Prime Time Players: Series In The Spotlight At Nashville

The first stand-alone event of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season at Nashville Superspeedway has plenty of drama attached to it.

First and foremost, who’s got something for Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Miracle Gro Ford), the reigning series champion who has three straight wins at Nashville?

Clint Bowyer (No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet) thinks he does. His win last week at Bristol Motor Speedway propelled him into second place in the standings. Bowyer won his first series race on the 1.333-mile track in 2005.

Two-time series champion Kevin Harvick isn’t racing this weekend, leaving the door wide open for a new leader. Bowyer’s ready to walk through but Edwards is only one point behind him in third.

In fact, Harvick’s 49-point cushion over Bowyer is the largest difference between one position and the next in this week’s top 10-rankings where eight of the 10 are full-time series regulars.

A spot in the top 10 isn’t out of the question for Nashville native Bobby Hamilton Jr. (No. 25 Smithfield Foods Ford). He’s only 30 points out of 10th as he heads to his home track.

But it’s a win at Nashville that drives Hamilton to circle this event on his calendar each year.

Just ask Tony Stewart about Indianapolis as far as what a home track win means. Hamilton feels the same about Nashville. He won’t be satisfied until he holds aloft one of the most sought-after trophies in NASCAR – a one-of-a-kind Gibson guitar custom-designed by Sam Bass. The closest Hamilton has come is a runner-up finish in 2002.

Opportunity Knocks At Nashville For Series Regulars, Up-And-Comers
The first stand-alone event of the season offers series regulars a prime opportunity to get into Victory Lane. It’s also a chance for up-and-comers to gain experience.

Landon Cassill (No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet), Bryan Clauson (No. 40 Fastenal Dodge) and Colin Braun (No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford) are in line for their season and track debuts. Chase Miller (No. 9 Valvoline Dodge) is set for his season debut – he made his series debut at Nashville last June.

Braun and Brad Coleman (No. 27 Cottonelle Ford) will meet for the first time in their NASCAR careers at Nashville, but the native Texans are familiar with one another.

In 2005, they set a world record as the youngest team in the Rolex 24 at Daytona (seventh in GT). Both were 16. A good showing has added importance to Coleman, who competes full-time for Nashville-based Baker Curb Racing. He also made his series debut at the track in 2006.

Strictly Speaking: Talking The Talk About Nashville Superspeedway

In addition to Chase Miller and Brad Coleman, Kelly Bires (No. 47 Clorox Ford), Cale Gale (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) and David Stremme (No. 64 Atreus Homes & Communities Chevrolet) also made their series debuts at Nashville.

Cooper’s career began at the Nashville Fairgrounds where he served as crew chief on Casey Atwood's late model team and followed Atwood to the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Brewco Motorsports (now BakerCurb Racing) where he was promoted to crew chief in 2005.

During his tenure, Cooper led his team to a total of eight wins, seven poles, 32 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes.

Keselowski hopes to trade the video game experience for real-time strumming. If he wins the race and earns the Gibson guitar trophy, the JR Motorsports driver says he’ll take on the challenge of learning to play a real guitar.

In The Loop: Stout Competition In Line To Halt Edwards’ Record Nashville Streak
Winner of three straight at Nashville Superspeedway, Carl Edwards is the runaway favorite in this Saturday’s Pepsi 300, right? Well, not exactly.

Statistically, Clint Bowyer is a notch better than Edwards at the 1.33-mile concrete track. Here’s the statistical tale-of-the-tape at Nashville since 2005:
Driver Rating: Bowyer edges Edwards, 130.2 to 125.6
Average Running Position: Bowyer beats Edwards, 3.9 to 5.1
Laps in the Top 15: Bowyer edges Edwards, 1,083 to 1,072.

Edwards does lead Bowyer in a key speed category – Fastest Laps Run. The defending series champion has 210 Fastest Laps Run in his five races at Nashville, compared to Bowyer’s 153.

Bowyer has one win at Nashville, the second race there in 2005 – a race Edwards did not run. Edwards has won three there, but only two when Bowyer was also running. His victory there last year was won without Bowyer in the field. He led a race-high 74 laps that event.

But other drivers have a chance of knocking Edwards off his pedestal. Scott Wimmer (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet) has a solid chance to win his first race since 2003. Wimmer, who has three consecutive top 10 finishes at Nashville, has a Driver Rating of 118.7, an Average Running Position of 4.5 and 72 Fastest Laps Run in his two races there since 2005.

Also watch for Nashville native Bobby Hamilton Jr. to have a strong showing. Last season, he racked up finishes of ninth and 13th, notching some solid stats in the process.

In the two races in 2007, Hamilton had a Driver Rating of 94.0, an Average Running Position of 8.9 and 447 Laps in the Top 15, which was all but three of the total laps.

Series regular Steve Wallace (No. 66 Atreus Homes & Communities Chevrolet) could also vie for his first win. In his four Nashville races – all top-15 finishes – Wallace has a Driver Rating of 85.1, an Average Running Position of 13.0 and 684 Laps in the Top 15 (76%).

NASCAR Nationwide Series Coverage At Nashville Superspeedway Begins Friday
The NASCAR Nationwide Series makes its first appearance of the season on ESPN with coverage from Nashville Saturday, March 22, beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

The Nashville telecast is presented by Tractor Supply Company. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.

Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

ESPN2 airs live coverage of Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at Nashville at 2:30 p.m. ET, and taped coverage of final practice airs Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.

Marty Reid will be the lead announcer, joined in the booth for analysis by Wallace and two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Andy Petree.

Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch will report from the pits, while two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN DISH Tech Center.

The race will be simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature broadband sports network, and on ESPN Deportes, the domestic Spanish-language network. The event also will be simulcast on ESPN MobileTV.

The Director’s Take: Concrete Answer - It’s All About The Trophy
“Nashville provides a great opportunity for more rookies to showcase their talent and gives our second- and third-year drivers a great shot at a win,” said NASCAR Nationwide Series director Joe Balash of the season’s first stand-alone event.

The track surface and time of year will be factors on Saturday.

“Concrete tracks have a tendency to tighten a bit as they get rubbered in,” he said. “That makes it a little easier for drivers to turn the car because they don't have to anticipate how much the track will change or ‘come to’ them.

“The concrete is less susceptible to temperature changes; asphalt gets greasy and slick when its hot. But not so with concrete tracks, especially in the early spring where the outdoor temperature varies so much.

“Racers race for different things. That guitar is important to people. The uniqueness of that trophy is important,” he said.

Nashville Superspeedway
Most Wins: Carl Edwards (3)
Most Poles: Martin Truex Jr. (2)
Quick Fact: If Edwards captures a fourth straight win at Nashville, he will become only the fourth driver in series history to accomplish that feat at one track.

NNS Etc.

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings
Rank Driver Points
1 Dario Franchitti 58
2 Bryan Clauson 43
3 Brian Keselowski 38
4 Cale Gale 20
Results following the Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bill France Performance Cup Standings
Chevrolet extended its lead on Toyota in the Bill France Performance Cup standings following Clint Bowyer’s win last week at Bristol.

Ford is the manufacturer to beat at Nashville, however, with four wins—three in a row.

Up Next: O’Reilly 300 At Texas Motor Speedway
Next week is the first open week of the season for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Competition picks up again on Saturday, April 5 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick is the all-time series winner at Texas with four victories. Matt Kenseth is the defending race winner.

Fast Facts
The Race: Pepsi 300 presented by Kroger
The Place: Nashville Superspeedway
The Date: Saturday, March 22
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Distance: 300 miles/225 laps
TV: ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. ET
Track Size: 1.333 miles
2007 Winner: Carl Edwards
2007 Pole: David Stremme

2008 Standings
1 Harvick 751
2 Bowyer 702
3 Edwards 701
4 Ragan 671
5 Reutimann 668
6 Bliss 627
7 M. Wallace 603
8 Keselowski 591
9 Leffler 579
10 Busch 568

Schedule:
Friday-Practice 1:30-3 p.m.; Final Practice 4:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday-Qualifying, 10:05 a.m. (Impound).