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| Stenhouse is gunning for a second NNS title... |
If that scenario sounds
familiar, it should. One year ago the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ended
with a tie in the points between Tony
Stewart and Carl Edwards. The
title was ultimately decided by a tiebreaker – most wins in the season – giving
five-time Sprint Cup Series victor Tony Stewart the championship.
This season’s Nationwide
title chase has potential for a similar outcome. Currently tied in points, Stenhouse
holds the tiebreaker with six victories to Sadler’s four. Two races remain,
Phoenix and Homestead, and it’s still anyone’s title.
Both championship contenders
have had outstanding seasons.
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| ...but Sadler has other ideas. |
Stenhouse has posted six
wins, along with 18 Top-5 and 24 Top-10 finishes, with four poles. His
season-to-date Driver Rating (110.0) leads the series and his Average Running
Position (8.854) is third best among all Nationwide Series drivers.
Sadler has posted four wins,
15 Top-5 and 23 Top-10 finishes, along with four poles. His 2012 Driver Rating
(108.9) is second only to Stenhouse and he leads all drivers with an Average
Running Position of 6.956.
At Phoenix International
Raceway, Stenhouse has a better average finish (6.6 in five starts) than Sadler
(15.4 in seven starts), but Sadler won on the newly reconfigured one-mile track
earlier this season. Stenhouse finished third, but failed to earn a bonus point
for leading a lap that day; something he will be anxious to avoid this time
around.
With the title chase so
close, bonus points could weigh heavily in the final two races. The most either
driver can earn in a single event is five points; one for leading a lap, one
for leading the most laps and three more for the win. Stenhouse has accumulated
37 bonus points this season, compared to Sadler’s 32.
The championship picture may
not be a two-man affair, either. Austin Dillon still hovers on the periphery of
the title chase, 21 points behind Stenhouse and Sadler and still mathematically
in contention for the title. Dillon will almost certainly need to capitalize on
mistakes by both Stenhouse and Sadler to claim the title, but the
third-generation driver is up for the challenge, and has the talent, equipment
and personnel to push the title chase to the very end.
Photos: LAT Photographic,
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