On Saturday, July 14, 2012, the NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers were at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the F.W. Webb 200. Sprint Cup regular Brad Keselowski had gotten the pole position for the race and managed to put up a dominating performance. Though Kevin Harvick had a good day until late in the race, it was Keselowski who got the win. Harvick was upset that he had been blocked from passing by Amber Cope, who is a driver with less experience. Harvick wound up finishing second. Harvick is a Sprint Cup regular like Keselowski. Austin Dillon finished third, Sam Hornish Jr. took fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took fifth. Dillon, Hornish and Stenhouse are all regulars with the Nationwide Series.
This was the first race in the Dash 4 Cash competition. For four races, four drivers will compete for a $100,000 prize and a slot in the next competition. The top driver could earn up to $1 million. This time, it was Austin Dillon who beat out Michael Annett, Elliott Sadler and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the prize by finishing third. Dillon will be in the next round. It has not been announced who he will be competing against yet, but Dillon will likely be a tough driver to beat. The next round will be on July 22 in the STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.
I always think it is odd that so many NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers participate in the Nationwide Series races. Although it is allowed and gives those drivers some extra cash when they finish well, it is disappointing that the drivers are so dominating in the series. The rules had been changed not too long ago to prohibit drivers from participating in the points standings of multiple series. Hopefully, soon further limitations will be put into place so that some of the drivers who are not in the Sprint Cup Series can win or do well on a consistent basis. It has gotten to the point where it is almost like watching two Sprint Cup races each week. It would be cool to see a race without those drivers to see how the Nationwide drivers would perform against each other.
Kristin Watt has been a NASCAR Winston Cup, now Sprint Cup, fan for as long as she can remember starting way back when she was a little girl and her mother would sit on the couch with her every Sunday during the season to watch the races. Back then, they were fans of Bill Elliott and newcomer Davey Allison.
