Carl Edwards thinks team is better than results show

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Success came quickly for Carl Edwards, who won four times and finished third in the championship race in his first full season at NASCAR's top level. The next year was a disaster. Edwards failed to win a Sprint Cup race, missed the 2006 Chase, and learned it wasn't as easy as it looked just a season before. "That woke me up quickly," Edwards said. "We were coming off a ...

Keselowski takes Quaker State 400

SPARTA, Ky. - Driving his backup car, Brad Keselowski raced to third win of the year, grabbing the lead with 55 laps remaining and holding off all challengers Saturday night in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. The 28-year-old from Rochester Hills, Mich., picked up his seventh win in his five years on the circuit. He won earlier this year at Bristol and Talladega. While registering his 16th ...

Jimmie Johnson edges Kyle Busch to win pole in Kentucky

SPARTA, Ky. - Jimmie Johnson thought somebody had traded paint with his motorhome. Nope, that was just the wind. The five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion took advantage of those gusts to grab the poll, edging defending champion Kyle Busch for the top spot at Kentucky Speedway on Friday night. The race is at 6:30 tonight and will be televised on TNT. But first Johnson had a scary moment. "I was ...

Kenseth has a new job lined up

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Matt Kenseth has kept his name out of the rumor mill for most of his NASCAR career. When it finally popped up, it was a bombshell: The Sprint Cup Series points leader was planning his departure from Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth said Wednesday that he has a new deal already in place for 2013, and although he said he's not ready to announce it, all signs point to a ...

Big crowd in hunt for points chase

Sonoma is hot spot for hot tempers

SONOMA, Calif. - It used to be that short tracks were the guaranteed place for the bumping, banging and blown tempers. It's now shifted to road courses, specifically Sonoma, where more than a few drivers will likely be raging mad by the end of Sunday's race.

2 poles in a row

SONOMA, Calif. - Marcos Ambrose had never won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole before last week. Now he has two in a row. Ambrose won the top starting spot Friday for Sunday's race at Sonoma with a fast lap around the 1.99-mile road course. He knocked off five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, then waited to see if Jeff Gordon could beat him. "I don't know if I got it all, ...

Earnhardt Jr. ends drought with win in Michigan

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - OK, it's just one win. The first in four years, no less. And as Tony Stewart pointed out, Dale Earnhardt Jr. returning to Victory Lane doesn't exactly warrant a national holiday. But there is a level of importance to Earnhardt snapping his 143-race losing streak that goes beyond the immediate boost to NASCAR, which has been starving of late for any sort of scintillating story line unrelated ...

Ambrose takes Sprint Cup pole at over 203 mph

BROOKLYN, Mich. — The last time anyone was this fast in qualifying in NASCAR's top series, Richard Petty was still driving. He's an owner now, but when Marcos Ambrose won the Sprint Cup pole at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday for Richard Petty Motorsports, the Hall of Famer was on hand to put the accomplishment in perspective. Ambrose posted a speed of 203.241 mph, the first time since 1987 the 200 mph mark was broken ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Michigan, site of his last win

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Eleven top-10 finishes. Second place in the Sprint Cup standings. That's an impressive start to the season for any driver, but for Dale Earnhardt Jr., it only makes the question more persistent. When will he finally win again? "I feel like we're getting real close," Earnhardt said. "We've been really competing well and been competitive every week, at every track, and that feels really good to say." ...

Speeds high during test runs

BROOKLYN, Mich. - After four drivers posted laps of over 200 mph during a morning test session, Greg Biffle was asked if the fast new track at Michigan International Speedway might be good for the sport. "Certainly this doesn't hurt us," Biffle said. "We don't want to kill anybody, either, so we've got to walk that fine line of killing people and creating excitement." After being repaved in the offseason, the two-mile ...

Logano sets track record at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. - Thanks to a repave that led to blistering speeds, Pocono Raceway's track record was topped 36 times.

Busch faces murky future

LONG POND, Pa. - Kurt Busch's talent behind the wheel has never been challenged. It's why he always had a ride. Busch's fiery temper has never been fully harnessed and it's the reason he suddenly has a job to salvage and a reputation to repair. Busch was absent Friday at Pocono Raceway as part of the one-week suspension levied by NASCAR for verbally abusing a media member. The 2004 Cup champion is ...

Mark Martin sits atop poll at Dover Speedway

DOVER, Del. - Mark Martin has more poles than candles on the birthday cake.

Earnhardt seeks victory

DOVER, Del. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hoping to pick up the next memorable victory for Hendrick Motorsports. First, Jimmie Johnson raced to owner Rick Hendrick's 200th win. Then Kasey Kahne earned his first victory with Hendrick in the Coca-Cola 600. Next? Well, Earnhardt brings his bewildering 141-race winless drought into Sunday's Sprint Cup stop at Dover International Speedway. While his teammates take turns playing hot potato with the checkered flag, ...

Jimmie Johnson makes case as one of the all-time greats

MaIt took Jimmie Johnson just 13 races into his rookie season with Hendrick Motorsports to prove to his team he was a rare talent.

Jimmie Johnson wins 6th NASCAR championship

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Soaked in sweat, champagne and success, Jimmie Johnson celebrated yet another NASCAR championship by sipping a beer.

Matt Kenseth wins pole at Homestead for finale

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Matt Kenseth and his Joe Gibbs Racing team took a huge step away from their bad performance last week by winning the pole Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the championship-deciding race.

Johnson has 6th NASCAR title well within reach

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - There was no trash talking, no attempts at mind games. If there was tension or nerves, nobody could tell. In one of the tamest NASCAR title contenders' news conferences in recent memory, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick kept it light and breezy as they discussed their championship chances against Jimmie Johnson. <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: ...

Bayne afflicted with multiple sclerosis

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Determined to learn exactly what caused his mystery illness in 2011, Trevor Bayne made repeated visits to the Mayo Clinic over the last two years, asking questions about his health and medical history. The youngest winner in Daytona 500 history wasn't sick and he wasn't suffering from any of the symptoms - nausea, fatigue, double vision and numbness in his arm - that had sidelined Bayne for five races in ...

Bad day at the worst time dooms Kenseth

Matt Kenseth did his best to put on a brave face following his worst performance of the season, which just happened to come at the worst possible time in his championship battle with Jimmie Johnson.

Keselowski's reign comes to an end

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Brad Keselowski rolled into Phoenix International Raceway a year ago locked into a tight championship battle with Jimmie Johnson, and left the track poised to claim his first Sprint Cup title. Back at the track where his fortunes turned, Keselowski is a mere spectator to this year's title fight. "I'm relaxed, but not in a good way," he admitted. "I'd much rather be ...