Nationwide Series Director: Townley Could Win This Year

Nationwide Series director Joe Balash was a guest on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online chat on Wednesday, and came up with a surprising name when he listed the drivers who could win a race this season.

Asked by a reader which non-Cup drivers could win, Balash responded with the following (Note: Spelling left as is):

Q: Todd, Greendale – OK, so Allgaier won Bristol … But how many races do you think will be won this year by non-Cup guys (and who)?

A: Joe Balash – I think the competitive balance is very good at the start of the season. We have a number of drivers that could win races this year. The list is long so let me give it a shot. Justin could win more, Steve Wallace, Mike Wallace is coming on this year, Jason Leffler has a shot at a number of tracks, James Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, John Wes Townley ran very strong at Bristol and never count out Kelly Bires in the Jr Motorsports cars. As well as Ricky Stenhouse, he has been involved in some stuff on the tracks in our first events but he is in equipment that can win and has the tallant to do it. The Nationwide Series if strong with tallant this year.

So there you have it, folks. We could be seeing Chicken Man in victory lane sometime soon. To see the rest of Balash's chat, click here.< /p>

By the way, Townley leads Danica Patrick 3-0 in “The Bet." Danica returns to NASCAR in June.