DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Seems like five is the operative number as NASCAR Nationwide Series teams head to ’homecoming’ weekend in Charlotte – home base for the majority of series teams – to defend their turf.
Here’s the lowdown on the countdown: There have been 55 series races at LMS. There are five races left in the season. Kyle Busch’s (No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota) standings lead is at 155 points over second-place Carl Edwards (No. 60 Ortho Ford). Justin Allgaier (No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge) and Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy Chevrolet) are still locked in the competition for the prized fifth position in the final points standings. Fifth-place Allgaier’s lead? Fifty-two points over sixth-place Wallace.
Busch lost 90 points to Edwards following last Saturday’s race at Auto Club Speedway. Leading the race at the time, he was forced to turn the No. 18 Toyota over to Denny Hamlin due to illness. But an accident with 10 laps to go wiped out a chance for Hamlin to bring home a win for Busch. Edwards finished third while Busch/Hamlin was relegated to 31st, thus the second-largest points pick-up on the lead this year for Edwards. He gained 91 on Busch following the August race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The gain makes for a great storyline and a closer championship battle, but bear in mind Busch is the defending winner of this race and has won three of the last four events overall at LMS.
Meanwhile, Allgaier put some breathing room between him and Wallace for fifth, adding 39 points to what was a 13-point advantage heading to California. The two young drivers were three positions apart in their last outing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Allgaier finished 14th while Wallace was 17th in May.
The race will be the last for the series under the lights this season.
