NSCS - Subway Fresh Fit 500 4/18

Mark Martin returns to victory lane! Everyone from Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Jack Roush and NASCAR president Mike Helton pushed through a very crowded victory lane to pay their respects.

"The thought went through my mind -- 1989 with Jack Roush (Martin's former car owner) -- when I got my first win at Rockingham, I said, 'My life is fulfilled,'" Martin said in victory lane. "I thought about saying that again tonight, but I'll stop short of that. But it means that much. It means just as much as getting that first one to me. We made a couple of early adjustments, but after that we never made adjustments. There were cars better than us in the middle of the race, but it came to us. At the end, nobody could run with us."

At 50, Mark Martin becomes the oldest driver to win in the series since March 20, 1993 when Morgan Shepherd won @ Atlanta at the age of 51. Martin becomes the fourth different over-50 driver to win a NSCS race.

"I feel fine right now, I tell you" Martin said post-race. "I told the guys in victory lane when they asked something about that, it was like, you know, I don't have any problem keeping up with a 25 year old, at least not for the next 15 minutes, because I have got the biggest shot of adrenaline that you've ever seen."

Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Martin started from the pole and dominated from the start. He would go on to lead five times for the race high 157 laps.

"There's nobody that dislikes Mark", said Tony Stewart who lead 19 laps himself and is seeking his first win as an owner-driver. "Mark has taught us all a lot about what it takes to be not only a good driver in this series, but a good competitor and somebody that everybody respects."

Tony Stewart finished second followed by Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., David Reutimann, Sam Hornish Jr. and Carl Edwards completed the top 10, as a late caution for an accident involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears scrambled the finishing order.

There were 6 cautions for 29 laps and 14 lead changes among 10 drivers:
M. Martin 1-55; M. Waltrip 56; M. Martin 57-103; B. Labonte 104; Kurt Busch 105-167; D. Earnhardt Jr. 168-219; T. Stewart 220-238; M. Martin 239-240; D. Reutimann 241; J. Johnson 242; B. Vickers 243-244; D. Earnhardt Jr. 245-255; M. Martin 256-302; R. Newman 303-306; M. Martin 307-312.

NNS - Bashas Supermarkets 200 4/17

The gamble paid off big for Greg Biffle! He scores his 20th victory in 224 Nationwide Series races.


He stayed out on the track as his competitors came in to pit for fresh tires. Track position was key but Biffle was able to hold on during a series of late race cautions and challenges for the lead from Jason Leffler. Biffle took the lead on lap 98 and held it for the race high 106 laps.

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

"Man I was really worried" Biffle said in victory lane. "I thought we were sitting ducks, but these tires are so good."

It marks Biffle's 2nd win in the series this season. Biffle ended a 76 race winless streak @ Vegas last month, the last NNS race he was entered in.

The victory was win 100 in the series for team owner, Jack Roush.

Nationwide Series regulars Jason Leffler finished 2nd followed by Brad Keselowski.

Biffle's Roush teammate Carl Edwards led early on for 79 laps before car problems (broken valve spring in motor) ended his night. Edwards finished 33rd. Needless to say, it was a bad points night for him. Edwards dropped to 2nd in the series standings. Kyle Busch also had issues during the night but was able to come back for a 10th place finish. Kyle now leads the standings by 47 points over Edwards.

There were 9 caution for 43 laps and 6 lead changes among 5 drivers: C. Edwards 0; J. Logano 1-6; C. Edwards 7-23; M. Waltrip 24-27; K. Busch 28-35; C. Edwards 36-97; G. Biffle 98-203.

18 cars finished on the lead lap.

Need For Speed Race Preview: Phoenix

Back from an off weekend for Saturday Night racin' at Phoenix!

We left off with Jeff Gordon ending his 47 race winless streak @ Texas. Gordon is currently on top of the point standings - 162 points ahead of his teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Between the two of them they've won the past 4 cup races @ Phoenix with Johnson winning the past 3 consecutive races @ Phoenix. We know he will be going for a 4th win in a row on Saturday night.

Johnson was the fastest during practice earlier today. Because of the time difference, final practice is currently in progress followed by qualifying at 7 tonight leading into the Nationwide Series race at 9.

NNS - Pepsi 300

5 laps to go and all eyes were on race leader Joey Logano as his teammate Kyle Busch was inching closer for the lead. In the end, there can be only one. It was Logano's day. Kyle's runner-up finish is surprisingly the best he's ever finished @ Nashville Superspeedway in a NASCAR event. It wasn't what we'd call a bad day for Busch, he was out in front for 77 of the 225 laps.

"I wasn't too nervous. I was just driving as hard as I could," Logano said in victory lane. "I knew I had to have a good restart but Kyle had one too. And he was bearing down on me in one and two, but he couldn't get out to a lead."


John Sommers II/Getty Images for NASCAR

Joey Logano started 2nd and challenged for the lead almost immediately. He took the lead for the first time on lap 19 and would go on to lead 9 times for a combined race-high 95 laps.

It's Logano's 2nd victory in 24 Nationwide Series races. His first win and 3rd top-10 finish of the season. It's also the 8th time there has been a first-time winner @ Nashville Superspeedway in 15 races at the track.

Carl Edwards led 45 laps in the race. A worry of a lose wheel forced him to go back in for an unscheduled pit stop which sent him to the middle of the pack and on a mission to get back up front before the end of the race. Edwards finished 5th.

Brad Keselowski finished 3rd followed. Kelly Bires finished 4th.

For 'unofficial' race results, click here.

Carl Edwards remains on top of the series standings by 23 points over Kyle Busch.

There were 10 cautions for 40 laps and 19 lead changes among 5 drivers:

C. Edwards 1-18; J. Logano 19-32; C. Edwards 33-48; J. Logano 49-80; K. Busch 81-82; J. Logano 83; K. Busch 84-86; J. Logano 87-97; K. Busch 98-123; J. Logano 124; C. Edwards 125-135; J. Logano 136-141; K. Busch 142-150; J. Logano 151-169; K. Busch 170-185; J. Logano 186; M. Annett # 187; M. McDowell # 188-194; K. Busch 195-215; J. Logano 216-225.

NNS - Pepsi 300 Qualifying

Carl Edwards won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Pepsi 300. His first pole @ Nashville Superspeedway. This is his second pole and 6th top-10 start in as many races this season in the series. Carl also posted the fastest speed during their one and only practice session.








Dak Dillon for NASCAR

Joey Logano qualified second. Rookie Michael McDowell will start 3rd. Kyle Busch - 4th. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who's making his series debut for Roush Fenway Racing has qualified 5th.

Bad Weather Coverage

Bad weather hit the Nashville area yesterday afternoon canceling most of the on-track activities. From NewsChannel5.com:

NNS heads to Nashville

The Nationwide Series will have the spotlight this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway as the Cup Series will enjoy a weekend off to enjoy their holiday.

At least all but 5 will have the weekend off. Unlike what we've seen in recent years, only 2 drivers are running both full-time Nationwide & Sprint Cup Series schedules - Carl Edwards & Kyle Busch. They sit 1-2 in the series standings. Michael Waltrip, David Ragan and Joey Logano are also entered in Saturday's race.

Kyle Busch is coming off of a dominant win last week @ Kansas. Kyle hasn't had much success @ Nashville. He posted a 6th place finish in his first race there, but since hasn't finished better than 16th. Rewind to last year, he led the race-high 125 laps but ended up spinning out and finishing 20th.

Carl Edwards is the all-time series leader @ Nashville. In his 7 races there, he's scored 3 wins and 6 top-5s. His worst finish was (just) 13th in the June race last year.

Cup drivers have won all 5 races so far this season in the Nationwide Series. The stats say Cup drivers average seven of the 10-spots so far this season. At Daytona opening weekend, Cup drivers finished in 9 of the top-10 finishing spots, the most.

But there's something to consider when heading into Saturday's race @ Nashville Superspeedway. There's been 7 different first time winners there.

Scott Wimmer is the defending race winner. He is entered in Saturday's race, but for a different team this time around. Wimmer drove the the no. 29 for RCR to victory lane in this race last year. Look for him in the No. 40 Chevy for Key Motorsports. The #40 team is currently outside the guaranteed top-30 for starting positions which will force Wimmer to have to qualify on time. The team sits 33rd in the standings.

Three drivers will make their Series debut @ Nashville:
A name familiar to USAC and ARCA fans, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will debut for Roush Fenway Racing. Another ARCA alum, Tim Andrews will drive for Rick Ware Racing. Full-time truck series driver, Brian Scott will be driving today for Braun Racing.

300 Miles = 225 laps
Qualifying - Saturday at 10:05 a.m.
Race Coverage begins at 3 p.m. on ESPN (Saturday).

Bad weather moved through the area on Friday afternoon postponing on-track activities.


Nationwide Insurance Dash For Cash Press Release:

Prior to the start of the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, Nationwide Insurance announced the Nationwide Insurance "Dash 4 Cash" program. This exciting program, aimed at creating additional support for the teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, provides an extra incentive at four stand-alone NASCAR Nationwide events this season.

The Nationwide Dash 4 Cash provides an additional payout to NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers -- $25,000 to the eligible winner of each of the four races and a $50,000 bonus to the driver who accumulates the most NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Driver points during the four stand-alone events within the program.

In addition, Nationwide Insurance and ESPN have teamed up to award a weekly cash prize to race fans, as part of the "Driver Pick ‘Em" presented by Nationwide Insurance’s fantasy game on ESPN.com. During each of the four Dash 4 Cash races, fans are eligible for a $25,000 prize and throughout the rest of the season fans are eligible for a $500 weekly prize. Participants can register and play the weekly contest at http://games.espn.go.com/dpickem/frontpage.

Beginning April 11 at Nashville Superspeedway, NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers will be competing not only for the victory, they’ll be going after the Dash 4 Cash bonus too. Here are the details:

• The program is open to all NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars and up-and-coming drivers, regardless of whether they have a full-time or part-time ride in the Series. Drivers who have a full-time ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series must enter, qualify for and compete in every NASCAR Nationwide Series event to be eligible for the bonus cash.

• Should an eligible driver not win the opening race at Nashville and collect the Dash 4 Cash bonus, the $25,000 prize will roll over to the next race, June 13 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky.

• The two remaining races in the first-of-its-kind program are August 1 at Iowa Speedway and October 24 at Memphis Motorsports Park.

• The final aspect of the Dash 4 Cash is its cumulative bonus. The driver with the most NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Driver points accrued in the four-race series wins $50,000 and will be honored at the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship banquet at year’s end.

Nationwide Insurance is proud to be the title sponsor of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and looks forward to the excitement this program will create both on and off the track.