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Kevin Harvick started on the pole. It was his first NASCAR Nationwide Series pole of 2014. An early story line to follow in the race was one that shared similarities with a story line at Auto Club. Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ty Dillon, and Chris Buescher all did not have a chance to run qualifying times because their cars did not pass qualifying inspection in time. This resulted in each of these drivers starting in the back of the pack. Because these few drivers are some of the best every week, everyone was watching to see how long it took them to get to the front. The race went green and Kevin Harvick was to take the early lead. Harvick began to drive away slightly from the field just as the drivers who started in the back made their charge. Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch weaved their way through the back part of the field and each of them were in the top 10 by only lap 15. It looked like they would definitely be contenders before the night was over, but Kevin Harvick continued to set a torrid pace at the start.
Harvick stayed in front of the field until the first caution of the race waved on lap 42. Trevor Bayne began to have a tire problem in turn 2. Rubber popped off his tire and he continued into turn 3. The tire caused Bayne to slide in turn 3 and down the track surface. Bayne managed to avoid hitting anything, but he had heavy damage due to the blown tire. J.J. Yeley received the lucky dog. The caution brought the first pit stops of the race. All the lead lap drivers came down pit road for four fresh tires with Kevin Harvick returning to the lead. The field was lined back up and the race went back green. Kevin Harvick was able to hold onto the lead as the field battled behind him. The race only went a few short laps before the second caution waved on lap 54. Robert Richardson Jr. drove into turn 1 and his engine expired. Richardson began to slide in his oil and he went up the track. He slammed the outside wall hard in turn 2, but he continued to drive away. The engine problem led to Richardson exiting the event. David Starr received the lucky dog. The field was lined up once again as a fourth of the race was already completed.
The race went back green and Kevin Harvick once again held the lead as the majority of the field became single file behind him. The race only went a couple of laps before the third caution waved on lap 63. Tanner Berryhill began to slow entering turn 3 due to a tire problem. He coasted to the apron and made the move to pit road. As he approached it, his tire tread fell off and onto the track. Berryhill made it to pit road without damage and the debris was picked up. Ryan Sieg received the lucky dog. The caution brought a little bit of strategy. Elliott Sadler and a few of the drivers near the back of the lead lap came down pit road while the leaders stayed on track. The field was quickly lined up and the race went back green. Kevin Harvick once again jumped out to the lead and he looked to run away once again. Laps began to click through the night and Kyle Busch finally made his way up to Harvick. On lap 88, Kyle Busch took the lead from Harvick on the first lead change of the night. Busch began to run away from Harvick as he fell back slightly. Busch only led a few laps before the first green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 100.
The lead lap drivers began to cycle down pit road along with Busch and the rest of the guys battling around him. A few drivers, like Elliott Sadler, ran a few extra laps because of fresher tires, but Busch quickly returned to the lead. Busch continued to hold the lead for a few more laps before the fourth caution waved on lap 121. Chad Boat smacked the wall exiting turn 4. He continued down the frontstretch, but broke loose. He spun entering the trioval and he bumped the wall nose first pretty hard. Boat went for another spin before getting back going with slight damage. Brendan Gaughan received the lucky dog. The lead lap drivers looked to be on the edge of a key strategy call, but it turned out to be similar strategy for all. The lead lap drivers came down pit road for four tires with Kyle Busch once again coming out as the leader. The race went back green and Busch held onto the lead, but a few drivers were coming. One of those drivers was Chase Elliott. Elliott blistered through the top half of the leaderboard and he made it up to Busch in only a few laps. Elliott made a nice move around Busch on lap 135 and he took the lead easily. Now, Elliott would just have to hold on for the rest of the event.
Elliott looked to run away, but drivers behind him were slightly better. Elliott's boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr., began to close in on the rookie as the laps clicked down. Eventually, Earnhardt caught up to his rookie driver and he passed him for the lead on lap 155. As Earnhardt passed Elliott, the talks of late race strategy began to sound over each driver's radio. A few laps later, the strategy for the end of the race was set up as the fifth and final caution waved on lap 169. James Buescher bumped Jamie Dick exiting turn 2. Jamie went around and spun down the backstretch. Chris Buescher couldn't avoid and he made contact with Jamie. Jamie slid down the track further and slammed the inside wall while Buescher drove away with heavy damage. Jamie Dick's night ended there as he was pulled back to the garage. David Starr received the lucky dog. The caution brought all the lead lap drivers down pit road for the final stops of the race and the most important of the night. All the lead lap drivers came down pit road for four tires with Kevin Harvick coming out as the leader ahead of Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and others. Now, the final restart of the race was set up and it was definitely going to be a battle.
The field was lined up and the race went back green. Kevin Harvick was able to hold onto the lead as the field lined up behind him. Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed behind Harvick in that order. Elliott was remaining patient as his Junior Motorsports teammate was looking to take his first win of the season in the Nationwide Series. Chase Elliott began to gain on Harvick as only twenty laps remained. Suddenly, Harvick's speeds began to slow down compared to Elliott and the others. On lap 185, Harvick really slowed down. Elliott was able to power to his inside in turn 3 and take the lead handily as Busch and Larson battled with Harvick. In only a few laps, Elliott was ahead by two seconds. He began to cruise around Texas Motor Speedway as he looked for his first win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The laps began to click down and Elliott was leading like an experienced veteran. Soon, only two laps remained. The drivers behind him had long missed their chance as Elliott drove around to the white flag. Elliott took it and stayed calm around the speedway as he looked for the win. He came out of turn 4 and powered to the finish line for a very historic victory. The win garnered Elliott a lot of attention and, as talks of Elliott's future became rampant, his future NASCAR Hall of Fame father stood alongside smiling.
When Chase Elliott won last season at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, people said his win meant nothing. They said he had wrecked Ty Dillon coming out of the final turn and that win did not show the true mark of a winner in NASCAR because he had “cheated” to win. Well, the haters can't say anything now. Elliott drove the wheels off his racecar and he earned his first victory in NASCAR's second highest series. The key word in that important sentence: earned. Kyle Busch followed the rookie home second after he made his way from a start in the back of the field. Busch has only won two of the six races this season in the series, but he has still been a driver to watch in every event. Kyle Larson continued to impress in the Nationwide Series as he came home third, following his win at Auto Club. Kevin Harvick was able to hold onto fourth after losing speed late in the event. Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled back after a terrible final restart to finish in fifth place. Matt Kenseth remained consistent the entire night and came home in sixth. The rest of the Nationwide regulars in the spots behind Kenseth. The points battle suffered a complete shake-up due to the event. Trevor Bayne, who came into the race tied at the top of the points with Regan Smith, lost a tire early on and finished outside of the top 20, which caused him to fall back in the battle. Regan Smith finished seventh after a consistent race, but he still lost the points lead to Chase Elliott after Elliott walked away a winner. It is still early in the season with a lot of key events coming up. One of those key events is at Darlington next weekend. The Nationwide regulars will have their hands full as they head to one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. Will Kyle Busch go back-to-back at the tricky speedway, will Chase Elliott somehow win back-to-back races, will Regan Smith or Trevor Bayne take back the points lead, or will another Nationwide regular propel himself up in the points battle? We will have to wait until next Friday to find this out and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 42- Trevor Bayne had tire problems in turn 3 and went for a slide.
2nd Caution: Lap 54- Robert Richardson Jr. slammed the wall in turn 2 after his engine let go.
3rd Caution: Lap 63- Tanner Berryhill lost a tire tread while heading to pit road.
4th Caution: Lap 121- Chad Boat went for a spin down the frontstretch after slamming the wall in turn 4.
5th Caution: Lap 169- James Buescher bumped Jamie Dick exiting turn 2 and Jamie made contact with the inside wall after Chris Buescher piled into him.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: J.J. Yeley
2nd Caution: David Starr
3rd Caution: Ryan Sieg
4th Caution: Brendan Gaughan
5th Caution: David Starr
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Chase Elliott
2nd: Kyle Busch
3rd: Kyle Larson
4th: Kevin Harvick
5th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Matt Kenseth
7th: Regan Smith
9th: Ty Dillon
10th: Elliott Sadler
12th: Brian Scott
13th: James Buescher
20th: Ryan Reed
23rd: Trevor Bayne
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
-Image:
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31172169/482822509.0_standard_730.0.jpg
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