SM Staff

In a wide-ranging State of the Sport press conference, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France discussed everything from the new Chase format, the sanctioning body’s domestic violence policies, fights in the sport, and the drivers who may be crowned champion this weekend.

Following an issue on pit road that saw him leave his pit stall with the gas can still attached, Joey Logano would fight back during the second half of the race, including getting a lucky dog, to post a sixth place finish.

In the final race of the Eliminator Chase round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 27th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

As a result of holding a 52 point lead heading into next weekend's final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Chase Elliott clinched the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship.

Brad Keselowski would take the lead on the white flag lap, before leading the rest of the way en route to scoring the victory in the DAV 200 Honoring American's Veterans at Phoenix International Raceway. It marks Keselowski's 32nd career victory and his fifth win of the 2014 season.

After remembering the passing of racer Jim Sauter with a moment of silence, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 10th annual AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Pemberton was talking about Brad Keselowski's contact with Jeff Gordon and Pemberton stated, "I think it was hard racing and this is a contact sport."

It was a wild night in the Fort Worth area. Eliminated Jimmie Johnson won a race, thus allowing three drivers to enter the championship winner-take-all race at Homestead and get in on points. Brad Keselowski, fighting for his racing life tried to split Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson but made contact with Gordon. Gordon cut a tire and tires were in short supply.

Jimmie Johnson brought the Lowes Chevrolet through the chaos and mass destruction to claim the six-shooters in victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson, whose car sported a unique red and white paint scheme to honor the employees of Lowes, was strong from the beginning of the weekend.

After swapping the lead back and forth with Joey Logano throughout the day, Kyle Busch would lead the final 13 laps en route to scoring the victory in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. It marks the 70th victory of Busch's career and his seventh victory of the season. More importantly, though, it marks the 100th career victory for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series.