Of course, any time NASCAR races at a concrete track, Carl Edwards’ name has to be mentioned. He won three straight at Nashville – the second race in 2006 and a sweep in 2007 – and has earned some of the series’ top stats.
In his six career races at Nashville, Edwards has an average finish of 2.5, an average Driver Rating of 123.3, an Average Running Position of 5.1, a series-high 214 Fastest Laps Run and has a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 96.0.
Standings leader Clint Bowyer is also stout at Nashville. He won there in 2005 and has finished second in each of the last four Nashville races. Over his last six races there, Bowyer owns series-highs in Driver Rating (130.4), Average Running Position (3.6) and Laps in the Top 15 (1,308/96.9%). He also ranks third in Fastest Laps Run with 181.
Triple threat Kyle Busch also will be the talk of the weekend, although his Nashville results haven’t been outstanding. He’s cracked the top 10 only once in five starts and in his last three appearances there, Busch has a Driver Rating of 87.3.
Bliss To Handle In-Race Reporting Duties At Nashville Superspeedway
ESPN2’s season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series continues with a live telecast from Nashville beginning Saturday at 7 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast is presented by Craftsman. The race also airs in high definition on ESPN2 HD and will be simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPN MobileTV and ESPN Deportes.
Dr. Jerry Punch will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace and two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Andy Petree. Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will report from the pits, while two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion crew chief Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN DISH Tech Center.
Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by Wallace and Brad Daugherty, a former winning team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, in the ESPN pit studio.
NASCAR Nationwide Series-only regular Mike Bliss (No. 1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet) joins ESPN’s coverage team as In-Race Reporter. He will talk to Wallace on the race’s pace laps as well as during caution periods.
Bliss is one of five series-only regulars ranked in the top 10 in the standings.
The Director’s Take: Second Time Around At Nashville
“This is our second trip to Nashville this year in a short time span,” said Joe Balash, NASCAR Nationwide Series director. “The teams should have great notes from the first race in March.
“That race almost acted like a test session and should allow teams to start with better setups. The crew chiefs will have a lot more to work with to fine-tune the cars for the event.”
“It’s also the second week in a row we’re racing on a concrete surface and drivers should have a good feel for the track.
“We’re also at the true start of the stand-alone season with Nashville, Kentucky and Milwaukee in succession.
“Summer is go-time. It’s a chance for regulars to gain some spots on double duty drivers.
“It’s much more difficult for a double-duty driver to participate, especially if there’s anything that affects the timing of the event due to the weather at this time of year—similar to what happened to Carl Edwards at this race three years ago. Rain forced us to move from Saturday to Sunday; Carl missed the race and ultimately lost a shot at the championship.”
Nashville Superspeedway
Most Wins: Carl Edwards (3)
Most Poles: Martin Truex Jr. (2)
Quick Fact: A rookie driver has won 3 races at Nashville, all in the summer event.
NNS Etc.
Jason Keller’s No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Company Chevrolet will have a new look heading into Nashville this weekend. Another Jason, award-winning country music artist Jason Aldean and his new album “Relentless,” will be displayed on the hood of the No. 11 entry for Saturday night’s race.
Aldean first hit the country music charts with his hit single ‘Hicktown’ in 2006. Since then, every single he has released has gone top-10 on the radio airplay charts. The Academy of Country Music recognized Aldean that same year when he was awarded the Top New Male Artist award. His self-titled debut album is certified platinum (1 million in sales) and “Relentless” is already certified gold heading toward platinum status.
Series veteran Mark Green (No. 70 Foretravel Chevrolet) is driving a part-time schedule for ML Motorsports this season. He hasn’t been on track since registering an organization-best fifth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway last April (his second career top-five finish and first since 1997) and another team-best, fourth-place qualifying effort at Richmond International Raceway last month.
But Green and the lone mother/daughter-owned team in NASCAR national series competition will run more like a full-time schedule over the next eight weeks, entering seven races over that span starting at Nashville.
Green, with 237 series starts, will have to qualify on time for those seven races. Next week, the Owensboro, Ky., native will race in his home state and in August, he will attempt to put the No. 70 in the field at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
The team headed by Mary Louise Miller and her daughter Stephany Mullen are based in Warsaw, Ind.
Raybestos Rookie Of The Year
Rank Driver Points
1 Dario Franchitti 100
2 Bryan Clauson 92
3 Cale Gale 55
4 Brian Keselowski 47
5 Landon Cassill 47
6 Chase Miller 43
7 Patrick Carpentier 31
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