The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for the Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at the Glen. Qualifying for the race was held that morning with Marcos Ambrose, who had won the last two Nationwide events at the Glen, started on pole with Joey Logano starting second.

 

Ambrose led the field to the green and was able to instantly drive away, leaving the field behind in the dust. Contact on the initial lap left Harvick with damage, and began losing positions. By lap three, the Australian and '09 Cup Series Rookie of the Year were a second ahead of the field.

 

Brendan Gaughan found himself in trouble when he spun around, but he was able to continue on.

 

On lap five Brian Scott spun in the inner loop but was able to continue. Ahead of him, road ace Jacques Villeneuve had his hands full trying to keep Kyle Busch and Harvick at bay, and told his crew he thought he was having brake issues. Just before green flag pit stops started around on lap 10, Villeneuve was passed by both the No. 18 and No. 33 and began to drop back in the field. Harvick was penalized when he came down the pits for exiting too quickly, and it was Logano who was the new race leader.

 

The first caution of the race cam out on lap 20 for debris on track, which saved Harvick from having to serve a pass thru under green, and he was instead sent to the end of the longest line.

 

Trouble for the second place man in points Carl Edwards, as he hit pit road under the yellow and his No. 60 Fastenal crew put the hood up on their machine. It appeared Edwards dropped a cylinder, and after trying to get back on track he’d take his Roush Fenway Ford back to the garage and retire from the race.

 

And even more trouble on the lap 24 restart. Seventh place Jason Leffler tried to get back in line and ended up tagging the No. 16 of Colin Braun. Behind them ensued a huge eight car incident, including Justin Allgaier, Bill Johnson in the No. 6 RFR Ford and making his series debut, Brendan Gaughan, Trevor Bayne,

 

And even more trouble on the lap 24 restart. Seventh place Jason Leffler tried to get back in line and ended up tagging the No. 16 of Clin Braun. Behind them ensued a huge multi car incident that included heavy damage to the No. 12 of Justin Allgaier and No. 6 of Billy Johnson, who was making his series debut. Also involved where Boris Said, Brendan Gaughan, the No. 23 of Alex Kennedy, Trevor Bayne, the No. 05 of Victor Gonzalez, Jr., and the No. 34 of Tony Raines, who ended up on top of the No. 6 car.

 

“It was like a big Lego pile that fell down and we didn’t get touched,” Harvick told his crew over the radio. He was able to get stopped when three cars blocked the track in front of him, and watched two others cars slam into the wreckage.

 

After a nearly 30 minute red flag, Logano led the field back to the green on lap 27. Just behind him his teammate Kyle Busch was making it three wide with Ambrose and Ron Fellows to take second, and he was able to grab the lead from Logano going into turn seven. Fellows and Ambrose were able to get by the No. 20, sending him to fourth.

 

By lap 40 Harvick was back battling in the top ten, recovering nicely from his penalty and avoiding disaster from the last caution. Meanwhile, Ambrose had finally caught Busch and, using the No. 70 as a pick, was able to get around him for the lead on lap 41. Busch, though, remained on his bumper as green flag pit stops approached.

 

Villeneuve was leading and had yet to pit when the caution came out for the second time during the day, this time for a blown engine on the already heavily damage car of Justin Allgaier.

 

Ambrose took the lead when Villeneuve made his stop, and was able to pull away from Busch, Logano and Harvick. He was able to pull ahead by well over three seconds when Paul Menard losing a weight box on lap 63 brought out the third caution of the day. Logano had also got by his teammate for second, who fell back to fifth and was unhappy with the handling of his No. 18 Toyota.

 

With 16 laps to go the field got the green flag and it was all about Ambrose, who was able to clear Logano and charge ahead of the rest of the field. It was a race for second from there, with Keselowski, Harvick, Fellows and Busch all battling the No. 20 for the spot.

 

With eight to go Harvick was able to pass the Nationwide points leader and began making up ground on Logano, and Busch was able to pass Fellows for fourth.

 

Ryan Newman driving the No. 1 for James Finch, lost a front tire but no caution was thrown, and Ambrose scored his third straight Nationwide Series win at Watkins Glen.

 

“What a great day for our guys,” Ambrose said in Victory Lane. “Saying goodbye to JTG at the end of the year and it’s just nice to get some wins for them… this feels really sweet.”

 

Ambrose, who led 73% of the laps ran Saturday afternoon, is currently rumored to be joining Richard Petty Motorsports in 2011 to replace Kasey Kahne in the No. 9 Ford. But with this latest road course win, will that be further incentive to return to the road racing in his home country, leaving NASCAR behind?

 

Former rivals Logano and Harvick, who finished where they started in second and third, respectively, were seen on pit road laughing and talking.

 

“I was glad we ran each other clean. That was cool,” Logano said. “There was a couple of times he could have got me there at the end when we caught that lap car.” The driver of the No. 20 Gamestop Toyota was also pleased with his career best finish on a road course.

 

Harvick, though, was less than thrilled with his performance on the day- he received damage on lap one of the race and having his shoe string stuck on his throttle pedal.

 

With Edwards devastating 33rd place finish, Keselowski now leads the championship by 327 with just 13 races left in the season. Unless the Penske Racing driver runs into major trouble down the final stretch, the Nationwide Series title seems to be all but his.

 

The next race for the Nationwide Series comes on August 14th at the Michigan International Speedway for the Carfax 250. The race begins at one PM Eastern time on ESPN.

 

Thanks to NASCAR.com, NASCAR on ESPN and Racing Reference for the information, quotes and statistics used in this piece. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.