NASCAR Cup Series

Kansas will be top of mind for Regan Smith in this weekend's Geico 400 Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. "I'm just as excited about heading to Chicagoland Speedway as are the 12 Chase drivers," said Smith. "The reason for the optimism is that we're taking the same Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet that we tested with in Kansas a few weeks ago. We were really fast in the Kansas test session, which is a 1.5-mile track like Chicagoland."

TOYOTA TIDBITS RICHMOND REWIND: Clint Bowyer earned his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) win of the season in Saturday night's rain-delayed race at Richmond International Raceway, the final event before the start of the 10-race 'Chase for the Sprint Cup' championship. Bowyer's triumph also marked the third consecutive victory by a Toyota driver -- after Denny Hamlin's back-to-back wins at Bristol Motor Speedway (Aug. 25) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 2). Bowyer led the final 88 laps (of 400) in the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry en route to victory lane.

Fresh on the heels of announcing a reunion of lifelong friends joining forces for the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, FAS Lane Racing is proud to announce that North Country Ford will sponsor the team in this historic event. The Frank Stoddard led team will field the No. 32 North Country Ford that will be driven by Stoddard’s lifelong best friend Mike Olsen in the running of the Sylvania 300 on Sunday September 23, 2012.

THE NUMBERS for the GEICO 400 - Chicagoland Speedway (all 12 Sprint Cup races) 1 – win from the pole (Kyle Busch, 7/12/08) 1 – number of times qualifying canceled due to weather (7/12/08)

Kenseth’s visit is part of NASCAR’s Chase Across America in advance of the start of the Chase for The Sprint Cup, which begins this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway and culminates November 18 with the championship-crowning Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

For the third consecutive year Carl Edwards will be a guest commentator on SportsCenter following nine of the 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase races in 2012. Edwards will join Rusty Wallace and Ray Evernham from the ESPN Pit Studio for live post-race analysis on ESPN’s flagship news and information program.

Aric Almirola will take to Chicagoland Speedway this week with a new look and a new team. His No. 43 Ford will sport the Farmland paint scheme for the first of four races. The Kansas City, Mo.-based producer of pork products is part of the Smithfield Foods family, with which Almirola and Richard Petty Motorsports have celebrated a successful relationship all season.

Hamlin led 202 of 400 laps at Richmond, but the No. 11 Fed Ex team’s decision to stay on the track after a late rain delay proved costly. His shot at the win gone, Hamlin came home 18th, one lap down.

This weekend BUBBA burger® returns as primary sponsor of JTG Daugherty Racing’s No. 47 Toyota Camry for the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway scheduled Sunday, September 16.