NASCAR Cup Series

The driver of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford will try to race his way in to his first Sprint All-Star race. If he doesn’t race his way in then he will rely on the fan vote to get in to the All-Star race.

Jackson L. Dodson II, a crew member in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Frank W. Earnhardt, a crew member in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, have been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.

Last weekend Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team finished fifth at Darlington Raceway and advanced two spots to 10th in the 2013 driver point standings.

David Gilliland has never raced in NASCAR's Sprint All-Star Race, but he feels like his chances of earning a spot in that line-up this weekend are better than ever. The driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver's Ford feels more confident about his team's capabilities than ever before as they prepare for Saturday night's Sprint Showdown, the precursor to the All-Star event.

Marcos Ambrose earned a spot in this weekend's Sprint All-Star Race with his dramatic win at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International last season. The road course ace wheeled passed Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski in the final turns to capture his second consecutive win at the New York road course.

Aric Almirola will compete in Saturday's Sprint Showdown looking for a win to gain a spot in the headline Sprint All-Star Race. To qualify for the All-Star Race, the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team will have to finish first or second in the Sprint Showdown 40-lap qualifier race. The race will have two 20-lap segments and an optional pit stop between them.

No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Mark Martin claimed his first NASCAR All Star race victory in 1998 and scored another in 2005. As the Michael Waltrip Racing driver prepares for his 24th All-Star Race -the most of any driver- he figures Saturday night will be a good time to hoist another trophy in victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On what has become a Mother’s day weekend tradition at the historic Darlington Raceway, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 64th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500.

What a difference a couple of weeks can make. Matt Kenseth had just won at Kansas, only to be docked 50 points, among other team fines, penalties, and suspensions. Not good. After taking it in the teeth he rebounded to finish seventh at Richmond, eighth at Talladega, and then things really perked up. NASCAR gave him back all his points from Kansas, except for a 12 point slap, and they reduced his crew chief's suspension to just one race. The last one he ran.

Johnson finished fourth in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington, posting his sixth top 5 of the year and increasing his points lead. He now leads Carl Edwards by 44.