SM Staff

In the final race of the Contender round and with the elimination of four more drivers, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced earlier this week that 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Champion Spencer Pigot will run at least three Verizon IndyCar Series events in 2016.

With finishes of 28th and 21st in the last two races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. currently sits 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings, 31 points out of the top eight to advance to the third round.

"If it comes down to Homestead and he is one of the four and maybe somebody else isn't, they ain't going to make it easy on him," Kenseth crew chief Jason Ratcliff said. "Are they going to wreck him? No. I don't think anybody would do that. It's just uncalled for regardless of the situation.

With Michael Waltrip Racing set to close their doors at the end of the season, Clint Bowyer has expressed the want to give the employees a win before heading off to HScott Motorsports for 2016. Unfortunately, heavy contact with the wall on lap 171 would see Bowyer's day at Kansas Speedway end early.

Fresh off the announcement of the rules package for next year, here is what was surprising and not surprising from this year’s second race of the Contender round from the 15th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Starting off the Chase Contender round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Austin Dillon was on fire at Charlotte Motor Speedway; at one point, literally. Dillon qualified on the pole for Friday's Drive for the Cure 300 by edging fellow cup driver Kasey Kahne with a speed of 183.524 mph. During pre-race activities, one of the fireworks that were set off, misfired and landed on Dillon and his car, burning his fire suit.

Matt Kenseth has given notice that he is the man to beat when the Chase goes under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With a speed of 194.532 mph, Kenseth put his Toyota on the pole for Saturday night.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that any wall in NASCAR’s top three series isn’t SAFER barrier protected. The only real case one can make toward not having it is Eldora Speedway due to the low speeds.