Michael McDowell started on the pole. It was his second career pole in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The race went green and he was able to lead the first lap, but it was not without incident. Coming into turn 5 on the first lap, Nelson Piquet Jr. tired to make a move underneath Kyle Larson, but he did not have enough room. The two made contact which sent Larson into the tire barrier. Larson had a good amount of damage and went three laps down while repairing it. On lap 9, A.J. Allmendinger took the lead for the first time from Michael McDowell. Marcos Ambrose, Trevor Bayne, and Austin Dillon were very impressive early in the race. Because the three drivers had obligations in Michigan, they missed qualifying and had to start at the back of the field. It would be interesting to see if these three race contenders would make it to the front and contend for the win. The race continued on until the first caution on lap 20. Jeffrey Earnhardt got loose exiting turn 5 and went off track in the grass. Alex Kennedy received the lucky dog. This led to strategy becoming a part in the race. All the drivers who pitted took four tires and fuel while Max Papis and Austin Dillon decided to stay on track. It would be very interesting to see which strategy would work.
The race went back green and Max Papis was surprisingly able to hold onto the lead. Austin Dillon fell back to third, but he was still running pretty well. Sam Hornish Jr. was able to take the lead on lap 27 and Dillon and Papis began to fall back. It was a short time before the second caution of the race waved on lap 28. Elliott Sadler made contact with Regan Smith in turn 5 causing Smith to spin and stop on track. Ron Fellows also left the track, but he was able to continue on. Ryan Ellis received the lucky dog. Max Papis, Austin Dillon, Regan Smith, Elliott Sadler, and Brian Scott pitted. Papis and Dillon had not pitted during the race while Sadler and Smith had to repair some damage from their incident. The race went back green and went a couple laps before the third caution on lap 31. Marcos Ambrose and Justin Allgaier were racing very hard in the first few corners. Finally, they ran out of racing surface and Ambrose bumped Allgaier in turn 9. Allgaier spun off track, but was able to get back going. He did not receive any damage, but he lost a lot of spots. Ryan Ellis received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued until the fourth caution waved on lap 38. Nelson Piquet Jr. dove underneath Parker Kligerman coming into turn 2 and got loose. Piquet went around and ended up at the edge of the grass. Kligerman got away, but Piquet did not get away quick enough before the caution waved. Kyle Larson, who Piquet wrecked earlier, received the lucky dog. The race went back green and continued on until the fifth caution on lap 45. Alex Kennedy got loose exiting turn 8 and went off track causing him to get stuck in the sand. Anthony Gandon also went off track in turn 9, but he continued on. Kyle Larson received the lucky dog. The cautions ended for a little while, but they would be back along with pit stops.
The race went back green and it was a short time before Brian Vickers would have trouble. Vickers had to come down pit road because he had a cut tire. He got four tires and fuel and went back on track. This pretty much cemented him going for three stops and if everything worked out, he could have a good finish. This led to the first round of green flag pit stops on lap 57. Max Papis cycled to the lead with Austin Dillon running second. The reason they could wait on pitting is because they had pitted later than most of the leaders. Papis pitted on lap 59, which handed the lead to Dillon. Dillon pitted on lap 60 with Nelson Piquet Jr., who pitted on lap 39. Justin Allgaier took the lead from Dillon. One driver would have trouble during the stops. Elliott Sadler, who is a championship contender, was caught speeding on pit road and had to make a pass through. Allgaier pitted on lap 61 and surrendered the lead to Chad Hackenbracht, who was trying to stay out a little bit. It was only a lap before Trevor Bayne would have trouble. On lap 62, Nelson Piquet Jr., who had run into a good many drivers, dove hard into turn 4 underneath Bayne and hit him. This caused Bayne to spin on track. He got back going and the caution did not wave. It was a lap after this that the sixth caution waved on lap 63. Kenny Habul had trouble underneath Justin Allgaier in turn 2. The two made contact and went off track. Allgaier was able to get back on track, but Habul hit a sign and drug the debris on track. Reed Sorenson also stopped on track due to engine problems. Anthony Gandon received the lucky dog. Chad Hackenbracht pitted, which surrendered the lead to A.J. Allmendinger. The race would become really crazy and head to the finish.
The race went back green and the first lap on the restart was really crazy. Parker Kligerman went off track in turn 4, but continued on. Nelson Piquet Jr. bumped Regan Smith in turn 5 and sent him for a spin, but he got back going. Michael Annett bumped Austin Dillon in the stack up and sent him for a spin. Ron Fellows received a huge amount of damage after hitting Dillon, but both drivers got back going. Kyle Kelley went for a spin in turn 12, but was able to get back going. In all of this, the caution did not wave and the race continued on. It was a short time after this that Trevor Bayne would have more trouble on lap 70. He went off track in turn 8 and got stuck in the sand. It looked like the caution would have to wave again, but Bayne was able to get unstuck and get back going. A short time after this, Marcos Ambrose had trouble on lap 73. Owen Kelly made contact with him in turn 2 and sent Ambrose for a spin. He was able to get back going before the caution waved. Through all this, A.J. Allmendinger streaked away and looked like he would take the win. There were a few other bumps on track, but the caution did not wave and there were only two laps to go. All A.J. had to do was make it to the white flag, but Kenny Habul would change that. Habul spun and went off track in turn 11. This resulted in the seventh and final caution on lap 89. No drivers received the lucky dog. Just like that, Allmendinger did not have a lead and would have to outlast at least one green-white-checkered. A few drivers pitted, but the leaders stayed out on track. Plus, nobody knew if they could make it on fuel. It would be an interesting finish.
The race went back green for the final time and the action started to pick up. They made it to turn 12 before Nelson Piquet Jr. ran out of gas and pulled off course. The caution did not wave and Piquet's day would end without finishing. The white flag finally came out and A.J. Allmendinger was in the lead. Coming into turn 1 on the final lap, Owen Kelly, who was running up front, ran off track in turn 1. He was able to get back going, but he lost a lot of spots. Allmendinger had to make sure he was good on fuel and make it back around. He did and won his second race of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season. But the race was not over yet. Parker Kligerman dumped Marcos Ambrose on the cool down lap because of his actions in the race. Kyle Larson also dumped Max Papis on the cool down lap because of his actions. This was all for post race altercations and Allmendinger could celebrate.
If you think of the last year for A.J. Allmendinger, it has been the worst and best roller coaster possible. In July of 2012, he was suspended by NASCAR for violating the drug policy. He finished the road for recovery program, but he did not have a ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series anymore. This year, Roger Penske had him run the Indianapolis 500 for him. He did well and had a chance to win, but he still finished in the top 10. Penske had Allmendinger run the race at Road America for him, which he won. Now, Penske had him run at Mid-Ohio and he comes home with a win again. From suspended to winning, A.J. could be looking at a full time ride with this consistency. The points battle also heated up. Austin Dillon fell to fourth in the standings while Sam Hornish Jr. went to the points lead. The top 5 is only separated by eighteen points with positions 2 through 5 separated by a measly five points. It should be very interesting as the series heads to the final stretch of races. The owners points battle also heated up as the #22 passed the #54 team for the lead. With only 11 races left, these battles should get even closer. The series moves from a 2.25 mile road course to the half mile oval known as Bristol Motor Speedway. Will Kyle Busch win his second of the year at Bristol, will Kyle Larson avenge his close finish with Busch for the win, or will another driver win and help his points chances? We will have to find out next Friday night.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 20- Jeffrey Earnhardt got loose exiting turn 5 and went off track.
2nd Caution: Lap 28- Elliott Sadler made contact with Regan Smith in turn 5 and caused Smith to spin. Ron Fellows also went off track.
3rd Caution: Lap 31- Marcos Ambrose bumped Justin Allgaier in turn 9 and caused Allgaier to spin off track.
4th Caution: Lap 38- Nelson Piquet Jr. dove underneath Parker Kligerman in turn 2. The two made contact and Piquet went for a spin.
5th Caution: Lap 45- Alex Kennedy got loose exiting turn 8 and went off track. Anthony Gandon also went off track in turn 9.
6th Caution: Lap 63- Kenny Habul made contact with Justin Allgaier in turn 2. Both drivers went off track and Habul hit a sign, which left debris on track. Reed Sorenson also stopped on track due to engine problems.
7th Caution: Lap 89- Kenny Habul spun and went off track in turn 11.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Alex Kennedy
2nd Caution: Ryan Ellis
3rd Caution: Ryan Ellis
4th Caution: Kyle Larson
5th Caution: Kyle Larson
6th Caution: Anthony Gandon
7th Caution: None
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: A.J. Allmendinger
2nd: Michael McDowell
3rd: Sam Hornish Jr.
4th: Max Papis
5th: Brian Vickers
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Elliott Sadler
7th: Marcos Ambrose
9th: Trevor Bayne
15th: Regan Smith
21st: Austin Dillon
25th: Ron Fellows
31st: Travis Pastrana
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Nationwide_Childrens_Hospital_200/B
-Image:
https://twitter.com/RACERmag/status/368858962180841473/photo/1
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