Stenhouse Vs. Sadler Part 1: The WYPALL 200 Preview

by Troy J. on Nov 9, 2011 6:30 PM EST in NASCAR Nationwide Series

Sadler vs Stenhouse: FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 05: Elliott Sadler (L), driver of the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (R), driver of the #6 Sam's Club/Maker's Mark Angus Beef Ford, stand on the grass prior to the start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)

We are down to just two drivers still in the hunt for the 2011 Nationwide Championship and both are seeking their first one ever. At lot has been made about Phoenix being a wild card in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series due to a repaving of the track.

Roush Fenway's Ricky Stenhouse, who is not guaranteed a ride as of yet for 2012, and KHI's Elliott Sadler, who will become a Richard Childress driver in 2012, have really made a huge leap forward for the Nationwide Series. While we still see about 85% of the races being won by Cup drivers, the Nationwide Series has begun to separate itself from the Sprint Cup Series with a Nationwide Only Champion. The Camping World Series has not had to worry about this as much as the Nationwide Series has. There is still more to be done, but having Stenhouse or Sadler win the Championship will be a great thing for the Nationwide Series going forward.

Entry List and Notes after the JUMP!

Ent.	Car	Driver	Sponsor	Manu	Owner
1	01	Mike Wallace	I Hate Steven Singer	11 Chevy	Lori Davis
2	2	Elliott Sadler	OneMain Financial	11 Chevy	Delana Harvick
3	02	Daryl Harr *	WestWorld Computers	11 Chevy	Carl Harr
4	04	Tim Andrews *	Go Green Racing	11 Ford	Archie St Hilaire
5	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Roush Fenway Racing	11 Ford	Jack Roush
6	7	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy.com	11 Chevy	Kelley Earnhardt
7	09	Kenny Wallace	TBD	11 Toyota	Robby Benton
8	11	Brian Scott	Shore Lodge	11 Toyota	J D Gibbs
9	12	Sam Hornish Jr *	Alliance Truck Parts	11 Dodge	Roger Penske
10	13	Jennifer Jo Cobb *	Lerner and Rowe	11 Dodge	Jennifer Jo Cobb
11	14	Eric McClure	Hefty Black Out / Reynolds	11 Chevy	Mark Smith
12	15	Timmy Hill	Poynt/Lilly Trucking	11 Ford	Bob Germain
13	16	Trevor Bayne *	Roush Fenway Racing	11 Ford	Jack Roush
14	18	Joey Logano(i)	GameStop	11 Toyota	Joe Gibbs
15	19	Mike Bliss	Millennium Salon	11 Chevy	Mark Smith
16	20	Ryan Truex *	Martin Truex, Jr. Foundation	11 Toyota	Joe Gibbs
17	22	Brad Keselowski(i)	Discount Tire	11 Dodge	Roger Penske
18	23	Robert Richardson Jr	N TX Pipe	11 Chevy	Robert Richardson Sr
19	28	Derrike Cope	Maxelence	11 Dodge	Jay Robinson
20	30	James Buescher(i)	Exide	11 Chevy	Harry Scott Jr
21	31	Justin Allgaier	Brandt	11 Chevy	Steve Turner
22	32	Ron Hornaday Jr(i)	Dollar General	11 Chevy	Sandra Turner
23	33	Clint Bowyer(i)	Rheem Heating	11 Chevy	Delana Harvick
24	34	Ricky Carmichael(i) *	Monster Energy	11 Chevy	Steve Turner
25	38	Jason Leffler	Great Clips	11 Chevy	Steve Turner
26	39	Matt Frahm	Go Green Racing	11 Ford	Jack Roush
27	40	Josh Wise	Curtis Key Plumbing	11 Chevy	Curtis Key Sr
28	41	Johnny Chapman *	Rick Ware Racing	11 Chevy	Rick Ware
29	42	Erik Darnell(i) *	Curtis Key Plumbing	11 Chevy	Curtis Key Sr
30	44	Jeff Green (PC) *	TBA	11 Chevy	Mark Smith
31	46	Chase Miller *	Curtis Key Plumbing	11 Chevy	Curtis Key Sr
32	47	Scott Speed *	Curtis Key Plumbing	11 Chevy	Curtis Key Sr
33	48	Dennis Setzer *	Acredale Vending	11 Chevy	Jay Robinson
34	49	Mark Green *	Acredale Vending	11 Chevy	Jay Robinson
35	51	Jeremy Clements	Clements Racing Engines	10 Chevy	Johnny Davis
36	52	Kevin Lepage	TBA	11 Chevy	Jimmy Means
37	60	Carl Edwards(i)	World Financial Group	11 Ford	Jack Roush
38	62	Michael Annett	Pilot-Flying J	11 Toyota	Rusty Wallace
39	66	Steve Wallace	5 Hour Energy	11 Toyota	Rusty Wallace
40	70	David Stremme(i)	Foretravel	11 Chevy	Mary Louise Miller
41	71	Matthew Carter *	Rick Ware Racing	11 Chevy	Rick Ware
42	75	Carl Long *	Rick Ware Racing	11 Ford	Rick Ware
43	80	D J Kennington *	Northern Provincial Pipelines	11 Dodge	Jenifer MacDonald
44	81	Blake Koch	DAYSTAR.com	11 Dodge	Pat MacDonald
45	82	Reed Sorenson *	Foametix/Bullet Liner	11 Dodge	Randy MacDonald
46	87	Joe Nemechek	AM/FM Energy	11 Toyota	Andrea Nemechek
47	88	Aric Almirola	Suave MEN	11 Chevy	Dale Earnhardt Jr
48	89	Morgan Shepherd	Victory in Jesus Racing	11 Chevy	Morgan Shepherd
			*- Must Qualify on Time
			(i)- Not Running for Title

There are 48 teams entered this week.

Just a few notes:

#7- Danica Patrick is now a full time Nationwide Driver. I had my doubts about Patrick being truly committed to running in Nascar until now. It's going to be an exciting 2012 Season.
#18- Joey Logano is in the #18 team this week, since we do not know if this was planned or a result of Kyle Busch ruining his 2011 season we will just assume that Logano was scheduled to be in the car this week.
#20- Ryan Truex may be seeing his last shot at a Full Time ride here. With the uncertainty at Michael Waltrip Racing, it would appear that no team has him in there future plans.
#32- Ron Hornaday's consultation prize of a ruined Camping World Title Run is apparently a one off run this week with Turner Motorsports.
#34- Ricky Carmichael will run a fifth Turner Motorsports Chevy this week. It's looking more and more that Turner will have a complete turnover of drivers with the exception of Justin Allgaier.
#80- 2011 NASCAR Canadian Series Champion, D J Kennington will drive a third MacDonald Motorsports team this week. MacDonald may try to expand out to two teams next year, and Sorenson, Kennington, Blake Koch and Donnie Neuenberger may be front runners for full time action with MacDonald next season.

Join us this Saturday for the second to last race of the 2011 Season. Tune into ESPN 2 at 3pm eastern for the live running of the WYPALL 200 from Phoenix! Enjoy!

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Comments

A couple of my own comments/questions

1) With Ron Hornaday losing his ride at the end of the season in Trucks, I wonder if Turner has thought about bringing him on board to run the #32 truck next season. If you think about it, his experience would help teammates Buescher and Carmichael tremendously, and Turner’s truck teams would be a force to be reckoned with all season.
2) With a good run, Truex could easily take the Rookie of the Year points lead away from Koch and Hill. Right now, he is only 4 points behind them with 16 starts. Since only your top 17 finishes count toward your rookie of the year standings, Truex will be gaining ground on both of them with this finish. If Truex is able to run Homestead as well, I think he has Rookie of the Year in the bag.
3) Why no start and park designation this week? I actually like that you began doing that :)
4) Can Jeff Green use the Past Champion’s Provisional this week and/or next? I thought I heard that Nationwide Series rules stated that you could only use a Past Champion’s Provisional once every certain number of races (think it’s six, but not sure), and this obviously differs from Cup, which just gives six provisionals to use throughout the year, and when you’re out, too bad, so sad. Which one is true, since if the first one is true, Green wouldn’t be able to use a PCP for the rest of the year since he used one last week.
5) I greatly appreciate the work you do putting these up, I always look forward to reading your thoughts on the matters of the Nationwide series. May next year see even less Cup winners than this year!

by UnderdogFan89 on Nov 9, 2011 9:03 PM EST reply actions

1) Hornaday would be a great get. No one knows Turner’s plans at this time.
2) You are right. TV and Media never really talk about the Rookie of the Year battle in Nationwide or Trucks. Cup is a joke this year.
3) I forgot to do it. I will have it again next week. Thanks for the feedback.
4) To the best of my knowledge, Green has only used one or two past champions provisionals this year. He should still be eligible.
5) Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoy my work. As long as I am asked back next year, I will accept. This was my first full year, and I’m still working on polishing my articles. Feedback is important to me. Thanks for reading.

Nationwide Writer for SBNation's Nascar Ranting & Raving (www.4ever3blog.com)
"A ringing single for David Eckstein who, in my view, is the perfect size for an American male." -Bob Costas
Now on Twitter: @RockstarTroy

by Troy J. on Nov 10, 2011 4:46 PM EST up reply actions

Who ya got winning the Nationwide Series Championship?

Something tells me Stenhouse, Jr. is going to mess up and Sadler is going to be there to capitalize on it.

"A Southern Belle is Country from her Southern Roots to her Cowboy Boots!"

by NASCARKrissy on Nov 10, 2011 8:31 PM EST reply actions

I've got to lean Stenhouse... barring mechanical trouble or any other issues.

@RealNolenBailey

by Hatfield on Nov 10, 2011 10:34 PM EST up reply actions

Something tells me his age will mess with him

and he’ll be unable to focus. Call me crazy. LOL

"A Southern Belle is Country from her Southern Roots to her Cowboy Boots!"

by NASCARKrissy on Nov 11, 2011 12:45 PM EST up reply actions

With Sadler's hot run

It may come down to just a few points. Sadler has the advantage, being a veteran driver, but Stenhouse has been very consistant. At this point, either one can win it.

by Troy J. on Nov 12, 2011 1:09 PM EST up reply actions