The Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway made official what we've all known for months now. Kevin Harvick will be among the contenders for the Sprint Cup.  It will surprise exactly no one that Havick is in the Cup chase, but now he's a lock.  He can skip the next three weeks if he wants.  While his competitors are sweating it out in Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond, Harvick could take a nice long vacation in Jamaica.  If he wanted to.  But, of course, he doesn't want to do that.  Like all great NASCAR drivers, Kevin Harvick wants to be ... Read more

All week the talk has been about how Juan Montoya and his crew chief, Brian Pattie, aren't getting along. "Trouble in Paradise" they said. "Hasn't won since 2007" they said. Well, they're saying something different now.  Montoya broke a winless streak that goes back over 100 races to claim victory at Watkins Glen on Sunday.  After two weeks of bickering, sniping, and public speculation all seems to be well - at least for now.  The win vaulted Montoya two spots in the Sprint Cup standings, increasing his chances of making the Cup Chase from None to Virtually None. Watkins Glen ... Read more

OK, let me just get my ranting about corporate naming out of the way first. The "Sunoco Red Cross 500"? Now we're dividing the naming rights among two sponsors? I know times are tough, but what's next? Layaway naming? Or maybe one-quarter naming rights - look for the Wal-Mart Toyota Quaker State Jiffy Lube 500 coming your way in 2011. Sorry about that. I've got it out of my system now.  Anyway - on to the race itself.  It was a good one. Greg Biffle won the race, but it wasn't enough to budge him out of eleventh place in the Sprint ... Read more

Some feuds are manufactured just for TV audiences. Some involve deep, personal issues that are not fully understood by anyone outside the immediate circumstance. And some feuds are just what they seem to be. Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards are the Hatfields and McCoys of the NASCAR circuit. As far as I can tell, they were nothing more and nothing less than two guys who happened to compete in the same sport until Talladega 2009. Keselowski, who had at that point never won a Cup race, gave Edward’s car a little nudge – into the fence – on his way to ... Read more

Regular readers know that I'm strictly a Sprint Cup guy. It is rare for me to spend a couple of my Saturday hours watching a Nationwide race. But this was one of those rare, unfortunate weeks with no Sprint Cup race, so I settled in for my weekly NASCAR fix.  I have to admit the Nationwide race, at least this week, had everything that a Sprint Cup race has - just less of it.  About 250 miles less. Saturday night's race was everything that we've come to expect from NASCAR.  Great drivers hauling around the track at ridiculous speeds?  Check.  Thrilling ... Read more