NASCAR Cup Series

Busch, who joined Furniture Row Racing near the end of the 2012 season, has helped lift the Denver-based single car team to a new level in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His driver rating at recent races is not only one of the best, but more importantly the former NASCAR champion has put himself in contention for a victory multiple times, including the past two Cup races in Charlotte, N.C. and Dover, Del.

Biffle has 20 Sprint Cup career starts at Pocono. In 2010 he earned his only victory at the “tricky triangle,” while his other stats include two top-five and four top-10 finishes.

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was black-flagged for jumping the final restart at Dover, a mistake that most likely cost him his third win this season. After serving a drive-through penalty, Johnson finished 17th, one lap down.

“This is a weekend that to me helps define what our program is about and what our organization’s about.”

Pit crews go through all sorts of training and recently Speedway Media was invited to see how the Stewart- Haas NASCAR over the wall teams train for their pit stops. They use what’s called a VertiMax system (www.vertimax.com) which they describe as “an innovative training system that allows pit crew members to simultaneously strengthen arm swing velocity and leg drive for maximum explosive speed, which is crucial when every millisecond counts.”

With the temperatures soaring and the ‘monster’ on the prowl, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

The small snippet on the scanner conversation between Jimmie Johnson, who had just blown a sure win by jumping the start in Sunday’s Fed Ex 400, spotter Earl Barban, and crew chief Chad Knaus. I thought I heard the quote, but having it replayed today on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio channel proved I did hear that. My only question is who is “they” and why do they not want Johnson to win?

Going the Distance: 2012 marked the first season that NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono were scheduled for 400 miles. Prior to 2012 all NASCAR Sprint Cup races were 500 miles at Pocono Raceway

Denny Hamlin started from the pole, led three times for 41 laps and was running among the top-five with less than 25 laps remaining in Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks NASCAR race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway when a flat right-front tire on the #11 FedEx Freight/Autism Speaks Toyota sent Hamlin hard into the outside wall in Turn 1 and delivered the FedEx Racing team a disappointing 34th-place finish.

Penalties have been handed down to the No. 2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team following last Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway.