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Now that Danica is taking a NASCAR hiatus for a few months, can we please get back to talking about the actual competition in the Nationwide Series?

Three races into the season, the top ten in NNS points could be mistaken for the top ten in the Cup Series.  Seven of the top ten are Cup drivers, with only Justin Allgaier, Steve Wallace, and Scott Riggs representing the NNS only crowd.

Of the three, Allgaier looks to be strongest challenger to unseat a likely Cup-driving champion.  In three starts this season, he has one top five and three top ten finishes.  At Las Vegas, Allgaier looked to be a contender for the win before fading late and finishing seventh.  He certainly has the backing and the team to get it done, and the knowledge and experience from a solid rookie campaign could push him over the top.

There are also several intriguing new-comers to the series who could surprise and break through for wins.  James Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Colin Braun, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all could have a say before the season is over.  They all have the necessary talent and are all driving in equipment that has won in the recent past.  Three races in, Buescher, Bayne, and Scott are all inside the top 20 in points, while Braun and Stenhouse have struggled and will have to dig themselves out of a hole.

Of the three Nationwide only drivers in the top ten, I think the most interesting story is that of Scott Riggs.  He was tabbed to pilot the #09 Ford for RAB Racing only a few short weeks before Daytona.  Riggs filled the seat that was vacated when John Wes Townley left the team and took his family sponsor to Richard Childress Racing.  The RAB team is running without a major sponsor, yet has still found a way to be competitive against fully funded, Cup backed teams.  With a little help, this team could be a factor.

It seems unlikely that, with so many Cup drivers in every race, a young driver like Allgaier will be celebrating at Homestead.  Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard are all planning on running the full slate of Nationwide Series races.  But like they say, that’s why we run the races.

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I apologize for the delay in getting this post up.  We had some Internet connectivity issues last night that prevented me from posting.  Thanks!

There are some drivers out there, who no matter what they drive, always seem to not get enough racing.  A name that comes to mind is a guy like Ken Schrader.  He would race in the Cup Series on a Saturday night, fly somewhere and maybe race an ARCA race on Sunday, fly somewhere else and race a dirt latemodel race on Monday.  It doesn’t matter what it is, Schrader just wants to race.

We saw a few more examples of drivers like Schrader this weekend.  The 42nd Annual Snowball Derby took place at Five Flags Speedway down in Pensacola, FL.  The Derby is a four day long event which concludes with a 300 lap super latemodel race on Sunday that draws drivers and cars from all over.  This year’s entry list for the Sunday race was around 60 cars.

And if you watched any NASCAR coverage this year, you’ll recognize some of the entrants: Kyle Busch, Brian Ickler, David Stremme, Steve Wallace, Ryan Seig, Shane Sieg, Brian Scott, Cale Gale, and James Buescher.

The racing also featured some young up and comers like Johanna Long, Ross Kenseth, and Chase Elliott.

In the end, Kyle Busch triumphed for his first Snowball win, but from what I understand it wasn’t easy.  The entire field was only separated by a few tenths in qualifying and some bigger names, like James Buescher, went home.

With the NASCAR schedule being so grueling, from February to November, you’d think most drivers would want a break from being at the race track.  But not these guys.  Less then two weeks have passed since the end of the season, and these guys have already found their way to a race track.

Regardless of what you think of a driver, you almost have to automatically have respect for guys like this.  To them, it isn’t about the money, the big sponsors, or the TV time.  All they want to do is get in a car and go door to door with the best in the country.  It’s about the racing and being able to compete.

And I think, as long as there are always guys like this in the top tiers of NASCAR, the future will be very bright.

*For more coverage on the 42nd Snowball Derby, stop by Speed51.com