March 8th, 2010 
T.C. Now that Danica is taking a NASCAR hiatus for a few months, can we please get back to talking about the actual competition in the Nationwide Series?
Three races into the season, the top ten in NNS points could be mistaken for the top ten in the Cup Series. Seven of the top ten are Cup drivers, with only Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace, and Scott Riggs representing the NNS only crowd.
Of the three, Allgaier looks to be strongest challenger to unseat a likely Cup-driving champion. In three starts this season, he has one top five and three top ten finishes. At Las Vegas, Allgaier looked to be a contender for the win before fading late and finishing seventh. He certainly has the backing and the team to get it done, and the knowledge and experience from a solid rookie campaign could push him over the top.
There are also several intriguing new-comers to the series who could surprise and break through for wins. James Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Colin Braun, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all could have a say before the season is over. They all have the necessary talent and are all driving in equipment that has won in the recent past. Three races in, Buescher, Bayne, and Scott are all inside the top 20 in points, while Braun and Stenhouse have struggled and will have to dig themselves out of a hole.
Of the three Nationwide only drivers in the top ten, I think the most interesting story is that of Scott Riggs. He was tabbed to pilot the #09 Ford for RAB Racing only a few short weeks before Daytona. Riggs filled the seat that was vacated when John Wes Townley left the team and took his family sponsor to Richard Childress Racing. The RAB team is running without a major sponsor, yet has still found a way to be competitive against fully funded, Cup backed teams. With a little help, this team could be a factor.
It seems unlikely that, with so many Cup drivers in every race, a young driver like Allgaier will be celebrating at Homestead. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard are all planning on running the full slate of Nationwide Series races. But like they say, that’s why we run the races.
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As to the Nationwide Series, I for one would welcome a non-cup regular to win the Championship.
As to Carl,
Brad K is a 3rd year cup driver, with (prior to Sunday) run
20 races with 1 win
Carl on the other hand has 7 years in cup and run 196 races and 16 wins
What Carl did was straight out of “Days of Thunder” and this is not the first time he has used his car as a weapon.
Back 8-19-06 after he got turned, he pitted and then slamed his car into Dale JR’s .
I want the drivers to police themselves but TC, I just cant understand how NASCAR can ignore this.
Payback for not “letting me in” or “cutting me some slack” or “giving me some room” is not a wrecked race car
Let alone what would have been if Brad had some how been hurt or the car got into the stands and hurt someone.
How many races did Carl Edwards cause wrecks in his first 3 years , or Denny Hamlin, or Tony Stewart, or Jimmy Johnson.
Every driver had trouble staying out of trouble when they had their first years in Cup.
I along with many others will wait and see what NASCAR hands down.
Remember not only NASCAR hands down penalties but so do the owners and sponsors, but his biggest critic will be the fans.
Under the current climate in the Nationwide Series, there is not a chance in hell of a Busch-Wacker (I guess nowadays they are Nationwide-Whackers) not winning the series.
I suppose the real question is, does an up and coming driver actually “need” to win a NW Championship. Or is the series just a mere stepping stone to the Cup ranks. Lately, some track time, a win here and there and a young marketing machine uses the series as a pass through.
Can a non Cup driver challenge for the NW title???
No.
Carl is running a full schedule?? Why? It’s sort of like A-Rod going to the minors to win a homerun title. He won it already. At least Brad and Paul haven’t won the championship yet.
I understand about Cup drivers filling seats and attracting sponsors….but maybe not run for the title??? I do get the business end of it, but it does make for very predictable racing.
By the way, I cringe when Carl wins (and flips) at the NW series. It reminds me of that “Married With Children” episode…where Al Bundy competes and wins in the Senior Olympics..haha
All Cup drivers should be limited to the amount of Nationwide races they can run each year. In other words they could allow any Cup driver to run say 6 or 8 races and they can chose which ones they want to race.Once they reach that number they’re done. Hamlin complained about Keselowski last year when running the NNW series.
Well if he didn’t like racing against him he should have stayed the heck out of Nationwide. Cup drivers don’t belong there. I’ll bet if a lot of the Nationwide drivers had the opportunity to race in Cup all at the same time there would be some complaining from the Cup drivers. Wouldn’t be afraid to bet it would be those same Cup drivers who are invading the Nationwide series who would be complaining the most. (Busch, Harvick, Hamlin, Edwards)
NASCAR outta get some balls and suspend Carl Edwards for 3 races. He should also get a point deduction. Carl gets away with intentionally wrecking Brad but several years back JR got a fine for saying “s—” in an interview.
The Nationwide “Cup driver” rule needs to be simple. A full time Cup driver can run 7 races for the same owner. That’s it.
(It cheats off the “you can run 7 races & not be declared a rookie” rule.)
But it accomplishes everything you want it to. Carl, Brad & Menard can still run for the title, they just have to do it with 5 owners. It spreads the money & wealth over more owners as various owners would get a piece of Carl’s or Brad’s sponsor money for 7 weeks. (And yes, James Finch, if he were a smart business man, could run Fords, Dodges & Chevys for Carl, Brad & Menard if he were so inclined.)
It levels the field in an interesting way. Think on it.
Cup drivers pay their entry fee to race in Nationwide just like all the other drivers do. It’s like saying Kyle Bush cant run trucks because he races in the cup series, or Tony cant run cup because he raced IRL. Nationwide is in itself a separate series. Get over it.