Nationwide's debut comes on grand stage at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The wait is nearly over.

After signing on last October, Nationwide Insurance will make its debut as the title sponsor for the nation's second-most popular motorsports series.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series opens on the sport's biggest stage -- Daytona International Speedway -- on Saturday afternoon. More than 50 cars will attempt to qualify for the Camping World 300 which will be televised on ESPN2 (noon ET Saturday).

"Nationwide is excited about this long-term partnership and recognizes that NASCAR has the most loyal and dedicated fan base of any sport," said Jim Lyski, chief marketing officer for Nationwide. "We look forward to putting tremendous energy and resources into supporting this sponsorship and advancing the profile of the NASCAR Nationwide Series."

The field for the race -- the 27th season-opener in series history -- is one of the strongest ever. Ten former champions are entered including reigning driver champion Carl Edwards and the defending owner champion, the No. 29 Chevrolet which will be driven by Scott Wimmer.

Six former winners of this race representing nine victories are also entered while Joe Nemechek, whose four poles are the most for this event, returns to series competition for the first time since last March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Nick Laham/Getty Images

Carl Edwards

Camping World 300

Fast Facts

What:	Camping World 300
Where:	Daytona Int'l
When:	Noon ET Saturday
Television:	ESPN2
Radio:	MRN/Sirius Ch. 128
Layout:	2.5-mile tri-oval
Distance:	120 laps/300 miles
2007 winner:	Kevin Harvick
2007 pole:	Aric Almirola

• Track Page | By the Numbers

No time for catch-up
With the number of drivers in contention for the 2008 Nationwide Series championship, there would seem to be little opportunity for anyone to play catch-up following Saturday's season-opener at Daytona.

Reigning champion Edwards knows a fast start is in order thanks to the overall strength of the series field this year.

Edwards' top challengers figure to be Clint Bowyer, who returns full time to the series for the first time since his runner-up finish to Martin Truex Jr. in 2006.

David Reutimann, second to Edwards last year, and Jason Leffler, who was third in the standings in 2007, return in what looks to be improved Toyota equipment in the early going.

Johnny Sauter is back after a year in the Cup Series and is an immediate contender.

Others who give little breathing room to Edwards include series veteran Bobby Hamilton Jr., Marcos Ambrose, Mike Wallace and Mike Bliss.

Developing new talent is core of series
The Nationwide Series does indeed serve as a developmental opportunity -- other than Tony Stewart, 11 of the 12 drivers in the 2007 Chase for the Sprint Cup spent at least two full seasons in the series before moving on.

Three of the four current drivers vying for series rookie of the year honors are entered in Saturday's race while eight former rookies of the year are also entered at Daytona.

Brad Coleman, Steve Wallace, Bryan Clauson, Kelly Bires, Cale Gale and Brad Keselowski are using the series to develop their skills to try and become the next generation of Sprint Cup stars.

"With Nationwide coming on board, it's a huge boost for the series," two-time series champion and team owner Kevin Harvick said. "I think as we go forward [the series] will be as strong as ever and you will see more young guys, more independent teams and hopefully more Cup drivers having Nationwide teams and participation in the series, supporting the sport as they should."

Harvick -- the defending race winner who also claimed the 2007 Daytona 500 -- is now racing his own equipment and mentoring Gale. This is the first time in his nine-year series career Harvick isn't driving for Richard Childress Racing.

David Stremme returns to the Nationwide Series this year and is on board with Rusty Wallace Racing. He'll be a valuable asset to Steve Wallace and young Chase Austin.

JR Motorsports -- having merged with Rick Hendrick's Nationwide Series program -- has an all-star outfit that will benefit the careers of Keselowski and Landon Cassill. Two-time Nationwide Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin (the all-time leader in wins and poles in the series) and defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will all participate in select Nationwide Series races this year.

Toss in the much-anticipated debut of NASCAR Camping World East champion Joey Logano (scheduled for May) and its apparent that the series is ripe with its own new stars.

In the Loop: It's an all-star event at Daytona
The first race under the Nationwide Insurance banner won't disappoint. The statistical storylines seem endless.

Four favorites all have angles that can be pondered for hours.

First there's Earnhardt. He'll be driving in his first points race for JR Motorsports in the No. 5 Chevrolet -- a car that went to Victory Lane four times with Kyle Busch last season. Plus, Earnhardt is brilliant at Daytona -- he has five DIS wins in the Nationwide Series. His stats since 2005 are likewise solid. Earnhardt has a Driver Rating of 106.5, an Average Running Position of 10.1 and a series-high 46 Fastest Laps Run.

Then there's the new top man at Earnhardt's former team, Truex. With Earnhardt's departure, Truex inherited the lead role at Dale Earnhardt Inc. A solid run at Daytona should make the transition easier. The scenario is a likely one -- he has one win there and since 2005 has a series-best Driver Rating of 110.0, an Average Running Position of 8.9 and has run 84.1 percent of his Laps in the Top 15.

Another storyline is Stewart's first points race in a Toyota. Stewart has two Nationwide Series wins at Daytona, so the move should be a smooth one. Since 2005, Stewart has a Daytona Driver Rating of 104.9 and an Average Running Position of 11.9.

This season, Harvick will run exclusively in his own KHI equipment. Since 2005, Harvick, who won this race last year (he pulled the Nationwide Series-Daytona 500 sweep), has a Driver Rating of 109.5, an Average Running Position of 9.2, 25 Fastest Laps Run and 81.9 percent of his Laps in the Top 15.

NNS Etc.
• Four countries are represented by entrants for Saturday's Camping World 300. The United States has the most (50) while Australia (Marcos Ambrose), Canada (D.J. Kennington) and Scotland (Dario Franchitti) each have one driver entered.

• Harvick might be driving his own cars this year but his Daytona entry has had tremendous success on the track. The No. 33 Chevrolet won back-to-back season openers in 2005-06 with Tony Stewart behind the wheel.

• Clauson, Franchitti, Gale and Keselowski are the current drivers competing for the Nationwide Series rookie of the year title.

• When Keselowski starts Saturday's Camping World 300 he will become the second member of his family to race the No. 88 Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway. His uncle, Ron Keselowski, drove the No. 88 to a seventh-place finish in the 1972 Firecracker 400 at Daytona.