Busch Wins Camping World RV Service 300

Kyle Busch continued his NASCAR dominance, leading all but six laps at Auto Club Speedway to win the Camping World RV Service 300 under caution when Josh Wise wrecked on the white-flag lap.

The victory is Busch’s seventh on the season, and the 18th in his career. He also has 18 wins in all three of NASCAR’s top series.

Top 5: Busch, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, and Jamie McMurray.

Rounding out the top 10 were Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann, David Ragan, and David Stremme.

Notables: Kevin Harvick (11th), Marcos Ambrose (15th), Jimmie Johnson (17th), Steve Wallace (20th), and Brad Keselowski (33rd).

Shortly after earning the Lucky Dog, Brad Keselowski’s No. 88 Navy Chevy lost power, and coasted into the pits. The engine didn’t blow up, it just shut off. He wound up 33rd.

Carpentier Looking For A Ride

A NASCAR blog for the North Carolina’s Winston-Salem Journal is reporting that with Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ hiring of Reed Sorenson, Patrick Carpentier seems to be the odd man out.

It doesn’t sound like the Canadian driver has officially been given his notice, but from his comments, it doesn’t seem good:

It’s over. They’ve hired Reed Sorenson for next year, so it’s over. They’re working on a fourth team and looking for sponsorship, but you know how that goes.

As a result, the former open-wheel racer appears to be looking for a ride for 2009.

Rumor has it that GEM is looking to sign the U.S. Army as a sponsor. If that happens, the Army would want an American driver, not a Canadian.

I think that Carpentier should look for something in the Nationwide Series. Learn a little bit more about the cars, and gain experience at the series’ tracks before attempting to make a return to Sprint Cup. Maybe getting back to the basics is just what he needs to have success in NASCAR.

New Format For The Budweiser Shootout

NASCAR’s pre-season showcase from Daytona International Speedway that featured the previous Sprint Cup season’s pole winners and past winners of the shootout has seen its eligibility requirements change starting next season.

The Budweiser Shootout will now feature the top six teams from each manufacturer in the final owner points. The move seems to be designed to put the emphasis on the manufacturers.

The race distance will also be increased from 70 laps to 75 laps. There will be two segments of 25 and 50 laps, with yellow flag laps included. There will also be a 10 minute break between the segments.

From a logical perspective, the reason for the change does make sense, though. After all, Budweiser used to sponsor the pole award, so there was a link. But, with Coors now sponsoring the pole, the two are no longer connected, and probably shouldn’t be linked.

Sorenson To GEM In 2009

Gillett Evernham Motorsports has announced that Reed Sorenson has signed a multi-year contract to drive for the team next season.

GEM said that a sponsor and number announcement would be coming soon. No word on plans for Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 41 Target Dodge, currently driven by Sorenson. Also, no word on what will happen to Patrick Carpentier, driver of GEM’s No. 10 Dodge.

Sorenson will become a teammate to Kasey Kahne and Elliott Salder.

GEM’s CEO Tom Reddin said:

[Sorenson] is a highly marketable young driver who knows how to win races, and has a long career full of promise ahead of him.

Chip Ganassi said:

After much internal discussion over the last few months we agreed that parting ways with Reed was the right decision for all of us. The business side of sports is never easy and this was just a business decision that was made on both our parts. We wish Reed nothing but the best.

Hopefully this will be a positive change for Sorenson, who reportedly lost favor with the team after missing a sponsorship appearance. Some also questioned his dedication.

Moving over to GEM can be a fresh start for Sorenson, who drove for CGRWFS his entire Sprint Cup career.

Some have question Ganassi’s dedication to his NASCAR program, as his attention sometimes seems to be more focused on his Indy Racing League team.

Perhaps an owner who is focused on Cup may be better for Sorenson.

Logano To Drive JGR’s No. 20

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Joey Logano will be the driver of its No. 20 Home Depot Toyota next season, replacing Tony Stewart, who left the ride to start his own team, Stewart Haas Racing.

Greg Zipadelli, current crew chief of the No. 20, will be Logano’s crew chief next season.

The team also announced that Logano will make his Sprint Cup debut at Richmond International Raceway in September driving the No. 02 Home Depot car.

Logano may also make a few starts in Hall of Fame Racing’s No. 96 before season’s end.

Logano made his Nationwide series debut earlier this season and posted his first victory in only his third start.