NASCAR Cup Series

Swan Racing announced today it has successfully restructured the company by finding solutions for the Nos. 26 and 30 teams in an attempt to save the jobs of the crews, the drivers, and to keep those teams competing throughout the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion, along with crew chief Trent Owens, were this week’s guests on the NASCAR teleconference. Both men spoke about their season to date and on Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.

For the fourth straight year, Autism Speaks, Dover International Speedway (NYSE: DVD) and FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) have joined forces in support of individuals and families affected by autism. FedEx will return as the title sponsor of the “FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, June 1, 2014. In addition, fans now have an opportunity to have their names displayed on Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota.

NASCAR announced today it has reached a multi-year agreement to renew its official partnership with Safety-Kleen, and is among several companies renewing their commitment to NASCAR in 2014. The company will continue as the Official Environmental Services Supplier of NASCAR.

It started with a tweet from Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) to Robert Griffin III (@RGIII), followed by some chiming in from Richmond International Raceway President Dennis Bickmeier (@RIRprez) and RIR (@RIRinsider). What began as a Twitter conversation about a month ago has resulted in Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III driving the Official Pace Car to start this Saturday’s TOYOTA OWNERS 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

After a thrilling start to the season full of action at every turn, the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had some time to kick back and relax. Beyond just the drivers, it marks an even more important break for the crew members as they’ve been hard at work since the winter trying to get their packages set for the season.

“Every weekend is a new weekend for us,” Allmendinger said. “I feel like it is a chance for us to continue to grow. For my guys, they have been busting their butts all season long. Forming the RCR (Richard Childress Racing) alliance and the switchover to Chevy (Chevrolet) was done relatively late last year.

In 22 previous starts at Richmond International Raceway (RIR), McMurray has led 25 laps, earning four top-10 and one top-five finishes. He has an average starting and finishing position of 23.0 and 22.4, respectively. McMurray’s best start of second came in the fall of 2011 and his best finish of fourth came in the last race at RIR in Sept. 2013.

"I'm looking forward to Richmond [International Raceway]. It's a night race and puts on a good show for the fans. We are coming back after a weekend off, so hopefully everyone is rejuvenated and ready to go for this long stretch of races. We've been making gains every week, and I've really taken to the short tracks in the Sprint Cup car.

“The same principles apply everywhere, but Richmond is unique in the fact that (turns) one and two are drastically different from three and four. There’s no really perfect setup. You can’t just focus on that first corner or just the handling in one and two because about the time you get your car turning really good down there then it’s too loose down in three and four.