Bowyer heads to Nashville for Tennessee two-step

If the Nationwide Series had pari-mutuel wagering, the most popular quinella for Saturday's Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway would be Carl Edwards-Clint Bowyer.

Consider their numbers at Nashville:

• Edwards has won the past three Nationwide Series races at the track and has finished in the top five in all five of his races.

• Bowyer has one win and has finished in the top five in all seven of his races at the 1.333-mile oval. He has finished second in his past three races at Nashville, twice to Edwards.

• The average finish for each driver in head-to-head races at Nashville is a dead heat: 2.8.

• Bowyer has the top driver rating at 130.2, Edwards is third at 125.6, right behind the 125.7 of Kevin Harvick, who is not racing this weekend.

Fast facts

What	Pepsi 300
When	Green, 3:15 p.m. ET Sat.
TV	ESPN, 2 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 3 p.m. ET

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"It's going to be an exciting race. I love racing there," Edwards said. "Nashville's a unique track, because it's concrete, super fast and you can race all over the track. You have to get the setup right, but the track is a blast."

With the Sprint Cup Series taking the weekend off for Easter, Saturday's race is the weekend's only NASCAR event. It allows Edwards and Bowyer, Cup regulars, to narrow their focus.

"This will be a slow-paced weekend with the Sprint Cup Series being off, but our determination will be the same," Edwards said. "Our goal is to win another guitar. The guitar is such an awesome trophy."

Edwards is more than comfortable with guitars and music -- he is co-founder of the Back40 Records label in his hometown of Columbia, Mo. But if you asked Bowyer, he'd tell you three guitars are plenty for Edwards.

"Carl has kind of been the king over there," Bowyer said, "so hopefully we can whup up on him on that concrete."

Bowyer won last week's race at Bristol, also a concrete track. Edwards, the defending Nationwide Series champion, is winless in 2008.

Notes
Included in the field are hometown drivers Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Sterling Marlin. Hamilton has fared well at the track with five top-10s in nine races. Marlin is making his 2008 debut, taking over the No. 1 after Johnny Sauter was released earlier this week. Marlin has one top-10 in five Nationwide races at Nashville. ... Landon Cassill, 18, Colin Braun, 19, and Chase Miller, 21, are making their season debuts.

Also
• By the Numbers: Pepsi 300