BUSCH: Memphis: News of note, schedule

*Leffler Set For 150th Career Start

NBS, Etc.

* Memphis Debuts, Part II: Four drivers entered in Saturday's race also carry over from the "Debut City" theme for Memphis. Scott Wimmer and Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Dish Network Ford) made their series debuts in this race in 2000, while Steve Wallace and Stephen Leicht (No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford) did the same in 2005. David Reutimann captured his first -- and to date, only -- Busch Pole at Memphis in 2003.

* Double-Duty Doubles: Five double-duty drivers will venture to and from Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Sam's Town 250 and Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Pep Boys Auto 500. Each has a substitute driver ready at Memphis who will be available to practice and qualify their car if necessary -- Kenny Wallace will sub for Jamie McMurray; Matt McCall is in for Carl Edwards; Auggie Vidovich is on standby for David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford); Mark Green is on call for David Reutimann and Casey Atwood will sub for J.J. Yeley.

* Leffler Set For 150th Start: Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota), currently fourth in the series driver standings, looks to make his 150th start in the NASCAR Busch Series at Memphis. Leffler made his series debut at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis in 1999 and has won two races and eight poles in the 148 races since. His car will carry a special decal commemorating his landmark start.

* Tickets For Elvis?: Brad Coleman returns to the track for the first time since racing at Dover International Speedway last month and will be making his next-to-last appearance for Joe Gibbs Racing since announcing last week he will move to Brewco Motorsports full-time in 2008. His final scheduled race for JGR is next week at Texas Motor Speedway. Coleman plans on having some fun while in Memphis -- in addition to touring Graceland with an advance group of drivers including Scott Wimmer, Bryan Clauson, Jason Keller, Landon Cassill and Chase Austin Thursday -- Coleman's team will have an Elvis impersonator in the pits during the weekend.

* Helping Hand For "Shakes": CitiFinancial sponsored a fundraiser Monday, Oct. 22 for Shane "Shakes" Hakes at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte, N.C. The event raised more than $7,000 for Hakes' family. Hakes, who most recently served as a tire specialist on the No. 90 crew after also spending time with KHI's NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams in the same capacity, was critically injured in a motorcycle accident on July 15. As he continues to recover at WakeMed in Raleigh, N.C., the CitiFinancial racing crew and the No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford of Stephen Leicht will continue to carry the special "Racing for Shakes" logo.

* BB&T Back With Bowyer: Clint Bowyer will be back with sponsor BB&T for the 2008 season, the debut year for new series sponsor Nationwide Insurance. Bowyer, with two wins, 11 top fives and 16 top-10 finishes in 19 races this year, plans to contend for the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series championship next year. The sponsorship agreement extends through 2009. In his last full-time season in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2005, Bowyer finished second to Martin Truex Jr. in the championship by 68 points.

* Setting Different This Time For Keselowski: Four months ago at Memphis, Brad Keslelowski (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet) turned in the performance that set the stage for his career rejuvenation. Subbing for the suspended Ted Musgrave in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on June 30, Keselowski won the pole and led 62 laps -- including being in the lead before a spin with eight laps to go. He finished 16th but won a bigger prize when he was named to drive the No. 88 for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports program. Keselowski had been out of a ride prior to that time. "That run turned a lot of heads," he said. "I had a lot of voicemails to sort through when I landed back in Charlotte after the race and one was from Dale Jr. Now it's four months later and I'm coming back to Memphis with a full-time ride in the No. 88 Chevy."

Chevrolet Has Strong History At Final Four Tracks

If history holds, Chevrolet -- already the winner of the 2007 Bill France Performance Cup -- can continue to build on its impressive season.

Chevy is the top manufacturer at three of the final four tracks remaining on the schedule, including Memphis Motorsports Park.

Chevy has won six races at Memphis and has been to Victory Lane in the last three events there. Kevin Harvick's win last season was his second at Memphis, making him the only driver to have multiple victories at the track. His first in 2000 was also in a Chevrolet.

Ford is the only other active manufacturer with a win at Memphis. Tennessee native Bobby Hamilton Jr. (No. 35 McDonald's Ford) won in a Ford in 2003.

Chevrolet also has a series-leading six wins at Texas and Homestead-Miami Speedway while Ford has six wins at Phoenix International Raceway.

Up Next: O'Reilly Challenge At Texas Motor Speedway

The second and final visit of the 2007 season at Texas Motor Speedway is up next for the NASCAR Busch Series. The O'Reilly Challenge is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3 as part of three NASCAR races that weekend at the 1.5-mile track. ESPN2 will carry the race live beginning at 3 p.m. ET. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series runs on Friday night while NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race is on Sunday afternoon.

Kevin Harvick has won the last two fall races at Texas and three overall tying him with Mark Martin for the series lead in victories there.

Matt Kenseth, who captured his first series win at Texas in 2003, won this past April. He's the only driver other than Harvick and Martin with multiple victories at Texas.

David Ragan won his first career Busch Pole last April. Jeff Green, the 2000 series champion, leads all drivers with two poles.

No driver has won from the pole at Texas in the previous 13 races.

FAST FACTS

The Race: Sam's Town 250

The Place: Memphis Motorsports Park
The Date: Oct. 27, 20071

The Time: 3:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 3 p.m. (ET)

Track Layout: .75-mile oval

Race Purse: $1,302,075

2006 Winner: Kevin Harvick
2006 Pole: Johnny Sauter

Pre-Race Schedule: Friday--Practice, 2-3 p.m.; Rookie Practice, 3:30-4 p.m.; Final Practice, 4-5 p.m. Saturday--Qualifying, 9:35 a.m. (impound).

-credit: nascar