It’s a whole new year for the NASCAR Nationwide Series- with the visiting Sprint Cup drivers eliminated from championship contention, 2011 will be the year of the Nationwide Series regular. So on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the Daytona International Speedway, would a potential title contender make a name for himself, or would one of the multiple Cup drivers snag the spotlight away? Clint Bowyer and Landon Cassilll led the field to the green, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Danica Patrick. Earnhardt, Jr. was able to push Bowyer away from the rest of the field. On lap two Kyle Busch began pushing his teammate Joey Logano up to the lead, which the pair took shortly thereafter. On lap three Tony Stewart began a charge up the middle with drafting help from Aric Almirola, taking the race lead. Busch took the lead on lap four, giving it up to teammate Logano the following lap. Logano, Busch, Stewart and Bowyer had managed to pull away from the rest of the field, and when Logano and Busch went to make the switch the tag team of Stewart and Bowyer were able to move back into the lead. Bowyer and Smoke made the switch, putting Bowyer in the lead after ten laps were completed. Reed Sorenson, who had to start in the back for unapproved adjustments, had made his way up to 10th on lap 12 as Busch and Logano again charged back to the lead. On lap 14 the Fords of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Trevor Bayne made the four car pack up at the front a six car pack, moving into third and fourth shortly thereafter. The first caution of the race came out on lap 15 when Sam Hornish, Jr. spun around collecting Brian Scott, making his debut in the No. 11 machine for Joe Gibbs Racing, and second place starter Landon Cassilll. Under the yellow flag the field made their way down pit road for fuel, tires and adjustments. Earnhardt, Jr. and Bowyer won the race off pit road, after Earnhardt, Jr. missed his pit and had to come back in. Bowyer and Logano led the field back to the green on lap 21, with Logano taking the lead the following lap. Unlikely drafting partners Busch and Brad Keselowski began making a move for the lead on lap 23 as Bayne pushed Logano, with Big wreck on lap 24 when Todd Bodine tagged Michael Annett, sending him spinning- the accident also collected Mike Wallace, Sadler, Kenny Wallace, Michael Annett and Stenhouse, Jr. While the leaders stayed on track several cars further back in the pack elected to come down pit road. Also under the yellow Carl Edwards went behind the wall with his No. 60, down a cylinder. Busch and Keselowski led the field back once again to the green flag on lap 29. The top four were able to pull away from the field but Bowyer began pushing Danica Patrick up the front, taking the lead on lap 30. Keselowski, with drafting help from Bayne, took the lead on lap 31. Steven Wallace had to pit under green on lap 34, and Busch and Logano moved back to the front. Bowyer and Patrick had dropped down in the field. Logano took the lead on lap 38. Keselowski and Bayne were back in the lead by lap 44 and had driven away from the field. Meanwhile, Edwards returned to the track, 12 laps down. Further in the back KHI teammates Bowyer and Stewart began drafting together, working their way up through the field. On lap 47 the Gibbs Toyotas had once again caught the leaders and Justin Allgaier came down pit road after losing a tire and smacking the wall. Bayne took the lead on lap 53, after he and Keselowski switched positions. They had once again put a gap between themselves and Stewart and Bowyer, who ran third and fourth. Caution for the third time came out on lap 56 after Hornish, Jr. again spun around and hit the turn four wall after contact with Todd Bodine. The leaders led the field down to pit road with several opting for four tires. Keselowski and Earnhardt, Jr. won the race off pit road, but the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevy was penalized for taking equipment out of the box. Keselowski also hit pit road again for left side tires and topped off with fuel. On lap 58 Logano, Busch and Bayne led the field to the green. The top four on lap 60 pulled away from the field with Bowyer pushing Busch and Bayne pushing Logano, the leader. Kasey Kahne was black flagged for making it three wide on the restart. On lap 63 the tag team of Stewart and Jason Leffler were making their way up to the four leaders. Bowyer moved into the lead on lap 67, while back in the pack Sorenson tried to draft with Patrick to no avail. Bayne had a flat tire and his good run came to a sudden halt when he had to hit pit road. Logano and Busch swapped positions with 47 laps to go, putting the No. 18 into the lead. With 44 laps to go Stewart and Bowyer moved into the lead. Busch and Logano took the lead with 35 laps remaining, but Stewart moved back to the lead with 32 laps left. Earnhardt, Jr. hit pit road with Leffler, Cassille and Bodine with 24 laps remaining, beginning a slue of green flag pit stops. With 23 laps to Sorenson and Stenhouse, Jr., who had drafted together for much of the day, hit pit road, followed on the next lap by Busch, Bowyer and Stewart. Logano came in the following lap, taking a can of fuel and right side tires. Caution for debris came out on lap 101, and under the yellow Almirola went to pit road where his crew put the hood up on his No. 88, though he did return to the track. The race restarted with 16 laps to go with Busch on the inside ahead of his teammate Logano, with Bowyer on the outside followed by Cassilll. A lap later the field fell under the yellow after Brad Keselowski was sent spinning after contact with Cassilll, collecting Josh Wise, who took a hard lick. Wise was able to exit the car under his own power. Patrick Sheltra, Bodine and Bayne were also involved. Under the yellow problems for second place Tony Stewart who had a flat right rear tire, coming down pit road with several others. The red flag then came out for extensive clean up. Bowyer and Earnhardt, Jr. led the field to the green when the race was restarted with just six laps remaining. The No. 33 of Bowyer quickly slid into line ahead of Earnhardt, Jr., and the two began to pull away from the rest of the field. The Gibbs Racing duo was just behind them, and quickly catching them was Tony Stewart, who restarted 11th, and Cassilll. With four to go the team of Sorenson and Leffler also joined the front pack, and Busch moved into the lead. Bowyer and Earnhardt, Jr. led the white flag lap but then Logano spun after contact with teammate Busch, with no caution. Stewart, who switched positions with Cassilll, moved up to the outside of the No. 33, and Bowyer moved up to block, leaving the door open for the No. 5 of Earnhardt, Jr.. But Bowyer moved back to the bottom to protect his lead, and Stewart took advantage, claiming the victory by just 0.007. It was his fourth straight victory in the Nationwide series opener. “We knew if we hooked up with him, we could get through some of the cars in front of us,’’ Stewart said. “I wasn’t sure we could get all the way to the front. Landon did a good job of making some good moves to get through traffic.’’ Bowyer finished second, followed by Cassilll, Earnhardt, Jr., and Sorenson. Rounding out the top ten were Leffler, Busch, Stenhouse, Jr., Waltrip and Bayne. The 35 lead changes tied the race record, and the finish was the third closest in Nationwide Series history, and the closest at Daytona. Landon Cassill leaves the Daytona International Speedway with the points lead- and no ride for next week. "I'm the points leader. I'm sorry, I don't have a ride next week, so I'm going to bask in this for about seven days."
Thanks to NASCAR.com and the Boston Globe for the information and quotes used in this piece. Photo credit to Getty Images and Yahoo.
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