Off Weekend? What Off Weekend? NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers Stay Busy During Break

Some NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will take advantage of the penultimate off weekend of the 2009 season, using the time to relax from the rigors of racing in the world’s most competitive motorsports series.

Still others can’t get enough. Four NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars will head to the St. Louis area to race in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway. Another heads close to home for some dirt track racing.

Here’s a breakdown of how some of the NSCS stars will spend the break:

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford): No surprise here, Edwards will be competing in the NNS race at Gateway, attempting to cut a 192-points deficit to points leader…

Kyle Busch: Busch owns a season-high five NNS wins this season. This weekend, he’ll try to make it six at Gateway.

PHOTO CREDIT: CIA STOCK PHOTO

Reed Sorenson (No. 43 McDonald’s Dodge): Sorenson has joined the NNS Braun Racing No. 32 Toyota stable on a part-time basis. His first race behind its wheel is this weekend at Gateway.

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet): Harvick will run his fourth consecutive race in his own NNS equipment — the No. 33 Chevrolet. He has finished in the top 10 in his last three NNS races — but has 15 consecutive finishes outside the top 10 in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition.

Greg Biffle: The Vancouver, Wash. native returns to the Pacific Northwest and the local dirt track for a Saturday night race.

Biffle will run a 10-lap exhibition race at Sunset Speedway in Banks, Ore., which is just over 30 miles from his hometown. This is Biffle’s second trip to Sunset Speedway. Last year, he won the event.

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet): Gordon will be a presenter at Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards, where his teammate Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) is nominated in two categories: Best Male Athlete and Best Driver.

Scott Speed (No. 82 Red Bull Toyota): The 26-year-old Speed will wed fiancé Amanda Mathis on Saturday in a ceremony to be held at Graylyn Estate in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Hamburger Helper/Cheerios Chevrolet): Bowyer will head home to Kansas to spend the off-week with friends and family at the lake. But it won’t be all relaxation. He’ll also be getting things in order for his charity golf tournament to be held in August.