With the roar of the engine creating its own special form of music in the ear of a Hardcore Race Fan, the events at Nashville Superspeedway are among the most thrilling in the Nationwide Series circuit and this weekend’s Federated Auto Parts 300 has no anticipation to fall anywhere short of electrifying.

With little movement occurring in the series point standings last week, the competition for the coveted guitar trophy is sure to bring the best out of every driver regardless of musical preference.

High among the list of favorites to earn his solo in Victory Lane, defending race winner Brad Keselowski is being propelled by means of a win in last weekend’s race at Dover, the acquaintance of winning in ‘Music City’ and three consecutive triumphant runs on a concrete track. With 20 points making up the difference between him and third place, the driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet is looking to continue his ascent to the top.

“I’m really excited to be coming back to Nashville,” shared Keselowski. “It’s a track that I really enjoy racing at. This is the place that kind of kicked off my summer right last year. I think we had something like six top-10s in a row after that first win in Nashville and I’m hopeful we can get a streak going like that again. We had a solid run here in the spring and I’m ready to improve upon that this weekend.”

Like Keselowski, Jason Leffler also amassed his first victory in the Nationwide Series at Nashville Superspeedway. Currently holding down the third spot in the point standings, Leffler has utilized consistent runs to escalate to his current position. With his season’s first win evading him thus far in 2009, the driver of the No. 38 Braun Racing Toyota can’t think of a better place to capture that victory.

“My first Nationwide Series win came at Nashville Superspeedway so I have a lot of good memories there,” said Leffler. “We had a fast car when we raced here in April but we didn’t qualify as well as well as we needed to.  We were coming up through the field pretty fast, but we got some fender damage along the way that hurt our chances to be a contender for the win.  We’ve made some minor changes to the car since then that I think are going to help us this time around. We should be pretty strong right out of the box and hopefully will only have to make minimal adjustments to the Great Clips Toyota during practice to make it perfect.”

April’s winner at Nashville Joey Logano will not make the race this go around. Focusing on the Cup Series event at Pocono this weekend, the No. 20 Toyota will feature Brad Coleman in the cockpit. Making his first start in a NASCAR vehicle in 10 months, Coleman is set to blow the dust off of his driving gloves as he prepares to kick off his eight race schedule with Joe Gibbs Racing this season.

Being a self-taught guitarist, Coleman has developed a zeal for top notch guitars. However, no guitar on earth has caught the attention of Coleman like the Nashville trophy guitar.

“I was in the pits when Joey and the team won in April and I was really happy for them.” Coleman continued, “I was supposed to drive in that race and we ended up swapping Nashville’s so Joey would not have to fly back and forth from Pocono this weekend. This is my first race back and there is plenty of pressure for a variety of reasons, but I do not feel any pressure to win because Joey won. This is a different race.”

Cale Gale will also make his first start in the series this season. Gale will climb aboard the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet this weekend. Earning his first career top-10 finish in NASCAR’s feeder series, Gale looks forward to getting back into competition. Being handled by drivers such as Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, the KHI Chevrolet is no stranger to success. With the reputation of the No. 33, Gale notes that he feels the pressure to continue the success.

"Obviously, I expect to go there and run well,” Gale stated. “Last year I was able to earn my first career top-10 finish in March and then ran really good in June, only to have some bad luck with a tire and didn't get the finish we wanted. This year the team has already proven capable of winning and I know that we can go out and finish in the top 10 this time around.”

Gale concluded, “To have these guys [Harvick, Stewart and Newman] as teammates and knowing how well they run at these tracks, only pushes me to drive harder every time I get in the car."

In addition to Coleman and Gale, Sean Caisse is also prepared to open his Nationwide Series season at Nashville. With one series start under his belt coming from Dover in 2006 when he drove the KHI Chevrolet to a 42nd place finish due to a wreck on lap 10, Caisse gears up for Nashville intending to impress Richard Childress Racing (RCR) in his first start with the team.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to drive for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 2 Chevrolet,” Caisse commented. “This organization has a rich history in the Nationwide Series and they know what it takes to win championships. I’m equally excited to be working with Dan (crew chief Deeringhoff). He’s a championship-winning crew chief who is very knowledgeable about how the cars handle and I’m eager to learn a lot from him.”

Other notable drivers on the entry list for this weekend include: Erik Darnell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Marc Davis, Patrick Carpentier and Trevor Bayne.
Coverage on the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway is scheduled to begin at 7pm on ESPN2. Be sure to check in with HardcoreRaceFans.com for the latest updates from ‘Music City’.

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