This Week in Auto Racing April 10 - 12

This Week in Auto Racing April 10 - 12
Tue 7th, April 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - While the Sprint Cup Series takes a break for the second time this season, the Nationwide Series takes center stage in NASCAR this Easter weekend as they head to "Music City USA" for 300 miles of racing at Nashville Superspeedway.

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series 300 - Nashville Superspeedway - Lebanon, TN

The Nationwide Series is the sole NASCAR national series in action this week with a Saturday afternoon date at the 1.333-mile, concrete-surfaced Nashville Superspeedway. The "stand-alone" season in the series also begins, as Nashville is the first of nine such races on the 2009 schedule.

This race, however, brings something new to the table. It's Nationwide's inaugural "Dash 4 Cash" event where eligible drivers - full-time series regulars and part-time/limited series-only regulars - will collect a $25,000 bonus if they win. Kentucky Speedway (June), Iowa Speedway (August) and Memphis Motorsports Park (October) are the other tracks on the insurance company's bonus program this year.

Five Sprint Cup regulars - Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, David Ragan and Michael Waltrip - are spending their off-weekend at Nashville. Busch and Edwards are full-time Nationwide competitors this season.

Edwards is currently atop the point standings, but his lead has been trimmed to 38 after a disappointing 18th-place finish last Saturday at Texas. Edwards was running among the top-five in the final laps, but Logano made contact with the Roush Fenway Racing driver and put him into the wall.

"(Logano) just came across my nose and pushed me into the wall," Edwards said. "We just didn't have a car that could win the race, but it was a top-five car. We definitely shouldn't have ended up in the wall. We'll be alright and head to Nashville and build our lead there."

Edwards earned the nickname "Concrete Carl" after winning six times on concrete-surfaced tracks (Dover International Speedway and Nashville). He won three in a row at Nashville from 2006-07.

After winning at Texas, Busch moved up to second in points. Nashville has been somewhat of an Achilles' heal for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. One year ago, he led a race-high 125 laps, but spun on lap 162, which put him out of contention for the win. He ended up finishing 16th. Busch finished sixth in his first race at Nashville in 2004, but has placed outside the top-10 in his last five races there.

Scott Wimmer is the defending race champion. Wimmer conserved enough fuel to take the checkered flag and snap a 58-race winless streak. His last victory came in July 2003 at Pikes Peak, CO. Wimmer ran a limited schedule for Richard Childress Racing in the No.29 Chevrolet in 2008, but Childress released him from his driving duties at season's end. He landed a ride with Key Motorsports in the No.40 Chevy. The team failed to qualify at Texas.

After a sluggish start this season, pre-season title favorite Brad Keselowski is staging a comeback in the point standings. Keselowski finished a season- best third at Texas and moved from 15th to seventh in points (-231). He had to start from the rear of the field in a backup car after damaging his primary vehicle in a wreck during qualifying at Texas.

Keselowski is the most recent winner at Nashville, where he scored his first career Nationwide victory in June.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is expected to make his first career Nationwide start in the No.16 Ford for Roush. Stenhouse finished fourth in the 2008 ARCA/REMAX Series point standings with two wins and 14 top-10 finishes. He is slated for five more races with Roush this year.

"I'm really looking forward to this weekend," Stenhouse said. "I've been hanging out with the guys at the shop, and everyone has been great. With the way these cars have been running this year, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be in the top-10 on Saturday."

Tim Andrews and Brian Scott will also make their series debuts at Nashville.

Andrews, the son of long-time NASCAR crew chief Paul Andrews, will drive the No.31 Chevrolet for Rick Ware Racing. His father will serve as crew chief.

Scott, a Camping World Truck Series competitor, will occupy the seat of the No.10 Toyota for Braun Racing.