Kyle Busch started on the pole. It was his ninth NASCAR Nationwide Series pole of 2013. The race went green and Busch was able to come back around to lead the first lap of the race. Busch's lead would be short lived as his car went away and Joey Logano was able to take the lead on lap 8. Logano held the lead for a good many laps before his teammate, Sam Hornish Jr., was able to take the lead away on lap 22. Hornish held the lead over the rest of his competitors until the first round of green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 50. Hornish would cycle back around to the lead, but the pits stops would be halted by the first caution of the race on lap 53. Reed Sorenson clipped the grass in the trioval of the track. He slid up the frontstretch of the track and made contact with Eric McClure. Both slid sideways through the trioval, but McClure was able to corral his car as Sorenson slammed hard into the outside wall. The contact caused Sorenson to slid down the race track. Brian Vickers dove to the bottom of the track to miss him, but he slammed into the back of Elliott Sadler as Sadler was pulling out of pit road. Vickers ended up stopped in the grass with heavy damage as Sadler was able to drive away with a good bit of damage. Justin Allgaier received the lucky dog. No drivers came to pit road since green flag pit stops had just finished. Now, the race had made it through one caution and the best drivers would rise to the top.
The race went back green and Sam Hornish Jr. held the lead. The race went a short time before the second caution waved on lap 67. Elliott Sadler broke loose in turn 4 due to the damage he had received earlier and went for a spin. Sadler backed into the outside wall and slid to the apron of the track. He was able to drive away, but he had heavy damage and he would not return. Nelson Piquet Jr. received the lucky dog. Since it had been a short time since pit stops, none of the drivers came to pit road for tires and fuel. The race went back green and Sam Hornish Jr. held onto the lead. The race went a good many laps before the third caution waved on lap 89. Jamie Dick got loose in turn 2 and went for a slide down the track. Jamie slammed the inside wall hard and went back up the track. He slid in front of traffic, but all the drivers behind him were able to avoid. He came to a stop in the middle of the track with heavy damage and a car that wouldn't return to the race. Mike Bliss received the lucky dog. A little bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne took two tires and fuel while the rest of the lead lap drivers took four tires and fuel. It would be interesting to see if Kenseth and Bayne's strategy led to a win.
The race went back green and Matt Kenseth held onto the lead. It looked like Kenseth would fall back on the restart, but Kevin Harvick and the other drivers couldn't get by him to start. On lap 104, Harvick was able to make the move past Kenseth for the lead. This led to the fourth caution of the race on lap 112. Eric McClure lost a tire in turn 2 and went around. He slammed the back end of his car into the outside wall. McClure slid in front of traffic, but everybody was able to avoid him. He came to a stop on the backstretch with heavy damage. Jeremy Clements received the lucky dog. A good bit of strategy occurred during the caution. Regan Smith, Alex Bowman, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Brad Sweet stayed on the track to gain some track position. Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Austin Dillon took fuel only while Kevin Harvick and others took two tires and Sam Hornish Jr. and others took four tires. Because Hornish took four tires, he ended up deep in traffic and a lot of good drivers in front of him. The race went green and Regan Smith was able to hold onto the lead. Smith held the lead well and was finally forced to make a pit stop on lap 140. The rest of the drivers who had not pitted under the previous caution followed in the next few laps and Kyle Larson cycled to the lead. Larson continued to lead as the fifth and final caution waved on lap 156. Jeffrey Earnhardt lost an engine in turn 2 and left some oil on the track. Earnhardt would not return to the race after the problem. Mike Wallace received the lucky dog. All the leaders came down for four tires and fuel on their final stop of the race and Kyle Busch was able to come out with the lead. Now, the final race to the finish was set up and it would be interesting to see if Kyle Busch could take the win.
The race went green for the final time and Kyle Busch was able to hold onto the lead. He held the advantage over the field, but Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon were coming. The two NASCAR Nationwide Series championship contenders were able to catch Busch and Hornish was able to get past him on lap 180. It looked like Hornish would walk away with a win, but Busch had something to say about that. Hornish put quite an advantage on Busch and Dillon, but his car went away. This allowed Busch to move back up to him and he took the lead away from Hornish on lap 192. Dillon followed close behind and tried to catch up to Busch. Dillon made it close, but Busch took the checkered flag and his eleventh NASCAR Nationwide Series victory of the year. It has been a dominating performance this year for Kyle Busch and one that should continue until the season ends.
What can you say about Kyle Busch? He wins in everything he gets in and makes it look easy. Even though he had a little more trouble in this race, Busch still walked away the victory. Some people don't like his constant domination in a lower NASCAR series, but it is pretty interesting to watch him dominant other drivers. Sam Hornish Jr. and Austin Dillon continued to battle hard for the championship lead. Before the race started, the advantage was eight points with Dillon on top. It stayed that way after the race, but there were moments were Hornish held the lead. Nonetheless, it should be an amazing last three races to see who walks away with the title. Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, and Regan Smith continued to struggle. Sadler and Vickers wrecked together early in the event and Smith missed the strategy late. It is odd to see these good drivers struggle in the series. Now, all three of these drivers are practically out of the battle for the championship. This means that only Dillon and Hornish remain in the title fight for 2013. With this knowledge, one slip up in the final races by either of these two could mean the difference between first and second. The series takes two weeks off before heading to the Texas Motor Speedway for a Saturday afternoon shoot out. Will Sam Hornish Jr. take the points lead at Texas, will Austin Dillon move more points ahead, or will Kyle Busch win another race in the series? We will have to wait two weeks to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 53- Reed Sorenson clipped the trioval grass and made contact with Eric McClure causing both to slide on the frontstretch. Sorenson went down the track and Brian Vickers dove below him to avoid. Vickers slammed into the back of Elliott Sadler and both drivers ran into the grass.
2nd Caution: Lap 67- Elliott Sadler got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin that caused him to back into the outside wall.
3rd Caution: Lap 89- Jamie Dick got loose in turn 2 and went for a slide down the track that caused him to slam the inside wall.
4th Caution: Lap 112- Eric McClure lost a tire in turn 2 and went around. This caused McClure to back into the outside wall.
5th Caution: Lap 156- Jeffrey Earnhardt lost an engine in turn 2 and left some oil on the track.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: Justin Allgaier
2nd Caution: Nelson Piquet Jr.
3rd Caution: Mike Bliss
4th Caution: Jeremy Clements
5th Caution: Mike Wallace
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Austin Dillon
3rd: Sam Hornish Jr.
4th: Kevin Harvick
5th: Matt Kenseth
Notables Not in Top 5:
7th: Joey Logano
13th: Kyle Larson
18th: Alex Bowman
19th: Regan Smith
24th: Travis Pastrana
31st: Brian Vickers
36th: Elliott Sadler
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/lapbylap/view-all-laps.html?intid=lapbylap_lapbylapleaderboard_08292013
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/live-standings.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Dollar_General_300/B
-Image:
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/13659657ed91d88c2c288405fe05d6688419fb7a/c=1309-199-4232-2401&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/10/11/1381546069000-10-11-2013-Kyle-Busch.jpg
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