NASCAR Cup Series

Miguel Paludo came to Martinsville Speedway prepared for short tempers and fierce short-track racing, only to have a late-race spin thwart his competitive efforts. Paludo remained patient and consistent throughout the 200-lap event, but brought out the final caution flag of the day on lap 188 when a spin, believed to be caused by a flat tire, put the Brazilian at the tail end of the field, costing him a top-10 finish at the series' shortest track.

Consider it batting practice or a nice warm-up for tomorrow’s Cup event at Martinsville. That’s what Denny Hamlin seemed to do on Saturday afternoon as he went out and won the Camping World Truck Series event, muscling his way past Matt Crafton with six laps to go.

Ryan Blaney (No. 29 Draw-Tite RAM) Finished 8th “We could definitely make up some spots on restarts. We weren’t really that good on the long run. Restarts get really tight and lose a lot of drive off long run but restarts I thought we could really move and gain spots and you know creep up there on the outside. That was definitely one of the widest races I’ve ever been in."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt Kenseth gave Ford Racing a weekend sweep of the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway last weekend. This marks the third time in 2012 Ford has captured both events. The first came at Texas when Stenhouse won the Nationwide event and Greg Biffle took the Sprint Cup race. Watkins Glen International proved fertile ground in August when Carl Edwards took the checkered flag in Nationwide and Marcos Ambrose won in Sprint Cup.

Each race weekend, selected SRT Motorsports engineers, Penske Racing engineers and crew chiefs, drivers or engine specialists give their insight on the ‘Keys for Success’ for the upcoming race. This week, Howard Comstock, SRT Motorsports Engineering, provides the keys for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

MATT BORLAND, CREW CHIEF, NO. 39 QUICKEN LOANS CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Martinsville Speedway and discussed his reunion as crew chief with driver Ryan Newman, the progress of the 2013 car and other topics.

Paul Menard’s season has had it’s ups and downs. The season started off solid with a sixth place finish at Daytona. Though the team stumbled at Phoenix, they followed it up with two more top tens. As the season progressed, the roller coaster trend continued with many finishes in the high teens to lower twenties being the norm.

"I feel foolish…you know…I feel kind of foolish sitting at home feeling okay, and not being in the car. It feels really un-natural."

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will roll out onto the half mile oval at the Martinsville Speedway for Sunday's running of the Tums Fast Relief 500. This historic racing facility is referred to as the paper clip due to its unusual shape.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What do you think of the championship being referenced as a 'two-man' race? "I'm okay with it. I'd rather the spotlight be on them, because ultimately the more media that you have, the more pressure you build on yourself. I think legitimately, we haven't executed well. We don't deserve to be in the conversation right now, and until we get within 10 points, they can leave us out of everything."