GLADEVILLE, Tenn. – There was a time when finishing 16th in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race would have seemed like a win for ML Motorsports. Saturday evening at Nashville Superspeedway wasn't one of those times. With the experience and talent of driver David Stremme, as well as upgraded equipment and an ever-improving pit crew, finishing 16th in the Federated Auto Parts 300 was a bit disappointing for the Warsaw-based stock car team. "Yeah, it's disappointing," said ML Motorsports crew chief Mark Gutekunst. "Especially after the way we practiced. We were just outside of the top 10 in both practices." Piloting Mary Louise Miller's No. 70 Chevy, Stremme turned the 13th-quickest time in the first practice Friday and was 12th-quick in the final practice later that day. Saturday afternoon, Stremme qualified 23rd, and promised the team the car would race better than it qualified. It did, just not as well as the South Bend native and the rest of the team would have liked. "We finished better than the last time we were here, so that's a positive," said Gutekunst. "Every time we go to the track, we're learning something. We're going to keep moving forward." In the first five races of the season – with Greenwood native Shelby Howard behind the wheel – ML Motorsports had just one finish better than 27th. Stremme's first race in the No. 70 machine resulted in a 20th-place effort in the spring race at Nashville, which at the time was the team's best finish of the year. A week later, Stremme drove his way to a ninth-place finish in a short-track battle at Richmond International Raceway. Stremme has also finished 12th at Michigan and 23rd at Kentucky. In five races with ML Motorsports, Stremme has an average finish of 16th as the team continues to improve and gel with its new driver. "It was a hard-fought 16th," Gutekunst said of Stremme's finish at Nashville. "We've still got more to learn, and we're gonna get there." Roush-Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards dominated Saturday's 225-lap event, leading 124 laps, including the final 41, en route to his sixth career win at the 1.33-mile concrete oval. Edwards' teammate, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished second. Austin Dillon, grandson of well-known team owner Richard Childress, followed his win in Camping World Truck Series with a third-place finish in the Nationwide Series. Justin Allgaier and Aric Almirola rounded out the top five, while Sam Hornish Jr., Drew Herring, Reed Sorenson, Trevor Bayne and Kenny Wallace finished sixth through 10th, respectively. Edwards, who leads the Sprint Cup Series points race over five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, was on point when the first caution came out on lap 82. After pitting, he was penalized for speeding on pit road and ordered to the rear of the longest line on the restart. Edwards, quickly worked his way back through the field and took the lead from Dillon on lap 120. Edwards, who said he was racing with a cold, coupled with the extreme heat of the weekend, took the lead from Dillon again on lap 184 and was out front for the rest of the race. He completed his dominance with his customary backflip, and then saluted the fans by taking the checkered flag, scaling the fence and walking through the crowd. Among other notable drivers in the 43-car field, Sprint Cup star Brad Keselowski started from the pole and led the first 58 laps. He led 89 laps in all and finished 12th. The Nationwide Series will be in action again Saturday at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. Not only is it the 30th annual Kroger 200, but the series will race across town next year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And for Stremme and ML Motorsports, it's the only race of the season in their home state. "It's a big deal for us," Gutekunst said of racing in Indy this weekend. "Our guest list is always full there, and we've got a lot of family and friends there. It's short-track racing, and we're better at that, and David has had success there. We're looking forward to it."
