Nashville - Same Day Coverage
Nasville, Tenn.
by Stan Creekmore; Notebook by Bobby Bennett, Jr.

(6-10-2006) - Carl Edwards scored his second NASCAR Busch Series win of the season Saturday night at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, while Kevin Harvick finished third to maintain his lead in the championship points race.

Edwards, who started 13th, pushed his Ameriquest Mortgage passed AC Delco Chevrolet driver Clint Bowyer with 37 laps remaining in the 225-lap, 300 mile event and pulled away for the win. Bowyer finished second while Harvick placed third in the U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet. Rockwell Automation Chevrolet driver Denny Hamlin finished fourth after leading during the midway point of the event. Finishing fifth was Paul Menard, who drove the Menard’s/Quaker State Chevrolet to his second top-5 finish of the season.

David Reutimann scored his best finish of the season in four starts by placing sixth. He was followed by Greg Biffle, Jon Wood, early race leader Ashton Lewis, Jr., and Danny O’Quinn, Jr.

Rookie Todd Kluever won his first career Busch Pole Award and led the first 17 laps of his career at the start of the event. He finished 17th.

Harvick exited the event with a 272-point lead over Edwards in the unofficial series standings. Bowyer and Hamlin maintained their third and fourth-place positions in the standings, while Biffle jumped two spots into fifth place.

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

And Now Entering the game - With eight full time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers entered in Saturday’s race, substitute drivers will be on call to accommodate the back-and-forth schedules between Nashville and Pocono. In addition to Hank Parker Jr. sitting in when necessary for Carl Edwards, the following drivers are prepared to do the same for those involved in double duty – Brandon Miller for defending race winner Clint Bowyer (No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet); Justin Labonte for Kyle Busch; Kertus Davis for Denny Hamlin (No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet); two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie for series leader Kevin Harvick; Kevin Hamlin for Reed Sorenson and Casey Atwood for J.J. Yeley (No. 18 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet).

Slip Sliding Away? - Leader Kevin Harvick (2,221) returns to Nashville as the winner of the April race. Although hardly in a slump, Harvick is in the midst of his “worst” outings of the year, having finished 13th at Dover International Speedway last Saturday while Edwards’ finished second. Harvick finished eighth at Charlotte as Edwards won his first race of the year. Harvick’s result at Dover International Speedway was his lowest finish of the year; his previous low finish was 11th at Atlanta. Nashville might be the perfect spot for a rebound. In his two races at the 1.33-mile track, Harvick has a win and a seventh-place finish. Since finishing 43rd at Texas, Edwards has one win, four top fives and seven top 10s in his last seven races.

Almost There - The month of June signals the halfway portion of the NASCAR Busch Series season. It also marks the start of the series’ stand-alone schedule when the next three races – beginning Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway – can change the standings in a hurry.

Last June, Carl Edwards (No. 60 Ameriquest Ford) came to Nashville as the NASCAR Busch Series leader. But heavy rain forced a one-day postponement of the race, forcing Edwards to leave the Music City and head back to Pocono Raceway for his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series duties.

Edwards lost both the opportunity to compete and the points lead to Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Discount Tire Co. Dodge), who also won the race. He tumbled to fourth in the rankings and never recovered. He did win at Pocono, and dedicated the victory to his NASCAR Busch Series crew, vowing to return to the series full-time to challenge for the title he felt he lost that day. 

Edwards and Sorenson are among seven drivers attempting to run a full season in both the NASCAR Busch Series and in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Until this weekend, the previous two stand-alone events at Mexico City and the first race at Nashville in April were staged during NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series off-weekends.

Kevin Harvick (No. 21 U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet), the series leader by 297 points over second-place Edwards, also is among those pulling double duty.

“The thing I look at is that the next five guys behind me are in the same boat I am,” Harvick said. “If it’s weather, it’s going to be for everyone. It’s nice to have a big lead. You can lose it in a hurry.”

“I really have no worries as far as weather is concerned,” said Chad Walter, crew chief for Kyle Busch (No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet), who stands fifth in the points and also is attempting a full season in both series. “There’s nothing I can do about that. It’s out of my control. I mean, I hope it’s not an issue, but if it becomes one, I can’t get worried about it.

“Going into these three weeks I’m not too worried overall. Kyle has won at Nashville. He dominated at Kentucky. He’s had quite a bit of seat time at Milwaukee, too. So, at least we’re not going into anything blindly. I know the driver is going to be ready when he gets there. As a team, we have to make sure the car is adjustable to his needs come race time.”

Give Me A Chance - The NASCAR Busch Series has been both a career destination as well as a developmental opportunity, and three new faces will be at Nashville Superspeedway hoping to get their national series careers moving in the right direction. Auggie Vidovich II (No. 4 GEICO Dodge), who has raced in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, looks to make his second consecutive series start this weekend after debuting last Saturday at Dover where he started 31st and finished 29th. “There were a lot of good racers who finished behind Auggie,” said friend and mentor Ron Hornaday Jr., who drove the No. 33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet to a fifth-place finish. “For that kid to run the race clean and finish with all the fenders on was a strong statement of how good he can be. Vidovich will be joined by Brad Coleman (No. 37 Federated Auto Parts Ford), an 18-year-old developmental driver for Brewco Motorsports. Coleman has competed in ARCA this season, and has stock car, open-wheel and sports car experience to draw from. He won the 2005 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series rookie points championship at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C. “I can’t believe it was just four years ago that I was racing karts and now I have the opportunity of a lifetime to race in a Busch Series race,” Coleman said. Additionally 22-year-old Cale Gale was named this week to drive the No. 1 Miccosukee Resort Dodge at Nashville. Gale comes out of Late Model and SAS Super Truck racing. Vidovich and Coleman are locked in for starting positions at Nashville, but Gale will have to qualify on time for his first NASCAR Busch Series race.

One Year Later - The winners of last year’s Nashville races – Clint Bowyer in this event and Reed Sorenson last April – have gone on to solid Raybestos Rookie seasons in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. Bowyer – who finished second at Nashville in April to his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick – is having the better season thus far in 2006, entering Nashville third in the NASCAR Busch Series point standings and 16th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup rankings. Sorenson – 19th at Nashville two months ago – is 12th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, but only 16 points out of 10th. He’s 21st in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rankings. Fellow rookie Denny Hamlin, who finished ninth and seventh in his first races at Nashville last year (and third in April) is the top rookie in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, ranking 11th this week. Hamlin is fourth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings.

Ard Auction - As part of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Busch Series, Richmond International Raceway held an auction to benefit former series champion Sam Ard during last May’s race weekend.  The two-day event raised more than $36,000 to help assist Ard and his wife Jo with medical expenses. Ard was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year, while his wife was diagnosed with a degenerative eye ailment that could cause blindness. Auction items included a new 2006 Harley-Davidson XL1200L Sportster motorcycle and NASCAR leather jacket donated by NASCAR President Mike Helton, autographed race-worn uniforms and equipment, autographed diecasts, autographed sheet metal and a championship ring donated by former NASCAR Busch Series champion Jack Ingram. “As part of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Busch Series, [we’re] proud to honor a champion who has helped make the series what it is today,” said Doug Fritz, track president. “We owe a special thanks to the drivers, teams, tracks and the entire NASCAR community for their support and donations for the auction. The fan support throughout the auction shows that NASCAR is one big family.” The money raised will go directly to the Sam Ard Care Fund. Those wishing to donate may do so via the Fund - Acct# 68212-03, Carolina Trust Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 780004, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578.

Coming On Strong - Jeff Burton’s (No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet) win last Saturday at Dover not only moved him into a tie for fourth all-time in NASCAR Busch Series victories with 22 –   joining former series champions Tommy Ellis and Sam Ard – but pushed his team owner, Richard Childress, into third all-time in series wins. With five wins this year between Burton and Kevin Harvick, Childress now has 31, moving ahead of Aline Ingram, who was listed as the owner for two-time series champion Jack Ingram’s 30 wins. Teresa Earnhardt is second with 39 wins, while Jack Roush continues to build on his No. 1 position, now with 81 career NASCAR Busch Series wins. Childress is first in the 2006 series owner point standings while Roush is second.

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