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| BUSCH: Series Regulars Proving Their Mettle In Top 10
09-13-2007 | TruckSeries.com Report
With seven races remaining in the 2007 season, half of the drivers ranked in the top 10 in points are of the "single duty" variety - driving exclusively full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series. As the series enjoys its third open week of the season, here's a rundown on those "fierce five" who have put series regulars back on the map: Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota) currently sits fourth place, the highest of any series regular. He's on a quest to finish in the top three in the standings and is just 93 points behind two-time and reigning series champion Kevin Harvick and David Reutimann (No. 99 Aarons Sales & Lease Toyota), who are tied for second with 3,265 points. Leffler has two poles, six top fives and nine top 10s to go along with his historic victory at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indisnapolis, the first series win for Toyota. He heads into the open week coming off an 11th-place finish at Richmond International Raceway and has the momentum to duplicate his efforts last year at Dover Internatinonal Raceway where he posted a top-five finish. Bobby Hamilton Jr. (No. 35 McDonald's Ford) is sixth in the rankings and is arguably one of the most surprising of the five to be in the top 10, coming back to the series after a two-year layoff. He's 102 points behind fifth-place David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford). Hamilton hasn't been flashy but he has been consistent, registering only two top 10s but 15 top-20 finishes. Hamilton had another top-20 at Richmond and hopes to keep the consistency going at Dover next week, where he has finished in the top 10 five times. Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford) is the rookie of the group and holds down the seventh spot. But he's hardly competing like this is his first season. Ambrose has four top-10 finishes and was within a Robby Gordon spin of winning at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last month. He currently sits second in the rookie standings and was the highest-finishing rookie at Richmond (15th). Ambrose has been to Dover only once in his series career and finished sixth - his best finish of the season overall - last June. Stephen Leicht (No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford) currently is eighth in the standings. Leicht is competing in his first full-time NASCAR Busch Series season and is making the most of it, posting two top fives, five top 10s and his first career win last June at Kentucky Speedway. Leicht was 20th at Richmond and returns to Dover looking to improve on his previous finishes there - 23rd and 34th - the past two seasons in this event, respectively. Mike Wallace (No. 7 Geico Chevrolet) is in his 18th year in the NASCAR Busch Series and his 10th-place standing in the rankings at this stage of the season is a career-best. The consistent veteran has collected 10 top-20 finishes this year and after a disappointing finish of 31st at Richmond, is looking forward to this trip to "The Monster Mile" where he has posted seven top-10 finishes including a win in 1994. SOURCE: NASCAR Communications
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