General

Edwards Strums His Way To Victory Lane: The Nationwide Series Nashville 300 Review

Updated Apr 24, 2011, 3:27 PM UTC

Another Nationwide race, another non-Nationwide winner.

Edwards dominated the race. When the checkard flag dropped we had a top five littered with Cup drivers yet again. The top 4 were all Cup drivers, with Ricky Stenhouse coming in fifth.

This was a Cup weekend off, which should have been the perfect time for Edwards, Keselowski and Busch to recoup and enjoy a rare off-week. Instead we got more of the same. A slow death of a promising Series.

Nascar is so worried that pulling guys like Busch and Jr out of the Nationwide Series will kill ratings, but fans down’t want to see Cup guys always winning in the Nationwide Series either. I have no problem letting Cup guys in a limited number of races, let them race in 5 races every year. Maybe even 10. But not 35.
Results and Points after the Jump!

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Laps	Status
1	7	60	Carl Edwards(i)	Ford Drive one. Ford	225	Running
2	6	18	Kyle Busch(i)	Z-Line Designs Toyota	225	Running
3	9	22	Brad Keselowski(i)	Discount Tire Dodge	225	Running
4	1	20	Joey Logano(i)	Harvest Investments Toyota	225	Running
5	4	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	RickyvsTrevor.com Ford	225	Running
6	2	16	Trevor Bayne	RickyvsTrevor.com Ford	225	Running
7	3	33	Austin Dillon(i)	Rheem Water Heating Chevy	225	Running
8	13	32	Reed Sorenson	Dollar General Chevy	225	Running
9	12	7	Josh Wise	Eutechnyx Chevy	225	Running
10	16	88	Aric Almirola	Grand Touring Vodka Chevy	225	Running
11	14	31	Justin Allgaier	Wolfpack Rentals Chevy	225	Running
12	11	9	Kenny Wallace	RAB Racing Toyota	225	Running
13	8	2	Elliott Sadler	Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevy	225	Running
14	5	64	David Reutimann(i)	Flatout Flatbread Toyota	225	Running
15	19	38	Jason Leffler	Great Clips Chevy	225	Running
16	20	99	Ryan Truex #	Pastrana Waltrip Racing Toyota	225	Running
17	15	66	Steve Wallace	5-hour Energy Toyota	224	Running
18	26	1	Mike Wallace	Colormatch Coating Solutions Chevy	224	Running
19	17	62	Michael Annett	Pilot Travel Centers/Flying J Toyota	224	Running
20	25	70	David Stremme (i)	Foretravel Chevy	223	Running
21	29	40	Scott Wimmer	Key Motorsports Chevy	223	Running
22	10	11	Brian Scott	Shore Lodge Toyota	223	Running
23	28	51	Jeremy Clements	www.racedaysponsor.com Chevy	223	Running
24	24	87	Kevin Conway(i)	Extenze Toyota	222	Running
25	30	81	Blake Koch #	daystar.com Dodge	222	Running
26	23	39	Danny O'Quinn Jr.	Rimz One Ford	222	Running
27	21	67	JR Fitzpatrick	Go Canada Racing Ford	221	Running
28	37	89	Morgan Shepherd	Imperial Bedding Chevy	220	Running
29	22	30	Mikey Kile	AccuDoc Chevy	220	Running
30	36	28	Derrike Cope	Jay Robinson Inc. Dodge	218	Running
31	18	19	Mike Bliss	TriStar Motorsports Chevy	218	Running
32	34	14	Eric McClure	Hefty BlackOut/Reynolds Chevy	217	Running
33	27	15	Timmy Hill #	Rick Ware Racing Ford	215	Running
34	42	23	Robert Richardson Jr.	Wildlife Conservation Society Dodge	143	Engine
35	35	52	Tim Schendel	TRX Alliance Chevy	32	Brakes
36	31	79	Tim Andrews	Sports Massage USA Ford	29	Brakes
37	40	49	Dennis Setzer	Jay Robinson Inc. Chevy	10	Brakes
38	43	74	Mike Harmon	Riverwalk Cafe Chevy	6	Overheating
39	32	68	Matthew Carter	Fleur de Lis Farms Chevy	4	Electrical
40	39	41	Carl Long	Lilly Trucking Ford	3	Overheating
41	41	5	Willie Allen	31-W Insulation Chevy	3	Brakes
42	33	44	Jeff Green	TriStar Motorsports Chevy	1	Vibration
43	38	75	Johnny Chapman	Rick Ware Racing Ford	1	Vibration

It was another great run for Ricky Stenhouse. He’s put himself in position to potentially be another Roush Nationwide Champion. I was happy to see Turner Motorsports continue to shine and Austin Dillon took another step forward in proving he belongs amongst the most promising drivers.

As for the points standings, we now have a tie up top - Justin Allgaier and Ricky Stenhouse are your points leaders. Here’s the battle:

Rank	#	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Owner	Points
1	31	Justin Allgaier	BRANDT/Wolfpack	Chevy	Turner Motorsports	264
2	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Blackwell Angus	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	264
3	38	Jason Leffler	Great Clips	Chevy	Turner Motorsports	262
4	32	Reed Sorenson	Dollar General	Chevy	Turner Motorsports	260
5	16	Trevor Bayne	Ford Drive One	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	260
6	2	Elliott Sadler	OneMain Financial	Chevy	Kevin Harvick Inc.	259
7	88	Aric Almirola	Suave/Ragu/TaxSlayer/Degree	Chevy	JR Motorsports	257
8	11	Brian Scott	Shore Lodge	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	228
9	09	Kenny Wallace	Federated Auto Parts/UNOH	Toyota	RAB Racing	216
10	62	Michael Annett	Pilot Travel Centers	Toyota	Rusty Wallace Racing	184

Owners Points are about what you would expect. The #20 team is still leading, but they are no longer a lock to run every race this year. Here’s the battle for Owner’s Championship:

Rank	#	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Owner	Points
1	20	Joey Logano	Gamestop	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	308
2	60	Carl Edwards	Fastenal	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	300
3	18	Kyle Busch	Z-Line/Interstate	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	297
4	33	Austin Dillon	Rheem/Menards	Chevy	Kevin Harvick Inc.	284
5	32	Reed Sorenson	Dollar General	Chevy	Turner Motorsports	281
6	38	Jason Leffler	Great Clips	Chevy	Turner Motorsports	268
7	31	Justin Allgaier	BRANDT/Wolfpack	Chevy	Turner Motorsports	264
8	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Blackwell Angus	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	264
9	22	Brad Keselowski	Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday	Dodge	Penske Racing South	262
10	16	Trevor Bayne	Ford Drive One	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	260

With Robert Richardson’s blow engine, and David Stremme’s 20th place finish, the #23 team is now outside the top 30, while the #70 team is locked into Richmond. Here’s the fight for the top 30 in Owner’s Points:

Rank	#	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Owner	Points
28	39	Danny O'Quinn	Cajun Industries	Ford	Go Green Racing	139
29	28	Derrike Cope	Prevention Plan	Chevy	Jay Robinson Racing	137
30	70	David Stremme	Foretravel	Ford	ML Motorsports	131
31	89	Morgan Shepherd	The Salvation Army	Chevy	Faith Motorsports	126
32	23	Robert Richardson	Wildlife Foundation	Dodge	R3 Motorsports	121
33	52	Tim Schendel	TaxSlayer.com	Chevy	Jimmy Means Racing	108