NASCAR Cup Series

MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Merrill Cain with Penske Racing. We appreciate everyone joining us for this special Penske Racing media teleconference.

Camry driver Denny Hamlin earned his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) win Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Following the final caution, Hamlin emerged from pit road with the lead and surged ahead of the field on the restart - holding off Jeff Gordon on the last lap to earn his fourth victory of the 2012 season.

No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. enters Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway already locked into the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Understanding barriers to goal achievements is crucial to learning to win in any sport. For JTG Daugherty Racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team recognizes their impediments and understands what it takes to finish on top entering Richmond International Raceway (RIR) in the Federated Auto Parts 400.

Despite all of the news that came out between Joey Logano and the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota this past week, Logano remains solely focused on one thing – winning this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway and making the Chase. This weekend marks the last chance for Logano to make the Chase before the 10-race playoff begins.

When the checkered flag fell at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday night and Michael Waltrip Racing drivers Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. earned the team’s first berths in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, the smile on Mark Martin’s face was a large as anyone’s.

Denny Hamlin became the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to record four wins this season and the first to score back-to-back victories after beating the field to the finish line in Sunday's 'green-white-checkered' shootout at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and clinching a berth in the 2012 Chase for the championship in the process. The #11 pit crew got Hamlin out in front of the field after the race's final caution period, and the 31-year-old driver outdueled four-time champion Jeff Gordon to the checkered flag.

From daylight to darkness over the Labor Day holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 53rd annual Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Hamlin beat Martin Truex, Jr. out of the pits on the race’s final caution, and then held off Jeff Gordon to win the AdvoCare 500. Hamlin’s fourth win of the year will give him the top seed in the Chase in two weeks, barring a win atRichmondby Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, or Brad Keselowski.

t’s finally Silly Season time and moves are happening fast. The season started prematurely with A.J. Allmendinger’s failed drug test and Matt Kenseth’s shocking announcement that he was leaving Roush Fenway, but this is the time of year when Silly Season starts in earnest and started it has.