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NASCAR’s Nationwide Series gets a rare opportunity to rise to the forefront of the racing schedule this weekend. With the Sprint Cup Series taking the weekend off, the Nationwide teams will be the focal point this Saturday during the running of the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250, presented by Ventrico, held at Gateway International Raceway in St Louis.
PRE RACE NOTES OF INTEREST
A lot of observers will be paying attention to young Brad Coleman, the young development driver from Joe Gibbs Racing-JGR. That’s because he will be making his third series start driving the team’s famed #20 Toyota. This car has been piloted in the past by Joey Logano who has already won three races for JGR this season. Coleman’s last appearance in this car was back on June 20th,at the Milwaukee Mile, where he finished 24th. However many will tell you that this finish was somewhat misleading because he actually led 35 laps of the race. But you’ve got to believe that the pressure will be felt by the young driver on Saturday.
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Saturday’s Nationwide Series race will be the first for the new technical alliance recently formed between RWI, Rusty Wallace Inc, and KHI, Kevin Harvick Inc. Steve Wallace, RWI driver of the #66 Chevrolet, will be campaigning a car this Saturday that was built by KHI. The new alliance also calls for the teams to share technical data and general racing information.
Meanwhile RWI is reported to be examining manufacturer options for the 2010 season. Like many of the Chevrolet teams, there is concern regarding General Motors’ state of bankruptcy and whether or not they will be able to continue financial support of their racing teams. RWI began their operation with Dodge and then switched to General Motors back in 2007.
KHI spent last Thursday afternoon delivering a tasty surprise to a local St Louis area business on behalf of one of their sponsors: Jimmy John’s Sandwiches. Kevin Harvick himself delivered lunch, prizes and race tickets to the promotion winner. The extra surprise was the delivery van which turned out to be Harvick’s #33 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet.
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Reed Sorenson will be making a return to the Nationwide Series at Gateway this Saturday and will be driving the #32 Dollar General Chevrolet. This is part of the recently initiated Nationwide Series alliance between Braun Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports-RPM. The alliance calls for five races with RPM drivers Elliot Sadler, Kasey Kahne and Sorenson. Sorenson is the perfect choice for the ride this Saturday. He’s a two time Nationwide Series winner at Gateway International Raceway.
