time as these stops, the second caution of the race came out on lap 15. Andrew Ranger stopped on the track. Kevin O'Connell received the lucky dog. Even more strategy was put into place. Most of the drivers who pitted during the first caution or before that time pitted once again. One driver had trouble on his stop. Brian Vickers did not have all the lug nuts tight on the right front and he was forced to come back down pit road to tighten it. Now, the race was getting to where strategy was the most important part and the one driver who used it the best would come out on top as the winner.
The race restarted and Parker Kligerman jumped out to the lead. He did not pit so he was at the front of the field on the restart. It would be a short time before this move really hurt him. On lap 20, he was racing with Owen Kelly for the lead coming into turn 14 when Kelly chased him off the track. Kligerman was going to make the move to pit road, but he could not get in front of traffic which caused him to lose a lot of time and he wasn't able to pit on that lap. On lap 21, the first driver of the race crushed his hood. Nelson Piquet Jr. wheel hopped going into turn 1 and slammed into the back of Brian Scott which caused his hood crinkle up. He continued on, but the crew had to tape up the nose. It was a short time after this that Kenny Habul had his first trouble of the day. On lap 26, Habul spun in turn 12 and slid down the track and slammed the tire barriers, but he was able to get back going and the caution did not wave. A short time after this one of the contenders would have trouble. On lap 29, Owen Kelly stopped on the track in between turns 8 and 9. The team had miscalculated the fuel mileage and he had run out of fuel. This resulted in the third caution of the race. Kenny Habul received the lucky dog. It was a costly mistake for Kelly, but he was pushed back around to pit road and the team got fuel in the car before he lost a lap. Most of the leaders made pit stops as Sam Hornish Jr. stayed out to become the leader. As the pace car pulled to pit road for the restart, Hornish made the move down to pit road. It would be costly as he was caught speeding exiting and he had to make a pas through. Meanwhile, the other drivers were beginning to race hard in the second half of the race.
Shortly after the restart on lap 34, Mike Wallace went off track in turn 6, but he was able to get back on track and avoid a caution. Shortly after this, a rookie who had been doing well all race would have a hat trick of problems. On lap 37, Kyle Larson drove too hard into turn 1 and slammed into the back of Max Papis causing the nose of Larson's car to crinkle up. On the same lap, Larson made contact with Johnny O'Connell exiting turn 6, which caused O'Connell to slide off the track and make slight contact with the tire barrier. To finish off the hat trick, Owen Kelly went hard into turn 12 and made contact with Brendan Gaughan, which caused Gaughan to spin out. He saved it as Larson spun trying to avoid him. This resulted in the fourth caution of the race on lap 37. Both drivers continued on without damage from the spin. Kevin O'Connell received the lucky dog. The race went back green and one driver would have trouble before crossing the line. Kenny Habul misjudged the speed of the restart and swerved to avoid the driver in front of him. He went sliding through the grass and made contact with a sign. A piece of the sign was thrown on the track and another sat on his front bumper. NASCAR was forced to throw the fifth caution of the race on lap 40 because the sign debris was in the middle of the racing surface. Andrew Ranger received the lucky dog. The caution caused some misfortune for two guys. Travis Pastrana and Jeremy Clements received the word for a caution a little late. The two continued racing and Pastrana slammed into the back of Trevor Bayne and Clements slammed into the back of Austin Dillon. Both drivers had crinkled hoods that had to be taped. Now, the race would move into the final stage and it was sure to be the best racing, possibly, of the afternoon.
The race went back green and A.J. Allmendinger immediately sought retribution from Billy Johnson. On the previous restart, Johnson moved Allmendinger off track and caused him to slide all the way back to fourth. Now, the tables were turned. Coming into turn 5 on lap 42, Allmendinger moved Johnson out of the way for position. Allmendinger moved to second as Johnson slid to fifth. In turn 7, Johnson, who was looking to gain positions back quick, drove in deep and sent Max Papis for a spin off course. Papis avoided damage and continued on while the caution did not wave. More would come from these actions after the race. Shortly after this on lap 44, Johnny O'Connell had more struggles as he got off track in turn 5. He continued on and once again the caution was avoided. This led to the sixth caution of the race on lap 44. Jeremy Clements went off track in turn 7 and slammed the tire barrier. He was stuck there, which forced the caution to wave. Andrew Ranger received the lucky dog. Now, the race had only a few laps and most were hoping to finish in regulation.
The race went back green and it was obvious that the action had begun to pick up. Parker Kligerman and Owen Kelly went hot into turn 5 on lap 47. The two slammed into each other and plowed into Regan Smith and Billy Johnson. Johnson and Smith went off track, but they continued on without bringing out a caution. It was a short time after this that the seventh caution of the race came out on lap 48. John Young stopped in between turns 5 and 6 on the track. Michael McDowell received the lucky dog. It had not worked out for some of the drivers. They would have to deal with at least one green-white-checkered and some might not have enough fuel to make it.
The race went back green and all the drivers were on edge. They didn't know who would make the first mistake and continue the race. It was a short time before they found out with the eighth and final caution of the race on lap 50. Owen Kelly bumped Michael Annett coming into turn 7 and Annett made contact with the wall. His car became stuck in the grass and NASCAR was forced to wave the caution. Michael McDowell received the lucky dog. Now, it seemed like nobody would have fuel to make the finish. A.J. Allmendinger had not pitted in a while and it looked like the winner would be the man who had the most fuel. The race went green and the drivers were up on their steering wheels. Trevor Bayne was the first driver to have some trouble. He began to slow on track due to a broken transmission. He was able to continue on in the race, but his chances for a win were lost. Nothing else happened and the field made it to the white flag. A.J. Allmendinger held the lead and he made it back around to the checkered flag for his first career victory in NASCAR. But the action was not finished. Max Papis, who had been dumped by Billy Johnson earlier in the race, wanted to have a word with Johnson. Papis got out of his car and walked over to Johnson's car just as he was getting. Papis gave Johnson a huge slap to his helmet. No other altercation occurred, but words can not describe the feeling after the slap. With that, Allmendinger was able to celebrate one of the greatest triumphants this season.
It was a remarkable race for many of the drivers in the race. There were many good notes after the race. Cole Whitt came home eighth, Mike Wallace came home thirteenth after all his problems, Kenny Habul avenged his problems in the race and finished eighteenth, and Stanton Barrett made his first race of the season and grabbed a nineteenth place finish. Other championship contenders had trouble. Trevor Bayne finished 30th with transmission problems and Regan Smith finished 32nd after an incident on the final lap of the race. Justin Allgaier finished second and Sam Hornish Jr. finished fifth which caused Smith's point lead to shrink heading to Kentucky. The Nationwide Series leaves the best race of the season and heads to the Bluegrass State for a Friday night shootout. Will Austin Dillon win for the second year in a row, will another driver take the point lead, or will Regan Smith extend his point lead with a good finish? We will have to wait until next Friday to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 4- Michael McDowell stopped on the track at the entrance to turn 6.
2nd Caution: Lap 15- Andrew Ranger stopped on the track.
3rd Caution: Lap 29- Owen Kelly stopped on the track in between turns 8 and 9.
4th Caution: Lap 37- Brendan Gaughan spun in turn 12 after contact with Owen Kelly. Kyle Larson also spun trying to avoid the incident.
5th Caution: Lap 40- Sign debris was on the frontstretch from Kenny Habul's contact.
6th Caution: Lap 44- Jeremy Clements went off track in turn 7 and slammed the tire barrier.
7th Caution: Lap 48- John Young stopped on the track in between turns 5 and 6.
8th Caution: Lap 50- Michael Annett went for a spin in turn 7 and made contact with the tire barrier after previous contact with Owen Kelly.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Kevin O'Connell
3rd Caution: Kenny Habul
4th Caution: Kevin O'Connell
5th Caution: Andrew Ranger
6th Caution: Andrew Ranger
7th Caution: Michael McDowell
8th Caution: Michael McDowell
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: A.J. Allmendinger
2nd: Justin Allgaier
3rd: Parker Kligerman
4th: Owen Kelly
5th: Sam Hornish Jr.
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Brian Vickers
9th: Elliott Sadler
10th: Austin Dillon
16th: Travis Pastrana
30th: Trevor Bayne
32nd: Regan Smith
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Johnsonville_Sausage_200/B
-Image:
http://www.autoweek.com/galleryimage/CW/20130622/NASCAR02/622009999/PH/1/3/Allmendinger-Victory-Lane-NASCAR.jpg
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