Trevor Bayne looks to take Nationwide lead in Fontana - MotorSportsTalk

A steady start for Trevor Bayne has him one point behind Regan Smith for the lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings, and he’s hoping to continue that consistency in tomorrow’s 300-miler for the NNS at Auto Club Speedway.

Bayne started the year with a third at Daytona, followed by another Top-5 at Phoenix and Top-10s at Las Vegas and Bristol. It’s led to a much closer fight for the top spot than at this time last year, which had Sam Hornish Jr. leading by 22 points over Justin Allgaier going into Fontana.

“Obviously, we want to contend for Top-5s every single weekend and I think we can do that,” Bayne said this morning at ACS. “The last race I ran here, last season, we ran Top-5 the majority of the day and got too loose at the end. Today, it is going to be all about making the right race adjustments as the track changes and being able to fire off quicker on restarts.

“I feel like that is where we struggled a little last year. Over the long run, we were pretty good. I think [crew chief] Chad Norris and I have a pretty good plan for this weekend.”

Smith has only collected two Top-10s in 14 career NASCAR national series starts at the two-mile oval, while Bayne’s best Nationwide finish there was a sixth back in 2011. However, both of them did log Top-10 runs last year in this event (Smith with a third, Bayne with a ninth).

Either way, they’ll both likely have to go through the Joe Gibbs Racing camp to contend for victory tomorrow. A Gibbs driver has won the last nine consecutive Nationwide races at ACS, and the team will have Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler going for a 10th trophy.

“They have been really fast and having the drivers that they do…They are able to bounce a lot of things off of each other,” Bayne said of the Gibbs teammates. “Normally, Kyle doesn’t need anyone to bounce it off of – he has just been fast on his own.

“We need to get our [Roush Fenway Racing] teammates up to speed a little and our car up to speed where we can try three different things in a weekend and figure out which package is going to be best and what direction we need to go. Hopefully, we are going to be able to do that.”

Last weekend at Bristol, Busch collected his second Nationwide win of the year and the 65th Nationwide win of his career.

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The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17^th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10^th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.

Falling out: Will Power (8), Felix Rosenqvist (9), Romain Grosjean (10)

PAST NBC SPORTS INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS

PRESEASON: Josef Newgarden is a favorite to win third championship

RACE 1: Pato O’Ward to first; Newgarden drops out after St. Pete

RACE 2: O’Ward stays firmly on top of standings after Texas

RACE 3: Marcus Ericsson leads powerhouses at the top

RACE 4: Grosjean, Palou flex in bids for first victory

RACE 5: Alex Palou carrying all the momentum into Indy 500