Two milestones are on tap next week for the Sam’s Town 250. This is race number 800 for the NASCAR Busch Series, and Carl Edwards can clinch the series crown at Memphis Motorsports Park. But standing in his way Oct. 27 will be Sterling Marlin, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann and J. J. Yeley, not to mention Busch Series regulars Jason Leffler and Stephen Leicht – both of whom have already been to victory lane this season.
For Edwards, this race presents him with another opportunity for a back flip and an early clinch of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series driver championship. He was seemingly en route to his first national series title Oct. 12 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway but was collected in a wreck that postponed his celebration. He still holds a 638-point lead over second-place David Reutimann and a 753-point advantage over third-place Kevin Harvick, and can clinch the crown by leaving Memphis with a lead of 585 points or more over the second-place driver in the point standings. Edwards’ record in Memphis – four top-5 finishes in four consecutive starts (2003-2006) – bodes well for his chances.
Jamie McMurray is no stranger to Memphis, either. He made his NASCAR debut here in 2000, finished eleventh in 2001, and third in the 2002 Sam’s Town 250 before moving into a full-time Nextel Cup ride in 2003. Running a limited Busch Series schedule this season, he is expected to enter in the No. 26 car.
Cup veteran Sterling Marlin is scheduled to test a COT car for Phoenix Racing in Memphis on Oct. 28-29, fueling rumors that he will compete in Memphis on Oct. 27 in the team’s No. 1 Busch car. Marlin’s only previous appearance in Memphis was in 1999 for the track’s first NASCAR Busch Series race – the inaugural Sam’s Town 250 – when his No. 14 Chevy sported a University of Tennessee paint scheme.
Those following Dario Franchitti’s introduction to stock car racing also expect him to be in the field on Oct. 27. The reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion qualified for the ARCA race earlier this month in Talladega, participated in a closed test here Oct. 17, and after his Craftsman Truck Series debut this weekend in Martinsville, could make his first NASCAR Busch Series start next Saturday in Memphis.
After a banner run in Memphis in 2006 that saw nine Busch-whackers start at the rear of the Sam’s Town 250 – and all nine finish in the top 10 – the 2007 edition of this NASCAR Busch Series event will feature more of the same attractive mix of Cup and Busch drivers.
The official entry list for the Sam’s Town 250 will be released next week.
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