Local Look: Nashville

Event: Pepsi 300/Nextel Cup off week

Local papers covering: The Tennesseean (Nashville), Las Vegas Sun, Augusta Chronicle

Racing music to ears of violinist turned flagman

The deal: Larry Woody of the Tennessean says Busch Series flagman Kevin Moss spent five years playing violin in the Nashville Junior Symphony before being lured away by NASCAR's motor music.

ALSO  •  More from the NASCAR.com Newswire  •  Complete race coverage

"I switched from Beethoven to Earnhardt," Moss told the paper with a chuckle. "I still love music of all kinds -- especially guitar, which is what I now play -- but racing comes first."

Why we care: Moss will be on the flag stand directing traffic in Saturday's Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. That's where he got his start six years ago.

The 36-year-old Mt. Juliet resident at one time worked for now-retired NASCAR flagman Doyle Ford's Acme Fire & Safety business. Moss began attending races with Ford and started picking up his flagging techniques.

A few years ago when the Busch Series needed a flagman -- officially called a "chief starter" -- Moss stepped forward.

For more NASCAR news from around the globe, click here.

Petty to race a Porsche during off weekend

The deal: Brian Hilderbrand of the Las Vegas Sun reports that not every driver will be idle this weekend when the Nextel Cup Series takes its traditional weekend off for the Easter holiday.

	Kyle Petty

Kyle Petty will return to the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series and compete with Gunnar Racing in Saturday's Phoenix 250 on the 1.51-mile infield road course at Phoenix International Raceway.

Why we care: Petty, who will drive the No. 45 Porsche GT3 RS, has competed in seven Rolex Series races during the past three years.

"It's no secret that I love racing in the Rolex Series," Petty said. "I try to do it every chance I get and with Nextel Cup being off (this) weekend, I jumped at the chance to get back in a sports car.

For more NASCAR news on Kyle Petty, click here.

Busch brothers closer than ever

The deal: Larry Woody of The Tennessean says besides being two of NASCAR's hottest drivers, Kurt and Kyle Busch are best friends, as well

	Kurt Busch

"Our racing has brought us closer," said Kyle, a Busch Series rookie who will be among the favorites in Saturday's Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Why we care: Kyle won the track's ARCA race in his first start last season and is fourth in the Busch Series standings this year. Kurt is first in the Nextel Cup points and at age 25 already has nine victories.

For more NASCAR news on Kurt Busch, click here.

Schedule expansion not out of the question

The deal: Don Coble of the Augusta Chronicle says the push to add second races at Texas, Las Vegas and Kansas -- plus the expected construction of facilities in the Pacific Northwest and New York City -- might prompt NASCAR officials to expand the schedule from 36 regular season events to 40.

NASCAR president Mike Helton has suggested that all-star events such as the Budweiser Shootout and Nextel Challenge could be moved off their weekend spots and replaced with new races. He said his group has considered adding the all-star races to a track's weekend schedule, essentially making it one of the support events instead of a stand-alone event.

Why we care: A 40-race schedule would make speedway operators happy. And many race teams said if the schedule is done properly, they could handle the extra work.

"If they made some adjustments and looked at it carefully, yeah, we could run 40 or more races in a season," said Kyle Petty, a driver and team owner.

For more NASCAR news from around the globe, click here.