The battle in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings has been back and forth between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Elliott Sadler this season. The two drivers have switched the points lead five times.
Sadler says it would be better if they switched for a “sixth time.”
Stenhouse Jr is going into Championship weekend at Homestead with a 20 point lead over Sadler and has all but clinched the title. The green flag for the Ford EcoBoost 300 is set to wave at 4:45p.m Saturday. It will be the last time a driver will visit victory lane as apart of the 2012 NNS season.
Stenhouse said the team set goals for this season and wanted to win 6-10 races. Although they are on the low end of the goal, with 6 wins – he says, “We ran better [than last season], we scored more points [than last year].” and that its a “testament to how well Elliott has run [this year].” and that a second championship would be huge for the No.6 Roush Fenway team.
Stenhouse said that Homestead-Miami is his favorite track and that he, “Can’t think of a better place to finish the season.”
Sadler admitted he made a mistake last weekend at Phoenix, but remains optimistic about his chances at the championship, “I made a mistake, put our team in a hole. [but] 20 points is not undo-able.” he said.
“I’m not not disappointed in the season, [we] won some races, [we] won some poles, definitely been in contention. We have one more race to finish it off. ”
Rookie, Austin Dillion sits 25 points out of the points lead and has won two NNS races this year, “It’s been a good rookie year. You want to set your goals high, and coming to Homestead with a championship shot [means] we accomplished [just] that”
Dillion’s take on his chances at the championship? “I hope it gets nasty on Saturday personally. I hope they door slam each other off of Turn 4 and I make it through the smoke.” he joked.
Qualifying for the NNS race will be at 11:35a.m Saturday morning.
