NASCAR Cup Series

This week NASCAR travels to Phoenix International Raceway. The Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix is the last chance to advance to the Championship Round next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only four drivers will make it through to compete for the Sprint Cup Championship title.

NASCAR sought unpredictability for its championship run, and they have it. If not for the Chase, Jeff Gordon would just need to hold off Joey Logano, 26 points back, over the next two races and the title would be his. If the Chase format had not changed from last year, Logano would be the man in charge, with Kevin Harvick 35 back with two to go. Not much drama, not terribly unpredictable, and to change that up is the sole reason NASCAR changed things up this season.

Only two races remain in the 2014 NASCAR season, and the current leaders in two of NASCAR’s national series have strong ties to both Georgia and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Texas Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 10th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, climbing into a tie for first place in the Chase point standings with one race remaining in the Eliminator Round following the 341-lap event won by Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin started 20th and quickly moved forward at the drop of the green flag, but as the track temperature cooled, the handling went away on the #11 FedEx Office Toyota. A two-tire stop moved Hamlin to the lead for three laps mid-race, but the old tires didn’t work and the #11 machine fell back to 14th in the running order. Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb utilized a variety of strategies late in the race to secure a top-10 finish for the FedEx Racing Team. Hamlin is tied with Joey Logano for the points lead.

Reed Sorenson will pilot the No. 36 Chevrolet SS this weekend in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. FLASR, the 4-oz. pocketsize, portable spittoon, will join Sorenson and Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) as the primary sponsor partner for the event.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie Michael Annett and his No. 7 Accell Construction Chevrolet SS team will compete this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, aiming to turn two consecutive top-25 finishes into three in a row.

Glad: “We have Glad® trash bags on our No. 47 Chevrolet SS this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway,” Allmendinger said. “We’ve all used Glad® trash bags from the yard to the kitchen for some of the toughest jobs. I like the ForceFlex® bags that prevent rips and tears, or Glad with Febreze bags that neutralize strong odors. It’s a great brand and we’re proud to have them on board at Phoenix.”

Stenhouse has three career starts at PIR, completing 940 of 940 laps (100%) with an average starting position of 20.0 and average finishing position of 15.3.

Joey Logano: Logano spun on lap 303 at Texas and lost ground, but recovered to finish 12th. He is tied for the lead in the points standings with Denny Hamlin.

Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal penalties announced today by NASCAR related to a post-race incident Sunday evening at Texas Motor Speedway.