NASCAR Cup Series

Starting today, Aug. 11, until Sept. 1, fans can visit NASCAR.com and vote for their favorite special paint scheme that will race in the 67th running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

Time to cycle through the transmission for this week's edition of Four Gears. This week, our staff takes a look at some of the hot topics in the world of NASCAR.

Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Mark Martin, all of whom will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017, will serve as Grand Marshals for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Sept. 4.

Keselowski started 12th and finished third after battling with Martin Truex, Jr. on the final lap at Watkins Glen. Keselowski leads Sprint Cup points standings by nine over Kevin Harvick.

In a race that featured eight caution flags and two red flags, Chase Elliott avoided the incidents to lead his Hendrick Motorsports teammates to the checkered flag. He drove the No. 24 SunEnergy1 Chevrolet SS to a 13th-place finish Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International.

"Our team never gives up. I hate it that we got behind there when we spun out. I did everything I could and luckily, no one hit us. We stayed out and restarted 28th. We managed to dodge another close call with five laps to go.

It was an eventful weekend for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Michael McDowell as he earned a career-best finish at Watkins Glen International in his 200th career start.

If there is anything we learned from Sunday it's that NASCAR needs more road courses. Hell, just another visit to Watkins Glen would do. On a track that appeared built for the bulky-fendered beasts, with breathtaking aerial camera shots, and with lots going on from start to finish, this is about as good as NASCAR gets.

On the final lap of Sunday’s road course race at Watkins Glen International Martin Truex Jr. was running second and chasing down leader Denny Hamlin.

Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, improved 23 positions over the course of the 90-Lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event at Watkins Glen International to earn a ninth-place finish on Sunday afternoon.