Wimmer wins Nationwide at Nashville

Wimmer passed Bowyer with 20 laps remaining and then tried to be as smooth as possible with his right foot, while keeping his teammate at bay. At that point, fuel calculations were against him making it to the checkered flag without stopping.

Behind in third, the chasing Toyota of David Reutimann was also tight on fuel but in the end he was the only front-runner going for a splash and go, while Wimmer drove the No. 29 RCR machine to victory, with Bowyer closely in pursuit.

"It hasn't seemed like it's been that long but I haven't won a race since 2003," said Wimmer, who had last won at Pikes Peak nearly five years ago. "This is a great one to win. I've been after this guitar for a long time," he added referring to the winner's trophy.

"I was pretty nervous. I was letting off real early, getting on real wide. This fuel mileage thing is really scary because with just one little air bubble it's going to shut the car down and you're not going to be able to make it to the finish. Fortunately we made it today."

Bowyer was close to make it two in a row, having won last weekend at Bristol. After losing the lead to Wimmer in the closing stages he waited in vain for his teammate to run out of fuel in the last two laps.

As it emerged, Wimmer didn't, but Bowyer was also left a bit puzzled by the handling of his car in the last stint of the race.

"I really thought I was going to be fighting a loose car in the whole last run," Bowyer said. "Kyle (Busch) did that, I was loose behind him and then we got way too tight.

"Scott seemed like he was coming and there was nothing I could do. I didn't want to hold him back but I'm really happy for him. It's been a long time coming for him."

Kyle Busch was once again left hoping for his first Nationwide series win of the season. He led the field from pole position, and spent 125 laps up front until he got loose exiting turn four, making contact with Clint Bowyer only 62 laps from the end.

His car then went across the grass dividing the track from pit road and he was eventually able to get back on the concrete surface, although damage to the left front fender of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota forced him to pit under the green flag.

"Just a stupid mistake on the driver's part," Busch said after race, blaming himself for losing yet another win that looked within reach.

Carl Edwards, who had won the past three Nationwide series events held at Nashville, finished the race in a strong third place ahead of JR Motorsports' Brad Kaselowski and Kelly Bires.

Bowyer has now taken over the lead in the driver standings and is eleven points ahead of Edwards.

Kevin Harvick, who was leading the standings into this race, took the weekend off, as did most of the Sprint Cup regulars. Dario Franchitti was also absent at Nashville, his car being driven by Bryan Clauson.

Pos  Driver                  Make        Laps
 1.  Scott Wimmer            Chevrolet   225
 2.  Clint Bowyer            Chevrolet   225
 3.  Carl Edwards            Ford        225
 4.  Brad Keselowski         Chevrolet   225
 5.  Kelly Bires             Ford        225
 6.  David Stremme           Chevrolet   225
 7.  Denny Hamlin            Toyota      225
 8.  Cale Gale               Chevrolet   225
 9.  David Reutimann         Toyota      224
10.  Bobby Hamilton Jr       Ford        224
11.  Mike Bliss              Dodge       224
12.  Stephen Leicht          Chevrolet   224
13.  Jason Leffler           Toyota      224
14.  Chase Miller            Dodge       224
15.  Colin Braun             Ford        224
16.  Kyle Busch              Toyota      223
17.  Bryan Clauson           Dodge       223
18.  Jason Keller            Chevrolet   223
19.  Landon Cassill          Chevrolet   223
20.  Mike Wallace            Toyota      223
21.  David Ragan             Ford        223
22.  Sterling Marlin         Chevrolet   222
23.  Marcos Ambrose          Ford        222
24.  Steve Wallace           Chevrolet   222
25.  Kyle Krisiloff          Dodge       221
26.  Mark Green              Chevrolet   221
27.  Brad Coleman            Ford        221
28.  Brad Baker              Ford        219
29.  Kevin Lepage            Ford        218
30.  Kertus Davis            Chevrolet   218
31.  Eric McClure            Chevrolet   218
32.  Kenny Wallace           Chevrolet   217
33.  Willie Allen            Dodge       216
34.  DJ Kennington           Dodge       216
35.  Robert Richardson, II   Chevrolet   211
36.  Mike Harmon             Chevrolet    72 
37.  Danny Efland            Chevrolet    61 
38.  Morgan Shepherd         Dodge        54 
39.  Johnny Chapman          Chevrolet    46 
40.  Derrike Cope            Chevrolet    38 
41.  Brad Teague             Ford         29 
42.  Larry Gunselman         Chevrolet    23 
43.  Brett Rowe              Chevrolet     9