N'Wide: early caution in Iowa

Caution has waved early in Iowa, with an incident between Mike Harmon, Aric Almirola and Brad Coleman, according to a tweet from @NascarNNS.

Our View Harmon sustained the most damage, but Coleman is in the stronger car. He's driving the Joe Gibbs' No. 20 and would be considered a dark horse contender for a top-five. Let's hope his damage is not great.

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N'Wide: Coleman fastest in final Milwaukee practice

Brad Coleman posted the fastest single lap in the final practice session at Milwaukee, according to a tweet from @NASCAR_NNS.

Our View: Coleman is in the No. 20 normally driven by Joey Logano, so he has the horses to run with the leaders all day. As a part time driver, he will be a good value in Nationwide games as well—which makes him a double threat.

Practice Times

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N'Wide Coleman looks to repeat top five Milwaukee run

Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished fourth in first outing at the Mile

Charlotte, NC (June 16, 2009) – 19 year-old Brad Coleman had never seen the famed Milwaukee Mile when he first set sail on the track in 2007. Undaunted, the rookie brought the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 home in fourth and looks to repeat and improve on the finish this coming Father’s Day weekend.

“It is a fast, flat race track and I love racing there,” said Coleman. “I finished Top 10 in my debut in the No. 20 Rudys.com Toyota two weeks ago and am determined to improve that finish this weekend at Milwaukee. It’s my turn to give my dad a Father’s Day present he’ll never forget.”

This will be Coleman’s third run at Milwaukee, finishing fourth two years ago and 25th last season in a Baker Curb prepared race car. His last outing on-track was setting up Kyle Busch’s No. 18 machine last week at Kentucky.“

It was all I could do not to hope Kyle’s helicopter was late last weekend at Kentucky,” smiled Coleman. “I enjoyed practicing and setting up his car for him and would have loved to have raced it. I do know he got the most out of it because he is the best there is right now in the driving world.”

From a team press release

N'Wide: Nashville lineup, with avg. start/fin

Kyle Busch stole the show by earning the pole for the Federated Auto Parts 300, but the driver in second made the most noise. In only his second Nationwide career start and hailing from just up the road in Knoxville, Tenn. Trevor Bayne held off the remainder of the competitors in a Michael Waltrip Toyota and will start from the outside pole.

They call this an opportunity race for a reason. Busch and sixth-place qualifier Carl Edwards are the only two Cup regulars in the show and that allowed some unfamiliar names to grace the top of the charts. Michael McDowell (third), Brad Coleman (fourth) and Scott Lagasse Jr. (fifth) rounded out the top five.

Look for some new faces at the front of the pack when the checkers wave as well.

Lineup, with average start/finish

Start	Driver	Avg. Fin	Avg. Start	Attempts
1	Kyle Busch	17.43	9.63	8
2	Trevor Bayne		2.00	1
3	Michael McDowell	15.00	3.00	2
4	Brad Coleman	26.50	16.80	5
5	Scott Lagasse Jr	10.00	21.50	2
6	Carl Edwards	4.13	6.56	9
7	Brendan Gaughan	17.00	10.50	2
8	Mike Bliss	13.20	11.45	11
9	Stephen Leicht	16.00	9.60	5
10	Brad Keselowski	17.20	18.17	6
11	Jason Keller	14.53	13.38	16
12	Jason Leffler	15.56	15.20	10
13	Sean Caisse		13.00	1
14	John Wes Townley	18.00	16.00	2
15	Cale Gale	23.00	16.33	6
16	Steve Wallace	15.29	15.25	8
17	Willie Allen	33.00	27.50	2
18	Kevin Conway	31.00	19.50	2
19	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	23.00	12.00	2
20	Mark Green	27.50	28.44	9
21	Bobby Hamilton Jr	14.36	10.00	12
22	Burney Lamar	12.50	18.00	5
23	Johnny Chapman	39.67	32.50	4
24	Justin Allgaier	29.00	16.50	2
25	Brian Keselowski	41.00	29.00	2
26	Kertus Davis	35.25	28.33	9
27	Erik Darnell		27.00	1
28	Kenny Wallace	15.33	18.92	13
29	Robert Richardson	32.00	37.75	4
30	Eric McClure	31.57	34.88	8
31	Michael Annett	19.00	22.00	2
32	Kelly Bires	8.00	17.40	5
33	Scott Wimmer	10.50	16.91	11
34	Casey Atwood	16.33	23.50	4
35	Shelby Howard	14.00	35.00	2
36	Brad Baker	22.83	29.71	7
37	Brandon Whitt	30.00	39.00	2
38	Marc Davis		38.00	1
39	Kevin Lepage	25.20	28.17	6
40	Tony Raines	20.25	21.33	9
41	Mike Harmon	37.50	38.89	9
42	Danny O'Quinn Jr	21.60	23.17	6
43	Morgan Shepherd	36.00	38.00	7
DNQ	Daryl Harr
DNQ	Justin Hobgood	41.00	32.00	1

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N'Wide: Edwards fastest in Nashville practice 2

With rain cancelling Friday activities at Pocono, Carl Edwards made his way to Nashville Superspeedway and posted the fastest time in Happy Hour for the Federated Auto Parts 300.

Our View: Brad Coleman in a Gibbs' car, Steve Wallace, Mike Bliss and Sean Caisse in a Childress car rounded out the top five. Kyle Busch also made the long commute from Pocono, but he was only 12th fastest. Jason Leffler—who won the first session—clocked in eighth best on this chart.

Complete Practice Times

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Brad Coleman Back On Track at Nashville

From the team press release:

Charlotte, NC (June 2, 2009) – The last time Brad Coleman was in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race was August of 2008 when he brought home a Top 10 finish at Watkins Glen. Ten months later, the 21 year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver is looking to regain momentum when he gets back on track at Nashville in the No. 20 Rudys.com JGR Toyota Camry at the Federated Auto Parts 300.

Considered by many to be one of the top NASCAR Sprint Cup prospects coming off his 2007 rookie NASCAR Nationwide Series season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Brad Coleman endured a tough sophomore year. With JGR unable to obtain sponsorship for a full 2008 Nationwide Series run, Coleman was faced with the prospect of driving a handful of races or moving to another team to get a full season under his belt. After conferring with JGR President J.D. Gibbs and VP of Nationwide Series Operations Steve DeSouza, the trio agreed he needed the full season of seat time and experience at all of the tracks on the circuit.Joe

Within the week, the 19 year-old signed a full season deal with two newly purchased race teams. He signed with Baker Curb Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Hall of Fame Racing in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“I may be the only guy ever to sign with a Ford team in one series and a Toyota team in another series at the same time,” smiles Coleman. “It was a move everyone agreed to at the time and it promised me a lot of seat time in both the Nationwide and COT cars which is what I needed.”
It proved to be a valuable but difficult learning experience. Both teams faced new ownership complications and the financial challenges that came with the downfall of the U.S. economy in 2008.

“I wouldn’t trade that learning opportunity for the world, nor would I ever want to go through it again,” stated Coleman. “I got a lot of seat time in both cars and developed a level of patience, maturity and appreciation that I know will serve me well for years to come.”