Nationwide Preview: The U.S. Cellular 250 From Iowa Speedway

It’s that time again, folks. It’s time for Nationwide Series racing at it’s finest. Saturday night will mark the fourth consecutive night race on the B-Series’ schedule, this time at Iowa Speedway.

Iowa Speedway is a state-of-the-art 7/8th of a mile asphalt tri-oval located in Newton, Iowa, just 30 miles east of Des Moines, Iowa. The facility is owned and operated by U.S. Motorsport Corporation and was designed by former Cup Series Champion (and Nationwide color analyst) Rusty Wallace.

Iowa is designed for several disciplines of motor racing and has a maximum capacity of 25,000. Most notably, it was designed as the first track in the world to protect it’s fans and drivers through the use of the SAFER barriers that surrounds the entire perimeter of the track.

This should result in a tight and exciting race with several cautions and competitive green flag stretches. I expect a great race but It may be just a bit much to ask for a new winner. Lastly, take a close look at how Carl Edwards and Brad Keslowski react to each other. Short track racing isn’t exactly a gentleman’s game and usually feeds the fire that are NASCAR fueds.

An Entry List, News and more after can be found after the JUMP!

There are 47 cars on the entry list, which means that four are going home this week.

Other notes on this weeks entries:

Canadian driver Daryl Harr will try to make just his second Nationwide Race. Last year Harr made five attempts in the RIck Ware owned #31 Chevy. He only made one of those starts, Phoenix, where he blew an engine and finished 31st. For the Iowa race, Harr will drive his own car.

Blake Koch will attempt to make his third career Nationwide race and his first attempt this season. Koch raced last year for McDonald Motorsports, which fields Michael McDowell’s #81 Dodge. Koch missed a race last year driving for Wayne Day in the #05. We wish him different luck for the Iowa 250 on Saturday.

John Wes Townley will return to the #09 Ford. Townley has taken his Zaxby’s Sponsorship with him. With Zaxby’s gone, Morgan Shepherd will again drive the #21 entry.

Drew Herring will attempt to make his very first Nationwide Race at Iowa, driving for Baker Curb in the #27. There is no word on if he will be start and parking or attempting to run the full race.

It was a week of fines as well. Carl Edwards has been fined both 60 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship driver points, fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Brad Keselowski is also on probation until Dec. 31st.

The #88 team had a left front shock that would not rebound, so Crew chief Tony Eury Sr. has been fined $10,000, while owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and driver Aric Almirola have been penalized with the loss of 25 championship owner and 25 championship driver points, respectively.

Dover Motorsports, Inc. announced that its sister operation, Gateway International Raceway has notified NASCAR that it will not seek 2011 sanctions for its two Nationwide Series and one Camping World Truck Series races. Vice President and General Manager of Gateway, Terry Harmeson spoke saying, “This was a difficult decision in light of the many years of earnest and continued efforts on everyone’s part to develop a viable market for these events in one of our nation’s greatest cities.

“We remain committed to fulfill the balance of our 2010 schedule including our October 23rd NASCAR Nationwide race which will provide our fans the opportunity to see Danica Patrick compete here for the first time. We also plan to explore various ways to change the economics at Gateway both from the revenue and expense side.” Denis McGlynn, President & CEO of Dover Motorsports, stated, “We have a group of extremely dedicated and talented employees who make Gateway a great destination and we deeply appreciate all the support we have had from the racing community over the years from racing fans and drivers to sponsors, team owners and sanctioning bodies. However, economics dictate that we evaluate all of our options for this facility, including its possible sale.”

ESPN2 will once again carry the event with the national broadcast slated for a 7:00 p.m./et start time on July 31st. Green flag is set for 7:15. Enjoy!