The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey

Bonjour, Montreal

It’s on to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the final road-course race of the season and the second-to-last stand-alone event of the year for the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Sunday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 is one of the most anticipated races of the series season for obvious reasons: Exciting racing on the historic 14-turn, 2.710-mile track on the unique, man-made Ile Notre-Dame, the tremendous fan turnout, the European feel of the Montreal and what the series has become famous for – racing in the rain.

Rain has been the headliner during the last two races there. The 2008 race was the first points race in NASCAR national series history in the rain. Last year, teams learned the nuances of preparing for and competing in the rain, then getting back to dry-condition racing during the same event.

The racing has been some of the best – and most bizarre – in each of the last three seasons. Kevin Harvick won the inaugural event in 2007, one in which Robby Gordon – who’s back this year for the first time since that event – thought he had won after he and Marcos Ambrose took turns spinning each other on the final lap. In 2008, Canadian Ron Fellows won the first “rain race.” Last year, Carl Edwards spoiled a dominating run by Ambrose, passing him on the final turn of the last lap to win. Ambrose has vowed to “Run this thing until I win it.” He’s led 124 of 199 total laps over the three races at Montreal but has yet to win.

This also is the road-course rubber match between Edwards and Ambrose this year. Both posted perfect 150.0 Driver Ratings in the previous two road courses this year – Edwards in his win at Road America and Ambrose with his victory at Watkins Glen.

Kyle Busch Basking In Spotlight, after Historical Weekend

His tripleheader sweep is barely in the rear-view mirror, but it’s now time for Kyle Busch to look ahead. Winning all three national series races this past week at Bristol only underscored what we already knew – Busch is a legitimate contender for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

When racing resumes next weekend at Atlanta, Busch will come in third in the series standings. Obviously a cinch to make the Chase, Busch also has 30 bonus points locked away to start the Chase.

Busch On A Roll; Next Up The Windy City
Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win last week at Bristol kicked off his weekend sweep – becoming the only driver in history to score a victory in all three national series in the same weekend. While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes its last open weekend of the season Busch will attempt to win his fourth national series race in a row at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch won last year’s inaugural EnjoyIllinois.com 225 and led the most laps. Four drivers (Todd Bodine, Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter and Aric Almirola) currently in the top-10 in the series standings finished in the top-10 last year at Chicago.

SHOW #124 – Tony Stewart and Brad Daugherty guest on this Paul-less episode. We recap the Kyle Busch weekend sweep at Bristol, preview Montreal and Chicagoland and more. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop (normally)

LISTEN HERE (About 45 mins)

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CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog

See the closing laps from Bristol Motor Speedway, where Kyle Busch becomes the only driver in Nascar history to sweep a weekend. Winning the Truck, Nationwide Series, and Cup Series races. He also moves up 5 spots in the point standings.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/nascar/.element/swf/2.2/sect/video/nascar_embed.swf?context=nascar_viral&videoId=cup/2010/08/21/cup_bri2_high_final.nascar

1 19 18 Kyle Busch Doublemint Toyota
2 5 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
3 7 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
4 24 33 Clint Bowyer Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
5 11 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
6 6 39 Ryan Newman Wix Filters Chevrolet
7 8 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
8 21 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
9 20 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite / Vortex Dodge
10 14 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
11 26 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
12 2 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
13 27 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet
14 28 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet
15 18 83 Reed Sorenson Red Bull Toyota
16 16 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
17 9 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
18 3 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
19 15 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge
20 22 47 Marcos Ambrose Bush’s / Kingsford Toyota
21 12 98 Paul Menard CertainTeed / Menards Ford
22 33 34 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver’s Ford
23 13 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST Auto Parts Chevrolet
24 31 26 Jeff Green Air Guard Ford
25 25 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
26 34 38 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
27 4 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet
28 39 37 Tony Raines A&W All American Food Ford
29 41 19 Elliott Sadler Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford
30 29 78 Regan Smith Farm American.com Chevrolet
31 10 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
32 38 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
33 23 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
34 17 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
35 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
36 40 7 Kevin Conway # SpeedFactory.TV Toyota
37 42 71 Landon Cassill TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
38 30 09 Bobby Labonte Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
39 43 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota
40 37 07 Robby Gordon SpeedFactory.TV Toyota
41 36 64 Todd Bodine Little Joe’s Autos Toyota
42 32 66 Scott Riggs PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43 35 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota