NASCAR Cup Series

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, was the guest on the NASCAR Weekly Teleconference.

Ray Evernham has a long history with Ronald McDonald House, from the early days when he stayed there while his young son Ray J received treatment for leukemia. Now, he has come full circle –presenting a $1 million check for the new Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte.

In its second year, the outdoor fan festival and Coca-Cola Racing Family Concert featuring Blake Shelton, which are free to fans, will take place Nov. 17-18 at Lummus Park and officially kick-off Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

SKF USA Inc. announced today it will be a major associate sponsor of the Penske Racing teams beginning with the 2012 racing season. The SKF brand will be featured in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the IZOD IndyCar Series next season.

After the weekend's action in Talladega, Alabama, one Carl Edwards might fit in just nicely. After riding around at the back of the pack most of the day, Cousin Carl settled for just outside the Top Ten, and that suited him just fine.

Edwards avoided danger for the duration of the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega, hanging back for most of the race before capturing an 11th-place finish. His finish was better than all but three Chase rivals, and left him with a 14-point lead in the Sprint Cup point standings.

Jeff Gordon rolls into Martinsville Speedway this weekend pretty much out of this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup, but it doesn't mean the four-time champion won't have a huge impact on the weekend.

Monday morning I was at home doing the usual housework when all of a sudden it hit me. Why am I in the house on such a beautiful day when I could be at ‘The Rock’? So I ditched the chores, hopped in my car and drove out to Rockingham Speedway.

To say the least the NASCAR weekend at the Talladega Super Speedway was interesting. There was a surprise two car tandem who crossed under the checkers, there were Chase contenders who wondered if their championship run was over and there were a pair of truck drivers who reminded us that sometimes old guys rule.

The following statement is in response to the penalties handed down today by NASCAR to Michael Waltrip Racing following the race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.