NASCAR Cup Series

In a race where the spotters sound like auctioneers as they guide their drivers around the track and where anything from chess-like strategy to...

We waited with anticipation for the action, and Talladega once again delivered. Once again, we watched the cars (and trucks for those watching on Saturday) go flying around inches apart in aircraft formation, in wonder that they could pull this off lap after lap without it all going up in smoke and torn sheet metal. In the end, they could not avoid the unavoidable.

Jamie McMurray is one of the nicest guys in the garage. He’s a family man and gives everything he has to be successful. When he was tagged to replace a retiring Mark Martin so long ago, much was expected of him. It never came to fruition. It has been the same story since moving to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. It’s not that he hasn’t had the talent; it’s more than he didn’t have the talent behind him.

Jamie McMurray heads to Martinsville Speedway this week on top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup world and he feels pretty good about maintaining that perch.

Seven-time Martinsville Speedway winner Jeff Gordon first raced here in the early 1990's. While a lot has changed since then, Gordon and the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger team are expecting much of the same this Sunday in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 powered by Kroger.

Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fourth (Paul Menard), 12th (Kevin Harvick) and 21st (Jeff Burton) in the Camping World RV Sales 500. Following the event at Talladega Superspeedway, Harvick is tied for third in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 26 markers behind the leader, while Menard is 16th and Burton sits 20th.

Trevor Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew showed in Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega Superspeedway that when it comes to restrictor-plate racing they’re among the best in the Sprint Cup Series. Bayne had to start 26th after qualifying was rained out, but once the green flag dropped on Sunday, he and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion were on the march toward the front.

With 15 laps remaining in the 188-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway, Jamie McMurray powered his No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS to the front of the pack and held off a charge by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the No. 88 Mountain Dew/XBox One Chevy SS to win the Camping World RV Sales 500.

Jimmie Johnson leads the most laps and finishes 13th, but that was good enough to regain the points lead from Matt Kenseth. While others tried fading to the back, Johnson tried to stay as close to the front as possible.

Camry driver Kyle Busch (fifth) was the top-finishing Toyota in Sunday afternoon's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway.