NNS: NAPA AUTO PARTS 200 presented by Dodge

MONTREAL -In the distant echoes of his father’s victory decades before and on the track that bears his name; Jacque Villeneuve, in the factory-backed liveried Challenger, running on empty, a road course ringer, a mercenary; who drove the whole race like a man possessed by the devil; perhaps found himself, a Green-White-Chequered too far… Justin Allgaier in the Brandt Chevy Impala stated in victory lane; “God is great”.

The NASCAR Nationwide series road course double-header conclusion lived up to its own past, bringing fans an action packed finish that threw up two G-W-C cycles. Fuel economy became of chief importance as teams on two-stop strategies attempted to stretch their Sunoco reserves until the finish line.

There was some tension in the build-up to this race as Jacque Villeneuve appeared to have taken out competitor Danica Patrick at their previous road course meeting earlier in the season, which severely affected her scoring capability. This issue was further compounded by the fact that Villeneuve and Patrick qualified next to each other on the grid. However, they made it through turn 1 without incident and had no major contact throughout the race. Villeneuve, did however, live up to his reputation; when he dumped Alex Tagliani in return for some aggressive driving he performed off a previous restart that gained him the lead,  Tagliani finished 22nd. Mechanical issues brought about by Patrick running over a shoe that was thrown onto the track, saw her fall out of contention; adding to the recent run of bad luck she's had this season. She finished 27^th and Villeneuve 3^rd.

Sam Hornish Jr. finished a respectable 2nd place, though he was disappointed as he felt the Alliance Insurance Penske Dodge Challenger was good for a race victory. Hornish also races for Penske at the cup level, since A. J. Allmendinger was suspended for testing positive for an illicit substance –Adderall. Whether Hornish will remain in that seat next season, is still unconfirmed.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. continues to rapidly improve his road course craft, with the help of Ford at Roush-Fenway Racing; nearly finishing second before an unforced error caused him to spin while chasing down Villeneuve in the closing stages of the race. He eventually finished 12^th. His mentor Billy Johnson finished 8^th after showing signs of a possible 2^nd place or better, during the closing stages.

The fierce road course racer, Kyle Busch’s first owner/driver victory eluded him again, finishing 10^th. Ron Fellows was unable to become the first-time repeat winner, finishing 5^th. Elliot Saddler finished 4^th. Austin Dillion, 9^th.

The next race will be the Food City 250 at the Bristol speedway on August 18.