NASCAR Cup Series

“I’ve had a few days to rest and recuperate after having back issues in Richmond last weekend, and I’m feeling better and ready to get back in the Stanley Ford this weekend. Richmond was tough, but hopefully the worst is behind me and I’ll be in tip top shape for Sunday’s 500-mile race."

Darlington Raceway is offering its fans an opportunity to participate in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series autograph session with drivers Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Paul Menard and defending Bojangles’ Southern 500champion Regan Smith.

This weekend will be Almirola’s fifth Sprint Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway. Almirola also has starts at the track in the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. His best finish at the track is second (twice) in the Truck Series.

The 1998 Diehard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was a memorable race for Bobby Labonte. With two laps to go he passed his brother Terry coming out of Turn 2 going down the backstretch and held off a hard-charging Jimmy Spencer to win from the pole.

Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 388 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet was last seen on track at Daytona International Speedway in February, where Menard earned a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 238 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This chassis was most recently driven by Elliott Sadler at Daytona International Speedway in February as the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet, and was utilized in 2011 by the No. 31 team.

In an attempt to help streamline its presence on Twitter, Martinsville Speedway has adopted a new handle for the social media platform. Beginning immediately Martinsville Speedway’s Twitter handle is @MartinsvilleSwy, moving away from @ms1947.

Two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip gets help this weekend from nine-year-old Emery Beavis of Dyerbury, Tenn., who designed the No.55 Toyota’s paint scheme. Beavis won the grand-prize in the Aaron’s “2012 Color Your Way to Talladega” contest.

With a total of 19 starts at Talladega, McMurray has one victory (2009), accumulating five top-five and six top-10 finishes at the 2.66-mile tri-oval. McMurray has an average starting position of 20.4 and an average finishing position of 19.8.

With temperatures expected to approach 90 degrees at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, overheating may be an issue. But in a perfect world, Jeff Gordon wants the engine in his No. 24 DuPont "20 Years" Chevrolet to "blow up."