NASCAR O'Reilly Series

Sweet Home Alabama...Piquet Jr. will make his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon, having only previously raced at the 2.66-mile track in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The excitement in the air is palpable as Martin and the TriStar Motorsports crew of the No.44 American Custom Yachts Toyota Camry complete final preparations on their racecar and begin the journey to Talladega. Martin last competed at Talladega Superspeedway in the ARCA Series in 2010 where he received a 10th place finish and again in 2011 where an accident ended his efforts early.

Penalties have been levied to two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams as a result of their involvement in separate post-race incidents following last Friday’s race at Richmond International Raceway.

After running strong at Richmond International Raceway and recording the team’s best finish of 2013, Landon Cassill and the No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet will head to Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 299 on Saturday, May 4th. The top-20 finish moved the No. 4 car up 16 points in the owner’s standings, but still leaves the team outside the top-30 in points.

Despite just two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Bayne is the fastest driver early in a run (first 25% of laps run since a pit stop), averaging 192 mph. He is also the third fastest late in a run (last 25% of laps run since a pit stop).

“Obviously it’s something that crosses my mind, occasionally. People still talk to me about it though. Truthfully, it had a bigger effect in our lives off the track than on it; but physically, there are still reminders of it. However, it becomes just another race when you get to the track and you can't dwell on things. Accidents happen in this business and I look forward to competing there.”

The No. 43 Pilot Travel Centers Ford team and driver Reed Sorenson is coming off of a strong 10th-place finish at Richmond International Raceway last Friday night and now looks to secure a second consecutive top-10 finish at the high-banked Talladega Superspeedway.

Richard Childress began his driving career at Talladega Superspeedway in 1969 and leads team owners for the most all-time victories at the storied Alabama-based race track with 12 wins, including three of the last six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.

Elliott Sadler and the No. 11 OneMain Financial team head to Alabama to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend.

This Week's SchoolTipline.com Toyota ... Alex Bowman will pilot RAB Racing Chassis No. 051 at Talladega Superspeedway. This chassis is making its Nationwide Series debut this weekend in the Aaron's 312.