Cup series off, but Edwards on guitar hunt in Nashville

The Sprint Cup Series enjoys its first off-weekend of the season but don't be surprised to see a series regular standing in Victory Lane.

The Nationwide Series takes center stage on the Easter break at Nashville Superspeedway and Saturday's Pepsi 300 field will include a number of Cup pilots.

Carls Edwards goes for his fourth win in a row in the Music City. (Getty Images)

Leading the way are Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer, who come to the Music City second and third in the Nationwide Series standings. Both have a chance to climb higher in the points since current series leader Kevin Harvick won't race this weekend.

The odds are certainly in Edwards' favor as the defending series champion looks for his fourth straight win at the 1.33-mile concrete track.

Edwards has finished in the top five in all five of his Nashville career series starts and is obviously looking forward to continuing that successful streak.

"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."

Edwards will have the benefit of simply concentrating on his Nationwide effort in Nashville and not juggling the double duty obligations of running the Sprint Cup car as he's done in the first five races of the year.

"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."

Bowyer won at Nashville in 2005 and comes into this weekend's race on the heels of his rain-shortened victory in Bristol last Saturday.

He's aware that any trip to Nashville's Victory Lane will no doubt go through Edwards.

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

In addition to Bowyer and Edwards, other Cup drivers in Nashville include Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan and David Reutimann. It's a solid showing, but not an overwhelming turnout from the Cup side as in the season's first five Nationwide races.

That will provide an opportunity for some of the Nationwide regulars to shine including Australian Marcos Ambrose.