2011 Nationwide Series Champion: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Coming into the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a 41-point lead over Elliot Sadler.  With a 37th place finish, Stenhouse would win the championship, regardless of what Sadler did.  On lap 30, when Scott Riggs was officially scored as "out" of the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was declared the 2011 Nationwide Series Champion.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. celebrates winning the Nationwide Series Championship (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

 Stenhouse didn't need to worry about finishing in the back; he finished in second place.  2010 champ Brad Keselowski won the race, passing 2007 champion Carl Edwards on the final restart.  Edwards and Keselowski raced hard for the next few laps, but when Edwards got into the back of Keselowski, it opened the door for Stenhouse to finish off his championship-winning season with a runner-up finish.

Carl Edwards congratulates teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on winning the championship (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

 Last year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was almost out of a ride at Roush-Fenway Racing.  But Jack Roush stuck by him, and he came back to become the Rookie of the Year for the Nationwide Series last year.  This year, he was able to sweep the races at Iowa, winning his first and second career Nationwide Series wins.

I picked Elliot Sadler to win the championship at the beginning of the year, and he was almost able to do it.  But Ricky Stenhouse was able to overcome the legend of a sophomore slump (much like Austin Dillon) to become the 2011 Nationwide Champion.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. solidified himself today as a champion NASCAR driver.  One day, we may be talking about Stenhouse becoming the NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.

Champion (Photo courtesy Getty Images)

Kyle Busch, Nifty 50

On Friday night, in Bristol, Tennessee, history was made.  Kyle Busch won a Nationwide race for the 50th time, breaking the record he shared with Mark Martin.  The last Nationwide race won by Busch was on July 16, where Mark Martin joined him in Victory Lane.  This weekend, Martin was not in Victory Lane after Busch beat Joey Logano by .019 seconds. "It was great to have Mark with us in victory lane at Loudon and take some photos for tying it," said Busch.  "Tonight, it was our night."

Kyle Busch beats Joey Logano by .019 seconds, the closest at Bristol. (Photo courtesy SceneDaily.com)

Busch led 186 laps of the 250-lap event.  But it was almost undone when Logano ran his fast car up to the front and challenged Busch for the lead.  "I don't know where he came from.  He had a rocket ship there at the end," Busch said in Victory Lane.  Logano was once again beaten by Kyle Busch in the Nationwide Series and had to settle for another runner-up finish.  "We want to beat him.  It's frustrating to be so close.  He's just a really good driver." 

Kyle Busch - 50 Nationwide Wins (Photo courtesy SceneDaily.com)

 I, unfortunately, couldn't watch the race because of Freshman Orientation things here at school.  It figures, I make it a point to watch every Nationwide race all summer so I can watch it when he wins.  Then, the first race I miss, he breaks the record.  I am sad to see Mark's record fall, but I am happy as a fan of Kyle Busch that he won number 50.  I already had my mom order the commemorative shirt from the NASCAR.com Superstore so I can celebrate as a Mark Martin fan and a Kyle Busch fan.  I will definitely wear it when Kyle wins Number 100.

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Danica is Coming

The worst-kept secret in NASCAR became official today, when Danica Patrick announced she will make the jump to NASCAR.  We'd known for weeks the details of deal, but Danica had not announced anything until today.  She will run full-time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, and she will run "8 to 10" races for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series.  Remember, you can only run 7 races before you use your Rookie Eligibility.  In Nationwide, she will run the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.  In Cup, she will be sponsored by GoDaddy.com as well, but the number is yet to be decided.  Robby Gordon currently has the No. 7, and it is not known if he will give that up.

Patrick has been running in the IZOD IndyCar Series since 2005, and has a 10.6 Average Finishing Position.  Compared to NASCAR, that is an average finish of 16.9.  The highest she has finished in the points is 5th, in 2009.  Looking at her Nationwide stats, she has gotten better in just one year.  Last year, she had an average finish of 28.0.  In the 7 races she's run this year, her average finish is 16.0.  She also has 3 Top 10s and 1 Top 5. 

Danica's Nationwide car for 2012 (photo courtesy GoDaddy.com)

The plan right now is for her to go Full-Time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2013, but as Danica said, "Right now, it's a partial schedule for 2012."  It has been rumored that her Sprint Cup debut will be the 2012 Daytona 500, but nothing has been announced as of yet.  There is nothing announced yet that will allow her to run the Indianapolis 500 next year or not.  One surprising thing at the news conference was that no one from JRM or SHR was there.  Only Danica and GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons were on hand. 

I honestly think she will do well in NASCAR, she seems to have a good handle of how these cars work.  She came into the sport and wanted to learn, unlike some drivers who come into the sport and think that these cars are easy to drive.  We'll see how she does in her last 5 starts in the Nationwide Series.  She will be running at Richmond in September, Kansas in October, and Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, all in November.  Her jump to NASCAR full-time has been long awaited, and I only have one thing to say: Welcome to NASCAR, Danica.

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