NASCAR: Sprint Cup stars in Pennsylvania, Nationwide Series runs in Iowa

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LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC
NASCAR's Sprint Cup series makes its second visit of the year to Pocono Raceway this weekend.

By: Al Pearce on 8/05/2011

NASCAR's three-race, two-venue weekend has a somewhat different face now that Carl Edwards has re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing and Brad Keselowski has been told to skip the weekend's Nationwide Series race in Iowa. And what's with those big-time Sprint Cup stars running the Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway?

Edwards is at Pocono all day Friday and part of Saturday to prepare for Sunday afternoon's Good Sam Emergency 500. For the first time in months, he'll be free of those nagging questions about whether he plans to stay at Roush Fenway or jump to Joe Gibbs Racing. He ended all the suspense and speculation when he announced on Thursday that he'll he stay with Ford and Roush Fenway.

After his Pocono obligations end with Cup qualifying on Saturday morning, Edwards will fly to Newton, Iowa. There, he'll prepare for and race in Saturday night U.S. Cellular Nationwide 250. It was a race Keselowski was scheduled to run but he withdrew after chipping an ankle bone in a Wednesday test-session crash at Road Atlanta. Team owner Roger Penske has tapped Sam Hornish Jr. to replace Keselowski, who'll be at Pocono resting up for Sunday afternoon's Sprint Cup race. Edwards and Michael McDowell will be the only Cup regulars in Iowa.

Saturday afternoon's support race at Pocono is the Good Sam Truck Series 125. Teams will practice on Friday, qualify on Saturday morning, then race on Saturday afternoon. The series regulars will have their hands full with Cup regulars Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.

The full Pocono schedule:

-- Friday: 10-11:50 a.m., final Camping World practice; 12-1:30 p.m., Sprint Cup practice; 1:40-3 p.m., final ARCA practice; 4-5:30 p.m., final Cup practice; 5:40 p.m., ARCA qualifying

-- Saturday: 9:35 a.m., Truck Series qualifying; 10:40 a.m., Cup qualifying; 1 p.m., start of Good Sam Truck Series 125; 3 p.m., start of Pennsylvania ARCA 125

-- Sunday: 1:15 p.m., start of Pennsylvania Sprint Cup 500

The Iowa Speedway schedule:

-- Friday: 4:30-5:30 p.m., Nationwide Series practice; 6-7:30 p.m., final Nationwide practice

-- Saturday: 3:35 p.m., qualifying; 7:30 p.m., start of US Cellular Nationwide Series 250

 

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