The best drivers in recent history at Richmond’s second race in September range from Kurt Busch in a Dodge to Denny Hamlin, the first winner of the Saturday night race in a Toyota. In recent history, Chevy has won three of the last four races with Jimmie Johnson winning twice and Kevin Harvick winning once in the second Richmond race.

The drivers that win this race have been drivers that are not afraid of setting their cars up loose and on the edge of out of control. The favorites to win this race will cover the spectrum of car makes and the best NASCAR wheel men.

Two Ford drivers, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards should be favorites in this race along with their teammate Matt Kenseth, a former Richmond winner. The Roush Fenway team has done well since Michigan and this could be a strong statement heading into the final ten races of the NASCAR Chase. The online NASCAR betting odds are sure get more interesting.

The Chevy drivers will also be a threat in this race with points leader Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon who will be looking to get on track for the beginning of the NASCAR Chase. Harvick has won on drivers tracks this season and Richmond is a track that suits his style.

At Nashville Superspeedway, Bodine dominated Saturday night, leading 91 laps and earning his second victory of the season at the Nashville 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Bodine led the last 88 laps. Over Aric Almirola, Bodine extended his series lead to 174 points.
Bodine said, “We did [it] in the style of Germain Racing and just stomped them. We’ve just got to go out and keep doing what we’re doing. We don’t [need] to worry about everybody else and we’ll be just fine. We just can’t make mistakes and put ourselves in a hole.”
The grandson of car owner Richard Childress, Rookie Austin Dillon finished second. Almirola followed him.

Almirola said, “We’ve never, ever really been good here. This is not one of my favorite racetracks. To come out of here with a third-place finish was a good night for us.”

Timothy Peters came in fourth, even though he led 57 laps early. Unfortunately, his he faced some trouble with a tire after a pit stop.

When Mario Gosselin was spun by Joe Aramendia along the front stretch on lap 66, the third caution of the race triggered tempers. Gosselin was forced out of the race, as he had hit the wall. Gosselin picked up what looked to be a brake hose laying on the track, after getting out of his truck and threw it at Aramendia’s truck as it passed, just missing the roof.

It is not important to be fast at Bristol, it is important know where to pick up the throttle and where to let off the throttle. Johnson finally figured it out this year and he will be dangerous for the Irwin Tools Night Race. Johnson’s teammates Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have all performed well on the Bristol half mile, although Dale Jr. finished seventh in the spring race he turned in one of his best performances.

Another driver that is a regular in the top five at Bristol is Kurt Busch. Busch is a consummate short track racer and he has a handle on Bristol. Busch has five wins under his belt on the concrete half mile and if he qualifies well, it will be hard to stop him.

The Roush Fenway cars performed well on the Bristol half mile in the spring race and if they all have the new Ford FR-9 engines for the Irwin Tools Night Race Night, they could use Bristol to rebound from a rough season. Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards do well on this track every year and they should be up front most of the race. There is no clear favorite for NASCAR betting odds this year but the race is certainly be a treat to watch.

As per the sources, on Wednesday, Labonte and JTG Daugherty officials plan to meet to sew up any loose ends on the contract. The organization that gets engines and chassis from Michael Waltrip Racing in Harrisburg, Ambrose announced that he was leaving the same. The two parties mutually agreed to part, although he had one year left on his contract.

Richard Petty Motorsports has been speculated as the organization that Ambrose will move to, although no deal has been finalized. In the No. 47, Ambrose will complete this season.

The 2000-Cup champion at Joe Gibbs Racing, Labonte started the season with TRG Motorsports. When the team was placed in the position of start-and-park, he left the team in June. All of this happened due to lack of sponsorship funds.

For Robby Gordon Motorsports, he has driven one race, three for Phoenix Racing, over the last month. This weekend at Pocono Raceway, he will be in the TRG car. At JGR, since 2003, Labonte has not had a victory.

JTG Daugherty co-owner Tad Geschickter was disappointed to see Ambrose leave the organization.

Ambrose said, “After five years, I personally felt it was time for a change. I’m grateful to JTG Daugherty Racing for giving me an opportunity to become a NASCAR driver and I wish them the best in the future.”

The August 15th race will be the 2nd time NASCAR has traveled to Michigan this year. In June, Denny Hamlin picked up the win and Kasey Kahne finished 2nd. One of the most important things to figure out at Michigan is how to go fast and conserve gas at the same time. Since the track at Michigan is so wide, cautions are sometimes rare, so the races often come down to gas mileage.

Sports betting star, Denny Hamlin always runs well at Michigan, picking up five top tens in nine starts. Kasey Kahne always runs well at Michigan, too, having compiled six top fives in 13 starts. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kevin Harvick, who has been near the top of the points standings all year, has only managed six top tens in 19 starts.

When tuning into a race at Michigan, the only guarantee is that the racing will be fast and exciting. NASCAR is intense, and Michigan is one of the fastest tracks on the entire circuit. The track is wide enough to support great racing, and typically provides just that. Tune in on August 15th to see who takes home checkered flag.

In the series this season, at Bristol in March, Justin Allgaier, and Penske driver is the only Nationwide regular to win a race. In the Sprint Cup standings, Carl Edwards is 10th and in the Nationwide points, he is second behind Brad Keselowski.

Edwards in the Cup series, now considers he a Nationwide driver and he is going for sponsorship deals. He was driving in the truck series, where he began running Nationwide races.

Edwards said, “I hope NASCAR recognizes that all of us are racers, and no matter where you come from this is its own series.”

The suggestion, which limits the practice time for Cup drivers on tracks used by both series, is supported by Edwards.

He said, “Hopefully I can still race for a championship, because that’s what I want to do next year.”

After Edwards prevailed at what he considers his home track, there was no looking back for him.

In the Nationwide series, there are 16 races remaining. In four of them, Edwards is the defending champion. In the series, Keselowski has three wins and he is defending champion at four remaining stops. At three races, Kyle Busch is defending champion.

Rookie Brian Scott appreciated being schooled by Kevin Harvick and Keselowski. In the nationwide race last week, Scott finished sixth.

Scott said, “I’m glad the Cup guys come down and race with us, because they’ve sure taught me a lot. I think it’s starting to pay off a lot now.”

Elliott Sadler declared himself a free agent and said he did not expect to return to the organization. On resigning Elliott Sadler, Loomis also did not close the door on him.

Loomis said, “We have interest [in Sadler], Elliott is among three or four drivers who is on the table we’re looking at. The bottom line is, I always say this, we’re in the performing business and when you’re performing it’s easier for everything.”

Loomis hopes the addition of crew chief Todd Parrott can turn the No. 19 team around, although in points Sadler ranks 28th.

Loomis added, “I don’t think the door is closed by any means, Elliott is a talented racecar driver. For whatever reason we haven’t been able to put together the finishes we need. There’s been a lot of changes we’ve made over the years, even before I got there. We really felt like putting Todd in there is going to be the real measuring stick with where we’re at with that race team.”

Loomis expects Allmendinger to be the anchor of the organization with Kasey Kahne headed to Hendrick Motorsports and to return to the famed No. 43, even though Allmendinger is talking to several other teams. In points, Allmendinger is 22nd and he had six straight finishes of 14th or better before last week’s 36th-place finish at Daytona.

When asked about Allmendinger’s contract negotiations, Loomis said, “We know where we’re at. We just need to get our I’s dotted and T’s crossed. We’re confident as ever in the things we’re doing. There’s no question in my mind we’re going to be a solid race team next year with three or four solid drivers capable of putting numbers up.”

Patrick will have a hard time making the most of her talent in NASCAR without making a commitment to the sport, said Busch, the 2004 champion in NASCAR’s top series.

“Right now, she’s very limited because she’s still committed to the IRL schedule. This is just a work in progress. We’ll have to wait and see the final product when she decides what road she’s going to go down,” said, Busch.

At Chicagoland Speedway, in Friday night’s Nationwide series race, racer Patrick does not necessarily disagree.

She said, “If you want to be really good at anything you have to obviously centralize your focus, but at this point in time, I have a tremendous amount to learn. Even if it was full-time, would it be going better? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be some big, dramatic — I don’t think — difference.”

Of racing part-time in NASCAR, Patrick does not expect to deviate from her plan, while also running a full IndyCar schedule anytime soon.

Patrick said, “We’re going to do the schedule like this for this year and next year, and then we’ll sort of assess where we’re at and what we want to do in the future”.

In her first four Nationwide races this season, she has struggled, finishing no better than 30th which make for an interesting auto racing bet.

In NASCAR down the road, Busch said he expects Patrick to go full-time, joking that such an announcement might be NASCAR’s answer to the LeBron James free-agent free-for-all.

Busch said, “She’ll probably have a one-hour ESPN prime-time special when she wants to announce it,”

From the seven-time NASCAR champion, Allmendinger pulled away, turned his back on his boss and then stormed away from The King. The executive vice president of Richard Petty Motorsports said his driver was merely frustrated by having a strong car and a poor finish, though Allmendinger declined to talk to reporters.

Petty VP Robbie Loomis said, “I always say the car owner shouldn’t talk to the driver anytime after the race, especially after an accident. I think Richard’s been here so many times, he’s been through this stuff and he was just trying to get him to loosen up and let the boys do their stuff on fixing the car and getting back out there. Anytime you talk to somebody at the wrong time, it always causes discussion that needs to be worked out. That’s all that happened.”

When Loomis got to the garage a few minutes after the incident, Allmendinger was still hot. Into the 400-mile race, the incident happened in 66 laps.

“He’s a hard-charging competitor and he’s as passionate as anybody out there, unfortunately, two Daytona races with great cars and we haven’t been able to bring the finish home,” said Loomis.

In February, at Daytona International Speedway, Allmendinger led seven laps, but finished 32nd after brushing fenders with four-time series champion Jeff Gordon.

This time, to avoid hitting Kyle Busch and spun into the infield, Allmendinger swerved. Early in the race, Busch overcame a loose wheel, later wrecked when he turned into Juan Pablo Montoya. Of the race, his accident set off the loudest ovation.

“I didn’t turn right to wreck myself. Why would I do that? That’s dumb. We had the fastest car out there. Another year here in Daytona being the fastest car,” said Busch.

Allmendinger, after his 36th-place finish, may have felt the same way.

Loomis said, “We’ll be back, it’s unfortunate for AJ. He’s such a fierce competitor. I can’t describe how bad that guy wants to win and he will win. It’s just a matter of when”.

Before NASCAR unveils next year’s schedule, ISC spokesman Lenny Santiago said he expects an answer later this summer. About details of the petition, Santiago declined to talk, which includes a potential date and likely eliminates a race at another ISC track.

“We’re hopeful, we’ve been working with NASCAR and recently made our formal request to them. We’re not discussing the details of where the date may come from or anything like that, but we have made the request and we’ll wait for their decision”, said Santiago at Daytona International Speedway.

To get a second race, Santiago believes Kansas is a strong candidate because of the track’s history of well-attended events and the construction of a $521 million hotel and casino overlooking turn two. For Sprint, NASCAR’s primary sponsor it will be an added benefit as it is headquartered in Overland Park, Kan.

“It’s a great facility and a great market, It’s an important market for our sponsors and our drivers, and the fact that Sprint is headquartered there is one of the key reasons “, he said.

If NASCAR grants Kansas another race, it is unclear how the Cup schedule would shake out, but aspects of the proposal seem obvious. The date probably would not be in February or March, considering potential weather issues. A second date would need to be early in the season, probably in April, since the speedway’s current race happens in early October.

“We think Kansas City is a great market, a great market for sponsors and for drivers and teams and fans who love the race that they have now, that area has become a true vacation destination. We think the addition of the casino will continue to draw more people and be able to support two full Cup weekends”, said Santiago.