Kes (pictured) chose to stay on the track while the rest of the field took a pit stop with 57 laps to go at Charlotte. That decision, coupled with some excellent driving and a little bit of luck, was good enough to earn Keselowski his first Nationwide victory of the season. Denny Hamlin crossed the finish line .84 seconds after the leader, followed by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Best of the Rest Elliott Sadler was the first Nationwide points eligible driver, finishing in fifth place.

Sadler gained a full 21 points on leader and defending Nationwide Champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., whose day ended in a disappointing 26th place finish. Seventeen Nationwide drivers finished ahead of the normally consistent Stenhouse. The margins between drivers are such that there was very little movement in the top 10. Justin Algaier moved ahead of Michael Annett into a tie for fifth place with Cole Whitt. And Danica Patrick slid ahead of Joe Nemecheck by 2 points to take 9th place. Speaking of Ms. Patrick…

Danica Patrick Watch: Danica received her usual disproportionate press coverage as she yo-yoed from as high as second to as low as 28th en route to a respectable 13th place finish. That was 16 places and 43 laps ahead of Nemecheck and 13 places, 21 laps in front of Stenhouse.

Side Note: Am I the only one who’s fired up about the Hatfields and McCoys mini-series coming up on the History Channel?  I’ve already set my DVR. I guess race sponsorships really do pay off.

Up Next: This week is a bye week for the Nationwide series. In two weeks – it’s the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover International Speedway.

(U.S. Navy photo)

Only four Sprint Cup drivers showed up in Iowa, but they still managed to claim two of the top five spots and all four finished in the top 10. Sadler started on the pole but was quickly overtaken by Stenhouse.

Stenhouse extended his lead in the points standings over second place driver Sadler by nine points. There was no movement at all within the top 10 drivers in the points standings this week.

Danica Patrick Watch: Patrick had a rough night, and one really not of her own making. A blown tire pushed her into the wall and out of the race on lap 113. The bad day didn’t hurt her in the standings. She remains in 10th place, but is now just three points ahead of Tayler Malsam in 11th.

Up Next: The Nationwide Tour catches up with Big Brother Sprint Cup at Charlotte for the History 300 — sponsored by … History, I guess.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

Jimmie Johnson

Johnson was also the winner of the first segment of the race. Matt Kenseth won the second, Brad Keselowski the third, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. the fourth. All four segment winners placed in the top five overall. Kyle Busch, in third, completed the top five drivers. No Sprint Cup points are awarded for the All-Star Race so there were no changes in the standings. Johnson will have to console himself for the lack of points with the cool $1 million in prize money that he collected for the win.

Up Next: The race changes but the venue stays the same. This is the big one. 400 laps around Charlotte Motor Speedway. If it’s Memorial Day weekend then it must be the Coca-Cola 600! Sunday at 5:30PM.

*Hyperbole, not an actual mile.

(White House photo)

Jimmie Johnson

Johnson did some clever fuel-saving maneuvers, including shutting down to coast under yellow, in order to keep the #48 car running all the way to the end.  And it was running spectacularly well on the Green-White-Checkered restart to finish the race.  Johnson pulled away from the pack of NASCAR notables that included runners-up Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.

There was a little something extra in the win for Johnson.  It was his first this season.  It was his first in 16 races.  And it was the 200^th victory for Hendrick Motor Sports.  # 200 was a long time coming for Hendrick.  It seemed possible that the team could take so many of those 16 races (Johnson alone has finished 2^nd three times in that span) but the big 2-0-0 remained elusive.  Until now.

Johnson gained sixteen points on points leader Greg Biffle, who finished in 12^th.  That was good enough to move him up three spots into a tie for fifth with Truex.  Kevin Harvick fell three spots to eighth after a disappointing 16^th place finish.

Danica Patrick Watch: The Danica Patrick Watch slides over to the Sprint Cup this time.  Patrick finished the race and did so without ramming anyone.  All told, her 31^st place finish was respectable enough for a Nationwide rookie.

Up Next:  Two for One action!  The Sprint Showdown and the Sprint All-Star Race are coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway this Saturday night.

(White House photo)

But these are the things that happen in a sport that involves racing within inches of other cars at 200 mph. Sadler’s day ended early and Logano picked up his second consecutive Nationwide victory. Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski were runners-up. Sam Hornish Jr. came in fourth and was the Best of the Rest – the first Nationwide points-eligible driver to cross the finish line. Austin Dillon rounded out the top 5.

Sadler’s misfortune was points-leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s gain. Stenhouse’s sixth place finish, coupled with Sadler’s wreck, added 18 points to his lead which now stands at 23 points.

Danica Patrick Watch: Danica finished 12th and did so without any major incidents. Other than a few scrapes against the wall, there was nothing to report about Patrick this week. Of course, that didn’t stop the media from spending a disproportionate amount of time talking about a driver who finished in the middle of the pack.

Up Next: It’s a topsy-turvy world. This week’s Nationwide race, the Pioneer Hi-Bred 250, is the day AFTER the Sprint Cup races. It’s Sunday afternoon racing in Iowa!

No, Sunday belonged to Brad Keselowski, who held off Busch to take the checkered flag by three-tenths of a second. It was the first time in thirty-six years that a Dodge was the first car to cross the finish line at Talladega. Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top 5.

Keselowski joined Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin in the exclusive club of drivers with two victories this season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in ninth, making six consecutive top 10 finishes for him. It wasn’t enough for Junior to hold onto 2nd place in the standings, though. He dropped behind a surging Kenseth. Both drivers are within 9 points of leader Biffle.

It was a bad day for Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman, both of whom left the race early with similar mechanical problems. The DNF cost Johnson 2 spots (8th) and Newman 3 spots (13th). Other notable movers include Jeff Gordon, who fell six spots to 23rd after wrecking on lap 142.

Up Next: A Saturday night race. NASCAR moves to Darlington for the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

It’s good to have teammates, but in the end NASCAR racing is an individual sport. So it wasn’t surprising to see Joey Logano and Kyle Busch helping one another and then competing with each other, both on the final lap. Logano got the better of the deal, pushing Busch from behind and then using the infamous slingshot to make a well-timed pass to take the lead.

Best of the Rest honors go to new Nationwide points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished third. Cole Whitt and none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 5. Stenhouse now leads Elliott Sadler by 5 points in the standings. Whitt’s fourth place finish was good enough to push him into the top 5, displacing the household-name-that-is Michael Annett.

Danica Patrick watch: Danica Patrick had an eventful night. She finished 13th, which was good enough to move up one spot in the standings to 11th place. More interesting than anything that Patrick did during the race was her high-speed hissy fit after the crossed the finish line.

Patrick decided that the best way to avenge herself of a little bump from Sam Hornish earlier in the race was to ram his car from behind once the race was complete. Hornish blamed the bump on a flat tire; Patrick blamed Hornish.

The dark lining to the race was the lap 117 wreck and resulting injury to Eric McClure. McClure was airlifted to a local hospital. Reports are that he’s stable and alert, but being kept under observation and undergoing tests.

Next Up: The VFW Sports Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Friday night.

(National Guard photo)

It was the start of a very good weekend for the Busch Brothers and a poor one for Nationwide drivers who were swept out of the first three spots in the race by Busch, Hamlin, and fellow Sprint Cup driver Kevin Harvick. The Nationwide boys made good by seizing the next six in a row, led by Best of the Rest Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sam Hornish Jr, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Blaney, Michael Annett, and Austin Dillon were next. Sprint driver Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 10.

Sixth place was good enough for Sadler to retain his lead in the point standings, but Stenhouse continues to gain ground. The defending Nationwide Champion is now a mere 2 points behind the leader. There was very little movement in the standings after the Virginia 529 College Savings 250. The only shift within the top 10 was Justin Allgaier and Trevor Bayne swapping spots at 7th and 9th.

Danica Patrick Watch – Danica’s steady climb towards the top took a hit Friday night. She dropped one place to 12th. Patrick finished a dismal 21st place ahead of just 11 drivers who completed the entire race.

Next Up: Cinco de Mayo action abounds at the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega on May 5th.

Tony Stewart thought that he had the race wrapped up with 13 laps left to go, but a caution for debris – there seems to be some confusion as to just what, and how dangerous, that debris actually was – caused a run of yellow-flag pit stops. He lost the lead in the pits and fell to third on the restart. Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to slip in front of Stewart to claim second place.

Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 5. Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, and Brad Keselowski were next. Behind all of them, in tenth place, was Carl Edwards. Edwards was vocal during and after the race about a penalty that cost him the lead — or maybe only 2nd place, depending upon whom you ask – on an earlier restart. Edwards thought he was to line up in 1st, NASCAR disagreed, and out came the black flag.

It was a confusing night on the track and it had significant repercussions in the standings. Junior and Hamlin both moved up two spots, vaulting past Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. Greg Biffle maintains his lead in the standings, but he’s now just five points ahead of Junior and there are three drivers within 10 points of him. For his victory, Busch moved up two spots to 11th.

Next Up: Talladega! The Aaron’s 499 (a race that is 99 miles longer but whose name is seven words shorter than this week’s Capital City 400 Presented By Virginia Is For Lovers ) is Sunday at noon. It’s Talladega, baby!

(Photo [Miss Sprint Cup Amanda Wright]: NASA)

(National Guard photo)