Via Getty Images

By Davey Segal

This week the Nascar Nationwide Series takes on the Iowa Speedway a 0.875 mile tri-oval located in the town of Newton, Iowa.  It sounds peaceful, but it’s truly a treacherous little track. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will look to win his third straight Nationwide race at Iowa Speedway this Sunday. There are a lot of reasons to look forward to watching this weekend’s race at Iowa and there are many storylines. 

First, Elliot Sadler.  Last week at Darlington, his crew chief, Luke Lambert made a risky call to not take 4 tires while most of the leaders did.  With about 6 or so laps to go, Elliot stepped on the gas and Joey Logano was literally pushing his bumper down the front straightaway.  Sadler was turned into the wall right after the green flag flew and was out of the race, a big hurting in the point standings.

After the wreck, Elliot was a professional and didn’t freak out like most drivers that just had a winning race car crashed would.  Bu he just hated that it had to end like that for him because he is “fighting for [his] life” out on that track.  Logano went on to win the race, his second in a row and apologized to Sadler in victory lane.  Another storyline to look at is Kurt Busch running in the #54 Monster Energy Toyota.  Last week in the cup series, he was involved in some controversy after the race and was later fined $50,000.  I think Kurt has moved on from last week, but it might be something to watch if he gets a little too close with some of his competitors out on the track.

Race Info

Date- Sunday May 20^th, 2012

Location- Newton, Iowa

Start Time- 2:24 PM EST/ 1:24 PM CT

Distance- 250 Laps/ 218.75 Miles

Broadcast TV- ESPN

Broadcast Radio- MRN

Weather Forecast

High- 77 F Low- 55 F

Chance of rain- 40%

Scattered Thunder Storms

News & Notes

Eric McClure still out of car after Talladega wreck

Nationwide regulars to seek opportunity to win with limited Cup drivers in the field

Joe Gibbs Racing looks to win third straight Nationwide Race

                As whenever she races, Danica Patrick is a storyline coming into this weekend.  She has never raced at Iowa in NASCAR, however in Indy Car she has, but we all know that the two series are much different.  At Darlington last weekend, she averaged a 15.5 running position throughout the race, which is very solid for her first time at the Darlington.  This will be another new challenge for her at a new track for NASCAR but I think she will do pretty well.  Her teammate, Cole Whitt is currently 5^th in the standings and is the leading candidate for rookie of the year.  He continues to have solid runs in the No.88 car and I expect the same of him this weekend.

                Travis Pastrana will also be making his third career NASCAR Nationwide Series start this weekend.  He’s been doing well for an off-road driver known for swerving out of control in my opinion.  Darrell Wallace Jr. will make his Nationwide debut in the #20 JGR car.  He has been a star in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

                Overall, I think you will see a great race at Iowa this weekend and it won’t disappoint.

Event Schedule

Nationwide Practice 9:30 AM EST/ 8:30 AM CT Saturday (Not televised)

Qualifying 4:30 PM EST/ /3:30 PM CT Saturday (Not televised)

Race 2:00 PM EST/ 1:00 PM CT Sunday on ESPN

Next Race- History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte, North Carolina

Edited by Jason Schultz

Entry List via Nascar.com