NASCAR Cup Series

Spring’s short track season opens this week at Bristol Motor Speedway, an up-close-and-personal type of hard-nosed racing that’s been the foundation of NASCAR competition since the 1940s.

It’s been five years since Regan Smith started his first Sprint Cup event, which came in the spring race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

DODGE QUOTES: “I really like Bristol. Having good pit stops is the real big thing there. It’s a lot about track position. You just need to be smart, have a good handling Challenger and run hard. You’re going so fast that you can’t hardly slow down when something happens ahead of you. ” -- Sam Hornish, Jr.

TOYOTA TIDBITS VISIT TO VEGAS: Toyota newcomer Clint Bowyer posted a sixth-place finish in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his best result in a Camry.

NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Martin Truex Jr. announced today he is giving two lucky race fans a thrilling ride around Charlotte Motor Speedway in his No. 56 Toyota Camry.

Brian Vickers makes his 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday in the Aaron’s Dream Machine. It’s the first of six races for Vickers in Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Toyota. Vickers joins drivers Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip who will share driving duties in the No. 55.

It must have been a full moon. I didn’t go because it’s a long way from West Virginia to the R&D Center and mostly because I knew what the verdict was before they announced it.

When the dust had cleared at Las Vegas, Sunday had featured two folks in my opinion. One was Tony Stewart, who won this early in the season way back in...well, never.

For a few hours on Sunday driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet looked the best he’s been the last three years.

DID YOU KNOW? Chevrolet is only 12 wins away from recording 700 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series