NASCAR Cup Series

Sixteen started the Chase with some hope. That is now down to 12 as they pull into Charlotte. If we relied strictly on the season tally to award the trophy, it would already be down to Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Just two points would be separating them. Both could have sat out Saturday night’s race and still have been one-two in the standings come Monday. Hence, the Chase.

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team have shown resilience during the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, rebounding from back-of-the-pack finishes to run solidly the next week nine times.

Alex Bowman will be substituting for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is out for the remainder of the season as he continues to recover from a concussion, in the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will be Bowman’s fifth race behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevy. In the first four races, he earned one top-10 and two top-15 finishes and ran inside the top 10 in every event.

Truex dominated at Dover, leading 187 laps on his way to the win in the Citizen Soldiers 400. Truex has two wins in three Chase races and has emerged as a clear Cup favorite.

“Racing at home is always a good time. It gives your friends and family and the families of the guys that work on our cars a chance to come out and watch us race. Plus, Charlotte is always a fun challenge.

All RCR entries will run decals in memory of long-time RCR fabricator Johnny Siler this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Siler passed away on September 24 following a battle with cancer. His 22-year career at RCR was more than a job, it was his passion and he truly loved it.

“We struggled with handling earlier this year at Charlotte but we’ve made some gains since then that should help us. The SunnyD scheme is one of my favorites and will definitely stand out under the lights.

"Charlotte is definitely a very hectic race for everyone in the garage. We always talk about how great it is to be racing at home, but, to be honest, Charlotte is typically a very busy weekend for us. A lot of our partners and sponsors come to town. We usually do a lot of fan appreciation activities around Charlotte and at our race shop.

“It’s always nice to race at Charlotte. It is good to race in our backyard and I’ve had some luck at Charlotte. We had a good run there earlier this year racing our way into the All-Star race. Hopefully, we can get another good finish this weekend at Charlotte.”

"Charlotte's been a good track for me in the XFINITY Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Unfortunately, the Cup Series is its own monster. There's a lot of competition out there, and you're dealing with a lot smaller margins on getting your car dialed in to have a car that's capable of staying on the lead lap and competing for Top-Five and Top-10 finishes.