2010 Bucyrus 200

The 2010 Bucyrus 200 presented by Menards was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held on June 19, 2010, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race was the 15th race of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series. The race was also the inaugural iteration of the event. It was also the first NASCAR race to be run at Road America since the then Grand National Series in 1956. Carl Edwards dominated the race by winning the pole, leading the most laps, and winning the race.

Background
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IndyCar Series, SCCA Pirelli World Challenge, ASRA, AMA Superbike series, and SCCA Pro Racing's Trans-Am Series.

Entry List

 * (R) denotes rookie driver

Qualifying
Carl Edwards won the pole with a time of 2:14.838 and a speed of 108.076.

* – Michael Annett was sent to the rear of the field for improper impound adjustments.

Race
Pole sitter Carl Edwards led the first lap of the race. The first caution did not take long as it flew on lap 2 when Justin Allgaier's car stalled in turn 5 after the driveshaft broke after his car went onto the rumble strips. During the caution, Eric McClure was taken out of his car and replaced by Chris Cook, who has been a veteran at Road Courses, after McClure had surgery earlier in the week. The race restarted on lap 5 with Edwards remaining as the leader. On the same lap in turn 6, Brendan Gaughan's car spun and kept his car rolling so no caution was thrown. On lap 6, Tim George Jr's car spun in turn 3. No caution was thrown as he got his car going. On lap 12, the second caution flew when Antonio Pérez's engine blew and laid fluid on the track which caused Chris Cook to spin in turn 14. Carl Edwards won the race off of pit road but Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss, and Morgan Shepherd did not pit, but Shepherd went to pit before the green flag dropped, while Brendan Gaughan had already pitted when the caution flew and Leffler led the field to the restart on lap 15. On the restart, Carl Edwards immeadietly challenged Jason Leffler for the lead and took the lead in turn 5. On lap 22, J. R. Fitzpatrick spun in turn 1 after what appeared to be contact with Jason Leffler. Fitzpatrick got his car rolling and no caution was thrown but he had damage to the right rear of his car.

Final laps
With 24 laps to go, the third caution flew when Colin Braun spun in turn 1. Edwards won the race off of pit road but Patrick Long, Steve Wallace, and Victor Gonzalez Jr. did not pit and Long led the field to the restart with 21 laps to go. On the restart, a big wreck would occur in turn 6 taking out 9 cars. It started when Brian Scott got turned by Brendan Gaughan and cause a stack up that collected Stanton Barrett, Kyle Kelley, Mike Bliss, Colin Braun, Tony Raines, Robb Brent, Alex Kennedy, and Jason Leffler. During the caution, Patrick Long went onto pit road and gave the lead to Carl Edwards. A red flag occurred for the pile up in turn 6. The red flag lasted for about 30 minutes before it was lifted. As the red flag was lifted, some cars like Edwards went onto pit road while others like Brad Coleman stayed out and Coleman was the new leader. Coleman was looking for his first NASCAR win of his career in his 54th Nationwide Series start. The race restarted with 17 laps to go. With 16 laps to go, Michael McDowell's engine let go. No fluid was laid onto the track. With 14 to go, the 5th caution flew when Ron Hornaday and Tim George Jr. crashed in turn 3. The race would restart with 12 laps to go. But on the restart, Brad Keselowski bumped Brad Coleman in turn 1 and it sent Coleman up the track. Coleman would lose the lead and many positions as he fell back to the outside of the top 10. Keselowski and Brendan Gaughan fought for the lead. Gaughan took the lead but pushed himself up the track in turn 5 and Jacques Villeneuve took the lead. Villeneuve was also looking for his first NASCAR win. But the 6th caution would fly during the same lap when Alex Kennedy and Mike Bliss crashed in turn 12. The race would restart with 9 laps to go. On the restart, Carl Edwards took the lead from Jacques Villeneuve. In turn 12 on the same lap, Patrick Long spun after contact with J. R. Fitzpatrick and Brad Keselowski. He got his car rolling and no caution was thrown. With 8 to go, two cars spun in different turns. Victor Gonzalez Jr. and Brian Scott spun in turns 5 and 8 after Gonzalez had contact with Paul Menard and Scott spun after he had contact with Colin Braun. No caution was thrown as they got going again. With 6 to go, the 7th and final caution flew when Stanton Barrett spun in turn 6. The race restarted with 3 laps to go. On the same lap, Mike Wallace and Victor Gonzalez Jr. spun in turns 6 and 12 but no caution was thrown. On the final lap, Tony Ave spun in turn 5. No caution flew. Carl Edwards held off everybody as Villeneuve fell back and Edwards was the first Nationwide Series winner at Road America. This would be Edwards' first of four wins in 2010 but was not enough to win the Championship as he finished 2nd to Brad Keselowski. Ron Fellows, Brendan Gaughan, Brad Keselowski, and Owen Kelly rounded out the top 5 while Brad Coleman, J. R. Fitzpatrick, Jason Leffler, Steve Wallace, and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top 10.