NASCAR Cup Series

After getting wrecked unnecessarily at Michigan on Sunday and seeing his top-10 momentum stalled, Regan Smith's aim is to reignite the surge of his Furniture Row Racing team in Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Now that the 2013 NASCAR Fusion has been approved for competition next year, it’s time for the drivers and teams to see how good it can be on the track.

NASCAR fans have spoken, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. narrowly defeated Kasey Kahne in the final round of voting in the “Drive for the Cover” campaign. Earnhardt, the nine-time most popular driver, will adorn the cover of the upcoming NASCAR The Game™: Inside Line video game, scheduled to be released on Nov. 6.

Michigan Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 11th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, battling track position throughout the 201-lap event on the two-mile track won by Greg Biffle. Hamlin restarted 10th for the two-lap ‘green-white-checkered’ finish but was unable to make up any ground, settling for a hard-fought 11th-place run in the season’s 23rd race.

Much is on the line as Roush Fenway rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway looking for its18th NASCAR victory at the half-mile track noted for its intense hot summer night action.

Driver’s never forget their first NASCAR victory in the top three touring divisions. For Bobby Labonte, his took place at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) during the NASCAR Nationwide Series (formerly Busch Grand National Series) race on April 13, 1991. The taste of sweet victory allowed him to snatch the division’s championship that same year.

After passing Brad Keselowski on lap 191, Johnson was poised to capture his series-best fourth win of the year. But a blown engine just four laps later ended Johnson’s day, and his 27th-place finished dropped him to fourth in the point standings.

As they were revving up the engines in Michigan, I was listening to the Sirius radio in my car as we drove west of Rocky Mountain House en route to the Columbia Icefields and Jasper. It was a great way to follow the race, surrounded by the Canadian Rockies, listening to the live action, and not a word from either Rusty and Brad. Yes, life can be sweet.

Chevrolet has won 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships. Team Chevy drivers have scored 698 wins and 626 poles in NSCS competition.

This weekend Brian Vickers returns to Bristol Motor Speedway where he made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut for Michael Waltrip Racing on March 18. Vickers led 125 laps and finished fifth on a day all three MWR cars posted top-five finishes. The Thomasville, N.C. native continued to impress in his next four races for MWR in 2012 including a fourth-place finish on the road course in Sonoma.