RCR With Another 1-2 Finish
It was the first time in 2008 that a Nationwide Series race was won by someone other than a Sprint Cup regular, the second week in a row that RCR posted a 1-2 NASCAR finish, and the first time since 2003 that Scott Wimmer visited victory lane. And, to make it all the more sweeter for Wimmer, the win came in a week in which the Sprint Cup enjoyed a weekend without racing, meaning that Scott had the stage all to himself after picking up the checkers in Saturday’s Pepsi 300.
The no. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch led the most laps during the race, as he was out front for 125 laps. However, as has been the case all season long for Busch despite his dominating presence over the series, bad luck befell upon the driver we’ve come to know as “Wild Thing,” and on lap 162 he took himself out of contention for the victory by taking a spill in Turn 4 after losing control of his car.
Busch’s bad luck became Clint Bowyer’s fortune – at least for the time being – as he took control of the race following the mishap. Bowyer appeared to be headed for his second consecutive Nationwide victory, but was passed with 20 laps remaining by Scott Wimmer, who is driving the no. 29 Richard Childress / Kevin Harvick Inc. car on a part-time basis. Wimmer was able to hang onto the lead for the remainder of the race, giving him his first win since Pike’s Peak International Speedway back in July of ’03. Bowyer went onto finish second in the race, and now leads the Nationwide Series standings by 11 points over the 2007 champion, Carl Edwards. Kyle Busch has dropped to 11th. Edwards – who has won one of the two Nashville races every year since 2005 – finished in third. Brad Keselowski and Kelly Bires rounded out the top-five.
Complete Results (from nascar.com):
| FIN |
ST |
CAR |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
PTS/BNS |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 |
14 |
29 |
Scott Wimmer |
Chevrolet |
Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express |
190/5 |
225 |
Running |
| 2 |
7 |
2 |
Clint Bowyer |
Chevrolet |
BB&T |
175/5 |
225 |
Running |
| 3 |
4 |
60 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
Scotts Miracle-Gro “It’s Gro Time” |
165/0 |
225 |
Running |
| 4 |
8 |
88 |
Brad Keselowski |
Chevrolet |
U.S. Navy |
165/5 |
225 |
Running |
| 5 |
5 |
47 |
Kelly Bires |
Ford |
Clorox |
160/5 |
225 |
Running |
| 6 |
11 |
64 |
David Stremme |
Chevrolet |
Atreus Homes & Communities |
150/0 |
225 |
Running |
| 7 |
21 |
32 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
Dollar General |
146/0 |
225 |
Running |
| 8 |
13 |
33 |
Cale Gale * |
Chevrolet |
Camping World / RVs.com |
142/0 |
225 |
Running |
| 9 |
19 |
99 |
David Reutimann |
Toyota |
Aaron’s Dream Machine |
138/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 10 |
17 |
25 |
Bobby Hamilton Jr. |
Ford |
Smithfield |
134/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 11 |
2 |
22 |
Mike Bliss |
Dodge |
Supercuts |
130/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 12 |
6 |
21 |
Stephen Leicht |
Chevrolet |
Racing Gearz |
127/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 13 |
23 |
38 |
Jason Leffler |
Toyota |
Great Clips |
124/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 14 |
16 |
9 |
Chase Miller * |
Dodge |
Valvoline |
121/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 15 |
9 |
16 |
Colin Braun |
Ford |
CitiFinancial |
118/0 |
224 |
Running |
| 16 |
1 |
20 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
Z-Line Designs |
125/10 |
223 |
Running |
| 17 |
18 |
40 |
Bryan Clauson * |
Dodge |
Fastenal |
112/0 |
223 |
Running |
| 18 |
25 |
111 |
Jason Keller |
Chevrolet |
America’s Incredible Pizza Company |
109/0 |
223 |
Running |
| 19 |
22 |
5 |
Landon Cassill * |
Chevrolet |
Nat’l Guard / 128th Military Police Company |
106/0 |
223 |
Running |
| 20 |
24 |
7 |
Mike Wallace |
Toyota |
GEICO |
103/0 |
223 |
Running |
| 21 |
26 |
6 |
David Ragan |
Ford |
Coats / Discount Tire |
100/0 |
223 |
Running |
| 22 |
20 |
1 |
Sterling Marlin |
Chevrolet |
Miccosukee Resort & Gaming |
97/0 |
222 |
Running |
| 23 |
15 |
59 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford |
Kingsford Hickory Charcoal |
94/0 |
222 |
Running |
| 24 |
3 |
66 |
Steve Wallace |
Chevrolet |
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches |
91/0 |
222 |
Running |
| 25 |
31 |
41 |
Kyle Krisiloff |
Dodge |
Polaroid |
88/0 |
221 |
Running |
| 26 |
29 |
170 |
Mark Green |
Chevrolet |
Foretravel Motorcoach |
85/0 |
221 |
Running |
| 27 |
10 |
27 |
Brad Coleman |
Ford |
Cottonelle BKB |
82/0 |
221 |
Running |
| 28 |
12 |
37 |
Brad Baker |
Ford |
Make-A-Wish Foundation |
79/0 |
219 |
Running |
| 29 |
27 |
161 |
Kevin Lepage |
Ford |
Skeets |
76/0 |
218 |
Running |
| 30 |
34 |
01 |
Kertus Davis |
Chevrolet |
RaceGirl |
73/0 |
218 |
Running |
| 31 |
30 |
24 |
Eric McClure |
Chevrolet |
Hefty |
70/0 |
218 |
Running |
| 32 |
32 |
28 |
Kenny Wallace |
Chevrolet |
U.S. Border Patrol |
67/0 |
217 |
Running |
| 33 |
38 |
195 |
Willie Allen |
Dodge |
Wide Open Energy Drink |
64/0 |
216 |
Running |
| 34 |
28 |
81 |
D.J. Kennington |
Dodge |
Mahindra Tractors / NPPL |
61/0 |
216 |
Running |
| 35 |
42 |
4 |
Robert Richardson, II |
Chevrolet |
Reel Deal “Card Games” on Phantom EFX |
58/0 |
211 |
Running |
| 36 |
41 |
84 |
Mike Harmon |
Chevrolet |
James Otto / Muzik Mafia |
55/0 |
72 |
Out of Race |
| 37 |
35 |
0 |
Danny Efland |
Chevrolet |
Lori Morgan |
52/0 |
61 |
Out of Race |
| 38 |
33 |
89 |
Morgan Shepherd |
Dodge |
Victory In Jesus |
49/0 |
54 |
Out of Race |
| 39 |
39 |
90 |
Johnny Chapman |
Chevrolet |
MSRP Motorsports |
46/0 |
46 |
Out of Race |
| 40 |
40 |
52 |
Derrike Cope |
Chevrolet |
Hilton Garden Inn |
43/0 |
38 |
Out of Race |
| 41 |
43 |
255 |
Brad Teague |
Ford |
Bennett Classics Museum |
40/0 |
29 |
Out of Race |
| 42 |
37 |
91 |
Larry Gunselman |
Chevrolet |
MSRP Motorsports |
37/0 |
23 |
Out of Race |