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Hornish hopes to secure a win at Mid-Ohio this weekend for his home state

For the second week in a row the NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to a road course where anything can happen. This weekend, however, there’s something a bit different.

On Saturday, the series makes its inaugural visit to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). There is probably no driver more excited to visit the 2.4-mile track than Sam Hornish Jr., of Defiance, Ohio.

Not only is the track 2-1/2 hours east of his hometown, it’s a track he’s previously competed at. In 2007, he finished 14th in an IndyCar Series event at Mid-Ohio. The following season he turned his focus to NASCAR.

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Hornish currently is second in the standings, three points behind Austin Dillon. A win in front of his family and friends would mean more to the 34-year-old driver than a win at most any other track and would likely return him to the top of the standings, a position he held after each of the season’s first seven races and most recently after last month’s race at Chicagoland.

"We want to win, especially when we have a car that’s capable of winning," Hornish said. "Looking ahead to this weekend, we know what we have to do."

In seven road-course races in the series, Hornish has five consecutive top-five finishes and two poles, including a fifth-place showing at Road America in June and a runner-up performance last weekend at The Glen. This season, Hornish has one victory and five second-place showings in which he was the highest finishing points-eligible series regular.

"It will be something special to win this race in my home state," he said.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Bowyer, Edwards eye automatic bids to postseason

Related: Sprint Cup Series standings

Jimmie Johnson clinched at least a Wild Card berth in the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by virtue of his top-10 showing last week at Watkins Glen International.

Five-Time still might be the only driver qualified for the postseason after this week’s Pure Michigan 400 — that’s how dominant he’s been, and that’s how difficult this week’s scenarios are for a handful of drivers.

Below is a list of contenders who could qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

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• Clint Bowyer. Bowyer is second in the standings with 733 points, a full 75 points behind Johnson. With no wins to his credit this season, the driver of the No. 15 Toyota can still punch his ticket for the postseason on Sunday.

The magic number this weekend is 145, which means Bowyer — or any other driver — must be 145 points ahead of the driver in 11th place to clinch an automatic berth. The 11th-place driver right now is Kurt Busch, who has 623 points — 110 less than Bowyer.

So Bowyer would need a high finish (likely a win), and then have most drivers in the 11th-place range struggle terribly.

• Carl Edwards. Like Bowyer, Edwards can clinch an automatic berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by leaving Michigan with a 145-point edge over the 11th-place driver.

He’ll have an even more difficult time clinching than Bowyer, considering he’s currently 105 points ahead of Busch, 40 points away from the 145-point threshold.

• Matt Kenseth. Kenseth is too far down the standings (seventh place) to clinch an automatic berth, but can almost certainly clinch at least a Wild Card berth with a win. A victory would be Kenseth’s fifth of the season — his four wins is tied with Johnson for the most this year.

A win wouldn’t absolutely guarantee Kenseth a Wild Card spot, though. It depends on the points other drivers accrue because Kenseth, mathematically, could possibly still finish outside the top 20 in the points at the end of the season. The Wild Card only goes to drivers from 11th-20th place.

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Drivers switch roles as Austin Dillon replaces Tony Stewart this week

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Though NASCAR vehicles only have ignition switches unlike their street-legal brethren, you can almost imagine the swapping of front and passenger seats and the tossing of keys from Max Papis to Austin Dillon in handing over the wheel of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet this week.

“We don’t have the keys,” Papis said. “Actually there’s only one seat in the car.”

So much for dream sequences. Either way, the virtual handing over of the virtual keys from Papis last week at Watkins Glen to Dillon this weekend at Michigan International Speedway signifies a golden "pinch me" opportunity for both Richard Childress Racing drivers to shine in quality NASCAR Sprint Cup Series equipment, though neither relish the circumstances as substitutes while the injured Tony Stewart heals from injuries suffered Aug. 5 in a sprint car wreck.

The circumstances being what they are, the opportunity remains to carry the banner for Stewart and perhaps make a positive impression along the way.

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“This is one of the coolest things in my entire life to have this opportunity,” Dillon said Thursday from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, site of Saturday’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Dillon currently leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings, but will be pulling double duty on the Sprint Cup side Sunday at Michigan.

“I think it’s very cool that they talked to my grandfather (Childress) first, and that was even more special for all the hard work that he’s put into my career,” he added. “I’m so excited. Just ready to get there and learn and be able to soak up all the information that I can with those guys who have so much experience.”

Papis can certainly share what it’s like to be a fill-in for the charismatic owner-driver after piloting Stewart’s No. 14 to a 15th-place finish at Watkins Glen. He’s also helped to smooth the transition from one substitute to the next in working intimately with the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

Even though Dillon is still learning, Papis was firm in pointing out that every opportunity afforded his teammate and road-course pupil has been earned and not ordained.

“Obviously going into the Glen, it was a very tough situation — not on the technical side, but on the human side,” Papis said. “Think about it: All those guys who have been working for many years with Tony, then they’ve got someone else like me plugged in. I felt they did a really good job in keeping the atmosphere positive.

“In handing the torch to Austin, I think it really helped the fact that I spent a couple of weeks with them, and then know the relationship that’s with Austin — me and him — it definitely helped him to get up to speed and break that barrier that was there. What I told Austin is, ‘Look how far you came and how far I came, too.’ Getting an opportunity to drive for one of the best ever — triple champion, winning team, championship team. How I look at it is that it should really shut the mouth of all those people that said that Austin gets his ride only because he’s the grandkid of Mr. Childress. That should prove that ability is what drove both him and me to that place.”

Before Dillon makes his 10th career Sprint Cup start, the more pressing task is holding serve with his Nationwide Series points lead in the inaugural race on the 2.258-mile road course. He leads hometown favorite Sam Hornish Jr. by just three points, and only 18 points separate the first five drivers in the standings.

Dillon has a best finish of ninth place in five career road course races in the Nationwide Series, but Papis suggests he’s getting better. Sure enough, Dillon was faster than the veteran Papis — a competitor 11 times at Mid-Ohio — in the early practice.

“I was really pleased to see the progress — I call him my godson, only because I’m around him so much — that Austin is doing,” Papis said. “I have to really step it up this afternoon because he was actually better than me. I’m really pleased to see that.”

Said Dillon: “We’re making some good progress that we needed for our road course program. I think both Max and myself have gotten our cars better and that’s going to play big for us when we get here on Saturday.”

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Posted on by Zack Albert

With Sprint Cup future secure, former champ braces for Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Brian Vickers could be forgiven if his rollicking week produced a distraction from his bid for a second NASCAR Nationwide Series crown. After all, he secured his future for 2014 and beyond Tuesday as the full-time driver for Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
 
With that order of business settled, though, Vickers has his eye on finishing strong in the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, starting with Saturday’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
 
Vickers, who won the Nationwide Series championship in 2003, is 18 points behind leader Austin Dillon in the standings. But even with the scant margin, Vickers sits fifth — the result of the Nationwide title fight evolving into a multicar logjam at the top in recent weeks.

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Though the chance exists that Vickers could emerge with the points lead this weekend, he says his goals — long- and short-term — haven’t changed.

“I think it’s going to come down to the wire, and I’d love to come out of here with the lead in the points but when you’re 18 points out, Vickers said. "If you’re only 18 points behind one guy it would be very easy to come out of here with the lead. With it being so many guys so tied together, it’s unlikely that you’re going to gain that much on them all at once, but it’s possible.

“Our goal is to try to win the race and gain as many points as possible, but if we’re in position toward the end of the race whether it’s fuel mileage or how I’m going to approach a restart, a trophy’s different. For a win, it takes a certain level of risk and you get bonus points for that, but the difference between fifth or sixth or third or fourth … you still want it, but you’ve got to be a little smarter about that one point when the points battle is so close.”

AMBROSE’S EXPERIENCE: Marcos Ambrose, the only full-time Sprint Cup driver entered in Saturday’s race, has a rich road-racing pedigree to lean on at Mid-Ohio. But when it comes to actual on-track experience, the Aussie is at the same level of most Nationwide regulars.

“Until this morning, I had never seen this track,” Ambrose said. “I watched it on TV, though.”

Ambrose hasn’t competed in the Nationwide Series since August 2011, when he won the series’ next-to-last race in Montreal. His four career road-course wins in the series ties him with Canadian Ron Fellows for the most Nationwide road victories of all time.

PIT NOTES: Saturday’s race will be the 21st NASCAR national series race and first ever for the Nationwide Series held in Ohio. Mid-Ohio will become the ninth Buckeye State track to have hosted a national NASCAR event; Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, joined the list last month with its inaugural Mudsummer Classic for the NASCAR CampingWorld Truck Series. … French driver Anthony Gandon will attempt to qualify for his second NASCAR Nationwide Series race. The 23-year-old driver from Bayonne, France — a regular in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series — is driving for Rick Ware Racing and he finished 32nd in his debut last week at Watkins Glen. The stock-car series in Europe is in its second year under the NASCAR umbrella and recently signed a long-term entitlement sponsorship deal with Whelen Engineering.

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Posted on by Staff Report

A message from FOX Sports about America’s new 24-hour sports network, FOX Sports 1

To our valued NASCAR fans:

America’s new 24-hour sports network, FOX Sports 1, has arrived. We are proud and excited to tell you the network will continue its extensive coverage of NASCAR for many years to come.

KEY FOX AND FOX SPORTS 1 SUMMARY: 2015-2024

• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: First 16 points races (9 on FOX Sports, 7 on FOX Sports 1)
• NASCAR Nationwide Series: First 14 points races (14 races on FOX Sports 1)
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: All races
• NASCAR Sprint Unlimited, Budweiser Duels and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
• ‘TV Everywhere’ live-streaming rights for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

FOX Sports 1 offers you the level of access to NASCAR content you’ve been accustomed to with SPEED. To go along with nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually, FOX Sports 1 is the home of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races (2015), select NASCAR Nationwide Series races (2015), as well as Speedweeks events, including Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying, the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway and the Budweiser Duels.

Popular established NASCAR-specific programs, including NASCAR RaceDay, NASCAR Victory Lane and NASCAR Race Hub continue on FOX Sports 1, as does live coverage of practice and qualifying sessions from all three national series.

On launch day, FOX Sports 1 brings you more than six hours of NASCAR programming, highlighted by coverage of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Michigan International Speedway – the first live event on America’s new sports network:

Saturday 8/17 highlights

NASCAR Live – 8 a.m. ET

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – 8:30 a.m. ET

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – 9:30 a.m. ET

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – 11 a.m. ET

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup – Noon ET

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Racing – 12:30 p.m. ET

For a full schedule, details, and to find out which channel you can find FOX Sports 1 in your home, please visit www.FOXSports1.com.

From your friends at FOX Sports

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Posted on by Staff Report

Choose the camera angles you want to see in Sunday’s race

Which Sprint Cup driver’s in-car camera would you like to see featured on RaceBuddy? Vote here.

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Follow Nationwide Series practice from Mid-Ohio, Aug. 15.

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Posted on by Staff Report

FOX Sports 1 is the new home for NASCAR with the same great coverage

FOX Sports 1 officially launched at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 17 with 18 hours of original programming on Day 1, 16.5 hours of which were live, kicking off with NASCAR LIVE from Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

KEY FOX AND FOX SPORTS 1 SUMMARY: 2015-2024

• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: First 16 points races (9 on FOX Sports, 7 on FOX Sports 1)
• NASCAR Nationwide Series: First 14 points races (14 races on FOX Sports 1)
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: All races
• NASCAR Sprint Unlimited, Budweiser Duels and NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
• ‘TV Everywhere’ live-streaming rights for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Wednesday, Aug. 21
*10-10:50 a.m. ET Camping World Truck Series practice (FOX Sports 1)
*Noon-1:30 p.m. ET Camping World Truck Series practice (FOX Sports 1)
*4:35 p.m. ET Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole qualifying (FOX Sports 2)
*8 p.m. ET UNOH 200 (FOX Sports 1)

Friday, Aug. 23
9 a.m.-noon ET Nationwide Series final practice (FOX Sports 1)
Noon-2 p.m. ET Sprint Cup Series practice (FOX Sports 1)
2:45-3:30 p.m. ET Sprint Cup Series final practice (FOX Sports 1)
3:40 p.m. ET Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole qualifying (FOX Sports 1)


FOX Sports 1 NASCAR Programming Highlights
*Select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races as soon as 2015
*Select NASCAR Nationwide Series races starting in 2015
*NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races
*NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
*Practice and Qualifying sessions from all three national series
*NASCAR RaceDay, providing pre-race coverage
*NASCAR Victory Lane,
providing pre-race coverage
*Race Hub, a daily studio show with the latest from drivers, owners and garages.
*All Speedweeks events leading up to the Daytona 500 including:
**Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying
**Sprint Unlimited at Daytona (2014, 2017-22)
**Budweiser Duel, now in prime time

FOX Sports 1 Frequently Asked Questions
Helpful Websites
FOX Sports 1 FAQ:      https://msn.foxsports.com/other/page/foxsports1-faq
FS1 Channel Finder:   https://msn.foxsports.com/foxsports1
FOX Sports Letter to Fans

GENERAL FS1 QUESTIONS
Q: What is FOX Sports 1?
A: FOX Sports 1 is America’s newest sports network, a national 24-hour cable channel being launched by FOX on August 17, 2013.

Q: What is FOX Sports 2?
A: FOX Sports 2 is an extension of FOX Sports 1 that features live coverage of sporting events and connects with fans through entertaining studio shows and original programming.

Q: How will I know what channel FOX Sports 1 is on?
A: In most markets, FOX Sports 1 will be located in the same channel position now occupied by SPEED.  As we get closer to launch, more updated FOX Sports 1 information will be available via the Channel Finder (Click here). 

Q: What can I do if I don’t get FOX Sports 1 on August 17?
A: We would suggest that you place a call to your TV provider and let them know that you’d really like to have FOX Sports 1 included in your basic package.

Q: Will I have to pay more for FOX Sports 1?
A: For the overwhelming number of viewers who subscribe to a cable, satellite or telephone company video service, FOX Sports 1 will likely be included in your expanded basic level of service at launch.

Q: How will FOX Sports 1 be different from the other sports networks I get?
A: Over the past several years, FOX Sports has acquired or renewed rights agreements with entities like the FIFA World Cup, MLB, NASCAR, NFL, UFC and collegiate conferences like the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA, Pac-12, and soccer leagues around the world to develop a full, robust programming schedule. FOX Sports 1 will have nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually.

Q: In addition to NASCAR, what sports will FOX Sports 1 televise?
A: FOX Sports 1 has seven pillar sports: college basketball and football, MLB, NASCAR, NFL (ancillary programs), soccer and UFC. FOX Sports 1 boasts nearly 5,000 hours of live event, news and original programming annually and that number will continue to grow. College football on FOX Sports 1 is highlighted by regular season coverage of Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA games. FOX Sports 1 carries dozens of exclusive prime time college basketball games from the Big East, Big 12, Pac-12 and Conference USA and the network is home to the Big East men’s basketball tournament. Starting in 2014, select MLB League Championship Series and Division Series games as well as regular season games are coming to FOX Sports 1. Soccer is highlighted on FOX Sports 1 with the world’s most prolific club soccer competitions, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League and CONCACAF Champions League. FOX Sports 1 carries the world’s oldest soccer competition, the FA Cup; CONCACAF Gold Cup; CONCACAF Qualifiers, FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage in 2015 and 2019; FIFA Men’s World Cup coverage in 2018 and 2022. UFC is also a core programming pillar. In addition to Saturday pay-per-view preliminary cards, Wednesday nights are home to the UFC with UFC Tonight, live events and The Ultimate Fighter.

Q: Can I get FOX Sports 1 on my phone or tablet?
A: When FOX Sports 1 launches in August, the FOX Sports GO app will also be released. The groundbreaking mobile sports experience for iPhone, iPad, Android devices and web will offer more than 1,100 live games and events from across FOX Sports, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports’ 22 regional sports networks. It will also have scores, highlights, news, stats and analysis. Access to games and live events will be free to fans who receive their video programming from a participating cable, satellite or telephone company.

NASCAR ON FOX SPORTS 1
Q: Will NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races be on FOX and FOX Sports 1?
A: FOX Sports 1 also carries select NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events beginning 2015. In 2014, FOX broadcast channel will continue to broadcast the races from Daytona through Dover as in the past. In addition, FOX Sports 1 will be the home of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.  The NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, all SpeedWeeks events  including Daytona 500 Qualifying, Sprint Unlimited at Daytona, the Budweiser Duel, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series Practice and Qualifying sessions will continue to air on FOX Sports 1. Additionally, FOX Sports 1 carries NASCAR RaceDay, NASCAR Victory Lane and Race Hub shows.

Q: Where can I find my favorite NASCAR shows?
A: NASCAR Race Hub will air weekdays at 4:30pm ET on FOX Sports 1. NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane will continue to lead into and air following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  Fans can continue to check NASCAR.com and FOXSports1.com for TV schedules or check local listings.

What other NASCAR programs will be on FOX Sports 1?
A: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, Speed Weeks coverage, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Practice and Qualifying sessions.  FOX Sports 1 will continue to carry NASCAR RaceDay, NASCAR Victory Lane and Race Hub shows.

SPEED QUESTIONS
Q: What happens to SPEED programming when FOX Sports 1 launches?
A: FOX Sports continues its major commitment to motorsports programming with top-level NASCAR events, including NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races as well as popular programs like NASCAR RaceDay, NASCAR Victory Lane and RaceHub.

Q: What will happen to the SPEED website?
A: NASCAR news, updates and editorial features will live under the “NASCAR” section on FOXSports.com.  SPEED.com will continue to cover all other motorsports news and series such as F1, IndyCar, MotoGP, Supercross, Sports Car racing and more.

Q: What will happen to SPEED’s social media platforms?
A: The SPEED Facebook (facebook.com/speed) and Twitter (@SPEED) accounts will continue to provide motorsports news and coverage as they have in the past.  Also, NASCAR fans will still be able to engage with high quality content via the NASCARonFOX facebook (facebook.com/NASCARonFOX) and twitter pages (@NASCARonFOX).

Posted on by George Winkler

Definitions could get blurred with intensity building as standings continue to be tight

With four races to go until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the standings ever so tight, it was interesting to hear Brad Keselowski talk about racing Kyle Busch during the closing moments of the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International — a race in which Keselowski, who is badly in need of a win in order to solidify a spot in the Chase, finished a close second.

“There’s racing and wrecking,” Keselowski said. “Those are two different things. Everybody defines them a little differently and I guess that’s the code you live your life by. Me, I define last year as racing and some people would define that as wrecking. If I was gonna take out Kyle today it would have been wrecking in my mind and there’s a distinct difference.”

Keselowski was referring at least partly to last season, when he contributed to sending Busch into a spin at Watkins Glen that led to a seventh-place finish for Busch, who ultimately missed the Chase. Keselowski finished second and, of course, went on to win the championship. Now, after Keselowski’s third straight second-place finish at The Glen, one wonders if he missed an opportunity.

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WILD CARD STANDINGS

Pos Driver Wins Pts Pos Pts from 10th
1. Kasey Kahne     2 12th      -3
2. Ryan Newman     1 14th      -20
3. Tony Stewart     1 17th      -31
4. Kurt Busch     0 11th      -2
5. Jeff Gordon     0 13th      -15
6. Jamie McMurray     0 15th      -25
7. Joey Logano     0 16th      -27
8. Aric Almirola     0 18th      -64
9. Paul Menard     0 19th      -66
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.     0 20th      -94
11. David Ragan     1 26th      -226

While it’s respectable that Keselowski chose to be honorable toward the end of the race last week, will he regret not driving through Kyle on the way to Victory Lane? We shall see in the next few weeks.

We also shall see if drivers get a little more desperate and perhaps forego the gentlemanly agreements toward the end of races.

The intensity is certainly building to a boiling point. We saw it on Jeff Gordon’s face after he wrecked on Lap 14. We saw it in the way Marcos Ambrose disgustedly tossed his helmet aside after Max Papis spun him out with six laps to go. We even saw it on Twitter with Kasey Kahne’s comments toward Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

It should get real interesting as the Race for the Chase pulls into stops at Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond, alternating between speedways and short tracks with only 24 points separating eighth place (Keselowski) from 13th place (Gordon) and with three drivers in that span (Kez, Gordon and Kurt Busch) still searching for their first win of the season.

Is it racing or wrecking? We’ll see if the definitions get blurred in the coming weeks.

Ready to pounce: Kurt Busch’s quest to become the first single-car team driver to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup got closer to becoming a reality last week when he finished ninth at Watkins Glen. That moved him up two spots in the standings to 11th place, just two points behind Martin Truex Jr. in 10th place. And following a fourth-place finish at Sonoma, it certainly was a good year at road courses for the No. 78.

In general, Busch has been coming on of late, with five top-10 finishes in the past seven races. However, just when fans get comfortable with seeing Busch pile up strong finishes, he’ll stumble upon a finish that is 30th or worse. In the 18 races starting with Fontana, Busch has finished in the top-10 10 times but also has five times when he placed 30th or worse. Literally, there has been no in between with him.

He returns to Michigan where he had one of those bad moments, a 35th-place showing earlier this season. He had a fast car that day and led 21 laps, but then he got loose in a corner and smacked the wall, thus ending his chances at a good finish. Busch has two wins and eight top-10s in 25 Cup races at Michigan International Speedway. His Driver Rating of 87.7 there is 12th among active drivers.

In danger of falling out: Jeff Gordon matched Kasey Kahne last week with the dubious distinction of dropping four spots in the standings. Gordon fell to 13th place after wrecking on Lap 14 of the Cheez-It 355 and finishing 36th. Kahne, who’s in 12th place, has two wins to fall back on in the Wild Card race, while Gordon has none. Currently, Gordon would not make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The frustration Gordon showed in his post-wreck interview was palpable, and fans could get a sense he felt he was missing out on a golden opportunity. With Gordon’s strong history on road courses (Sprint Cup Series-best nine wins) it was almost surreal to see the driver of the No. 24 experience such a setback at Watkins Glen.

So now what? The good news is Gordon is just 15 points behind Truex in 10th place — and five points in front of Ryan Newman, who holds the final Wild Card spot. Since the standings are so tight, there is bound to be plenty of shuffling in the next four weeks. Then, it will come down to who is holding the most victories for the winner of the Wild Cards to be determined.

Gordon has 14 wins in his Cup career at the next four tracks (Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, Richmond), with his last win coming in 2011 at Atlanta. However, his last victory at Michigan, this week’s track, was way back in 2001.

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Grant Reed, a viral sensation and inspiration to many is set to give command to fire engines at Mid-Ohio’s first race

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hendrick Motorsports has a history of ringing a victory bell after any of its four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams wins a race the previous weekend. Grant Reed, a 13-year-old from Mansfield, Ohio, recently took part in a similar tradition but with a far greater meaning.

Reed, the cancer patient and Ohio State fan who became a viral sensation for nicknaming his brain tumor “Michigan” for motivation, reached his own personal finish line six weeks ago, completing his chemotherapy treatment at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In keeping with the facility’s tradition, Reed took part in the ringing a bell in front of an audience of patients and caregivers. 

Come Saturday, Reed will make more noise as the grand marshal of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), giving the command to fire engines for the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ first race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He said he’s prepared for the sound of 40 cars rumbling before the start.

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“When I was younger, I had an addiction for monster trucks,” said Reed, who will also ride in the pace car during parade laps and attend the drivers’ meeting. “It’s basically the same if you think about it.”

Troy Reed, his father, playfully corrected him, one of many light moments Wednesday in the “enchanted forest” area of the hospital where former Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., plus current series competitors Trevor Bayne and Chad Hackenbracht greeted patients and their families ahead of Saturday’s event.

For the drivers — who chatted, signed autographs, posed for pictures and gave away toy cars and stuffed animals — the chance to talk to Reed and other patients was an eye-opener. 

“We always look to come here to give them something, but just the way they carry themselves will pump you up,” Bayne said. “It’s great to be here and just spend time with these guys.” 

The appearance unofficially kicked off events leading up to the inaugural Nationwide race at Mid-Ohio, but also served as a reminder of the unique sponsorship arrangement with the children’s hospital. The insurance company’s foundation made a $50 million gift to the hospital in 2006; having the hospital’s name as part of the race title only broadens awareness of the facilities’ reach.

“It’s really a privilege to have this gift, this race brought to us by Nationwide Insurance,” said Niki Shafer, the vice president of annual giving for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “They’ve been a decades-long partner of the hospital and they just keep bringing us these wonderful assets to be able to share our story.” 

At least six “patient champions,” including Reed, will attend Saturday’s event and at least 13 cars will carry special emblems or paint schemes representing patients from each driver’s home state. Fittingly, Reed’s image will be carried on the hood of Ohio native Sam Hornish Jr.’s No. 12 Penske Racing Ford.

The Reed family’s connection to Mid-Ohio and NASCAR isn’t new. Troy Reed, a firefighter in Mansfield, worked as part of the safety team at the 2.4-mile road course years ago and has attended races at Bristol Motor Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway among others.

He said he’s anxiously awaiting Saturday’s race, not just for the experience but for the ability to spread the word about the facility that has cared so lovingly for his son.

“We’ve been NASCAR fans for a long time,” Troy Reed said. “It’s very cool. It’s a great opportunity for us to have some fun. He’s spent the last year and half not having fun, so it’s good to see him have fun, but more importantly for us, it’s good because it can bring some awareness for pediatric cancer. … There’s a lot of kids still fighting that battle that he’s been lucky enough to win.”

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