As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series head to the Pocono Mountains for the first time together, the NASCAR Nationwide Series is off to the heartland for the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway.

Kevin Harvick is still the points leader for NASCAR’s premier division by 184 points over Jeff Gordon. Denny Hamlin, who is a strong favorite for Pocono this weekend, jumped up to third after Indy last week and defending champion Jimmie Johnson slipped back to fourth. Other than that small shift, the entire top-12 remained the same after the Brickyard.

Meanwhile, as the Trucks prepare for the tricky triangle Todd Bodine is on top of the points by 177 points over Aric Almirola. Johnny Sauter is in third with defending champion Ron Hornaday in fourth after jumping up two spots following ORP. Timothy Peters slipped back a spot to fifth as both Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton moved up to sixth and seventh. Mike Skinner was the big loser in the deal as he dropped three spots to eighth. David Starr and Jason White complete the top-10.

With this being the first time the Trucks will compete at arguably the strangest track on the circuit, it is unclear who will be strong and who will not. The Pocono Mountains 125 will be a very interesting event.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings are currently being dominated by Cup star Brad Keselowski. He leads fellow Cup regular Carl Edwards by 205 points. Justin Allgaier is in third with Kyle Busch in fourth. Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick swapped spots putting Menard in fifth as Harvick slipped back to sixth. Steven Wallace and Brendan Gaughn are in seventh and eighth. Trevor Bayne jumped up two spots after ORP putting him in ninth with Jason Leffler rounding out the top-10.

Last year it was the JR Motorsports No. 88 in Victory Lane but Iowa is known for great racing and it could be anyone’s win this year in Nationwide’s second go-round at the Midwestern facility.

Schedule of Events: All times are ET.

Friday –
8am – Truck Practice
Noon- Cup Practice on SPEED
3:30pm – Cup Qualifying on SPEED
5:30pm – Nationwide Practice
5:30pm – Truck Final Practice on SPEED
7:00pm – Nationwide Final Practice

Saturday-
9am – Cup Practice on SPEED (on t.v. at 9:30am)
10am – Truck Qualifying on SPEED
11:20am – Cup Final Practice on SPEED
12:30pm – Truck Pocono Mountains 125 on SPEED
4pm – Nationwide Qualifying
7pm – Nationwide U.S. Cellular 250 on ESPN2

Sunday –
1pm – Cup Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 on ESPN

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