The NASCAR Nationwide series left Daytona and headed to California for the Stater Bros. 300. For the first time this season, the teams would be able to compare their equipment to the competition's.

Check out the winners and losers of the Stater Bros. 300.

Winner

Kyle Busch

Even though Kyle Busch took the outside pole on Saturday, Busch continued to say over his radio that he did not have a car good enough to win. 

Busch struggled with handling all day long. It took a late restart that saw the dominating car of Logano shuffled out of the lead and Greg Biffle and Busch battling for the win. Busch and Biffle banged their way to the finish and Busch took the checkered.

On Saturday, Busch hopes to find a similar result at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch’s one win at the desert track came last year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race. In the NNS, he has yet to find victory circle there.

In six starts, Busch’s average finish is 23.0 and in his last two starts he has finished 31st and 30th due to accidents. Busch has one top five at LVMS and that was in 2007, when he finished second. I would expect the results on Saturday to be different.

Points: Third

Kelly Bires

In case you did not know it, JR Motorsports' other driver, Kelly Bires, made his team debut on Saturday. He did it under the radar and came home with a solid seventh place finish.

Bires had a poor qualifying run that had them starting 32nd on Saturday. Bires and his crew were confident they could rebound and make it to the front.

They did not lead the race, but Bires made his way into the top 10 using the long green flag runs and pit strategy.

It was an impressive run for Bires, who has been overshadowed by his part-time teammate, Danica Patrick.

Bires now will head to Las Vegas with momentum on his side. He has only run twice at LVMS with an average start of 17th and an average finish of 26th; his best finish was 15th in 2008.

Bires has a long road ahead of him to rebound from not being entered at Daytona. He has the talent to run up front, but it’s all a matter of limiting mistakes both on pit road and on the track.

Points: 30th

Losers

Joey Logano

Joey Logano led over 100 laps, but it was his teammate, Busch, who took the checkered flag.

Logano had the best car out there all day long on Sunday. They lost the lead early but got it back from Busch.

On the final restart of the race, Logano was shuffled to third after contact between him and Biffle. Logano was not able to regain the lead after then getting spun into the infield after contact between himself and Brad Kesleowski. He finished fifth.

It was a disappointing finish to the race but heading to Vegas, Logano has a lot to look forward to. Logano will be factor for the race on Saturday. He has had fast race cars every week.

Like his teammate, he needs to run a clean race and avoid making mistakes. I expect to see him up front and leading laps at LVMS this weekend.

Points: Second

John Wes Townley

It was an impressive start for John Wes Townley, the Richard Childress Racing driver, after he qualified sixth for Saturday’s race. He ran in the top 10 for most of the first half of the race.

It was on lap 119 that Townley’s day turned for the worse. Townley’s car got loose and spun down the track, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., unable to avoid Townley, slammed the inside wall hard.

Townley finished 30th after what looked like a promising day. Townley has good equipment under him, race-winning equipment, but he is still learning how to minimize mistakes.

When he comes to LVMS, he will only have one other start at the desert track and that was a 38th-place finish in 2009. He should be able to improve that average finish with a strong run on Saturday.

Points: 27th

Final lap…

If you are looking for a few dark horses on Saturday, check out Brad Keselowski. His average finish of 28th does not tell the whole story.

Last year, he had a slow start to the season and that continued at LVMS. I expect him after his third-place finish on Saturday at ACS to be running up near the front.

I would also look out for Brian Scott. After his impressive run at ACS, he is carrying a lot of momentum. He was one of the few drivers who were able to come up and challenge Logano.

I expect to see him start near the front. He has experience at this track when he ran in the Camping World Truck Series. Two very different vehicles but I am confident he will be challenging for the win on Saturday.

My two questions for the upcoming race:

Can Kyle Busch finally win at LVMS in the Nationwide series?

Can Danica Patrick rebound in her final NASCAR race until June?

These are just two of the many questions heading into Las Vegas on Saturday. The Sam’s Town 300 starts at 4 ET on ESPN2.

While you are watching the Daytona 500 on FOX on Sunday keep an eye out for a very interesting and fun twist on the classic 1970’s Coca Cola commercial.

Coca Cola drivers Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Elliott Sadler and Tony Stewart attempt to put a remake the classic commercial.

The new Coca Cola commercial shows these drivers in the heat of the moment on the track but in the car they begin to sing “If I could buy the world a coke”.

Harvick admitted that they probably should stick to their day jobs and avoid the stage of American Idol.

“It’s been both fun and an honor to be a part of creating a new NASCAR® take on a commercial that is such a big part of Coke’s history,” said driver Kevin Harvick. “Most of us drivers should probably stick to our day jobs, though, because I’m pretty sure our version of the famous Coca-Cola song won’t make it to the top of the charts.”

The drivers got in on the fun and even poked fun at themselves, well sort of.

“I would nominate Elliott Sadler as the worse” Bowyer said.
Hamlin picked Harvick as the worse, but not without getting a quick jab in, “He probably makes me look pretty good.”

Meanwhile Burton didn’t believe the crew when they told him he did a good job. For Logano, who was not even born when the original commercial aired, while Burton remembers when the commercial originally aired.

Coca Cola has always found a way to showcase their product along with the NASCAR drivers in very unique ways. This one definitely showcases that these drivers’ fans won’t have to worry about them leaving racing for singing.

So sit back enjoy and sing along as the Coca Cola family of racing takes a trip down memory lane during a Sunday afternoon drive.

NASCAR fans come from all around the country. Fans go to extreme lengths to show their loyalty to their driver(s).

Every race fan has a story, a reason why they tune in on any given Sunday to watch a race, or pay to attend a race.

NASCAR fans stories are one of a kind. They represent the core ideals of this sport and its fans.

Andrew Giangola’s new book, The Weekend Starts on Wednesday, is just a snap shot of NASCAR fans. Their devotion and sometimes borderline obsession with the No. 1 spectator sport in the U.S.

TWSW is a collection of NASCAR fans stories. From the infields of Talladega to victory lane, Giangola spoke with NASCAR fans from all walks of life.

Movie stars, college students, retired veterans, media veterans, and fans from all walks of life. In reading this book, with every story you can relate to some part of it.

For some it may be attending the race with your dad or entire family. Or it could meeting your favorite driver on pit road.

It could be your annual trek to a race with friends that leaves you wanting more. Giangola is able to capture the true essence of a NASCAR fan.

Every story seems to flow into the next leaving you engaged the entire time. There are a lot of NASCAR books out there, some about the technical side of the sport, others about the fans.

I have read many of them, none of them though truly capture NASCAR fans like TWSW.

There is the NASCAR and Jeff Gordon fan that climbed Mt. Everest. Dr. Pat Hickey climbed to the top of the summit and planted a NASCAR flag at the top of the world.

The climb up the summit was for a cause, to promote nursing and to help support the education of nursing students at USC.

Hickey got his NASCAR fix as he climbed when fans from around the world would give him updates on what was going on back at the track.

That was just a preview of Hickey’s story.  There are over a dozen more stories like it. These are stories of everyday people and their love for NASCAR.

Giangola’s witty commentary only enhances the visual that the fans are painting.  

If you are a NASCAR fan, this is the book for you. I wish we got more in this book. I wish every fan had the chance to tell their story. Giangola just touches on the passion and the devotion fan have for NASCAR.

You can get the book online at the NASCAR.com superstore, Amazon.com, or your local bookstore.

Mike Wright, a diehard Richard Petty fan, I think said it best, “I love the fires and the steaks and the cans of beer and the people. This is my lazy boy chair. I’m home here. When I sit and hear the ‘Gentlemen, start your engines,’ I forget everything. Nothing else matters. I’m a kid again. My heart starts pounding, and I can’t sit still. By the second pace lap, when you can smell the fumes of the gas and the rubber coming off the tires, oh man, it is instant adrenaline. If that smell could go into my alarm clock, I’d always wake up happy.”(p.35)