CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) _ Backers of a stock car bearing Marshall University's name will finally see how it performs on NASCAR's Nationwide Circuit this weekend, but not as the No. 75 car as originally planned.

Same-day qualifying will be held for Saturday night's Carquest Autoparts 300 in Concord, N.C.

The green-and-white Marshall car was supposed to debut in March at a race in Bristol, Tenn. Rain washed out qualifying and the field was set using points already earned. Because the No. 75 Dodger Charger hadn't raced yet, it was shut out.

The plan is different this week.

The car's paint scheme will be the same, but it will bear No. 05 and sponsors from both Herd Racing and Nashville, Tenn.-based Day Enterprises, said Dana Tomes, the car's majority investor.

Brett Rowe, hired by Herd Racing, will drive for Day Enterprises, which has already run several races and is leasing equipment and employees to Herd Racing.

If rain cancels qualifying, the No. 05 car will have a better chance of making the race field, Tomes said Wednesday.

The No. 75 is in memory of the 75 Marshall football coaches, players and supporters killed in a November 1970 plane crash. The aftermath of the crash was chronicled in the 2006 Matthew McConaughey film "We Are Marshall." Marshall is not a financial backer of the car.

"We hate to not have the No. 75 car, but it was just one of those business decisions," Tomes said. "There's a lot of risk when you're a new team and you don't have any points.

"It will be the exact same car. The only different is the number on the door will say 05 instead of 75."

Cars bearing other college names and their paint schemes have competed in various NASCAR events in recent years, including Auburn, Florida, Florida State, James Madison, Maryland, Georgetown and the Yale Cancer Center, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston has said.

"We're very excited," said Tomes, a Marshall alumnus. "We've meticulously built the car from the ground up, so we're proud of the car we're taking with us. We would be devastated if we don't make it. We're confident we're going to make the race."

He's not the only one.

Six chartered buses are scheduled to head to Lowe's Motor Speedway to see the Marshall car. Two each are coming from Pittsburgh and Parkersburg, one is from Ohio and another from Charleston, said Paul Mullins, president of the NASCAR Members Club in Charleston.

Mullins said he attends up to 20 races each year and "this probably is the biggest thing that's come out of West Virginia because it's the Marshall car. It's the mystique of the Marshall team, the university and the fact they have a race car."

Fans plan to meet with Rowe during an autograph and photo session on Saturday.

"I was kind of shocked you would have that many people from this area who would want to go to something like that," Tomes said.

The Marshall car, built by a group of volunteers at a small shop behind the Huntington Mall in Barboursville, was unveiled at the state Capital in late February with the intention of entering a few races this year and landing enough sponsors to compete in every Nationwide event in 2009.

The car also will be entered at the Meijer 300 on June 14 at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Tomes said.

Last month another Marshall alumnus, New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, announced intentions to race in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series later this year.