NASCAR Cup Series

When Jimmie Johnson takes the checkered flag at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22nd, it will be the end of fourteen straight seasons with Chad Knaus on top the pitbox of the #48 Chevrolet. The results of the partnership have been legendary so far. 72 wins. Six Sprint Cup championships, including five in a row from 2006-2010. The 2013 Daytona 500. Four Coca-Cola 600 victories, along with wins in the Southern 500 and Brickyard 400.

A Wild Card At The Wild Card: Jamie McMurray, making his first appearance as a challenger in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (Chase), kicked-off the Chase Across America this week with a visit to Talladega Superspeedway. The Chase Across America is a week-long blitz leading up to this weekend’s first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway.

So it begins. Sixteen drivers, each trying to avoid being one of the four eliminated from contention for the championship after each round of three races.

Kenseth led 352 of 400 laps and cruised to an easy win in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond. The win was Kenseth’s fourth of the season, and places him atop the points standings for the start of the Chase.

Race fans take note! You have nine days to save up to $10 on Advanced Pricing for tickets in selected areas throughout the grandstands and tower seating for the Alabama 500 and fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, Oct. 23-25.

Returning Home...Justin Allgaier returns to his home racetrack this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. The 1.5-mile track is located about three hours north of his hometown of Riverton, Ill. Allgaier made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) debut at Chicagoland in 2013 with BRANDT Professional Agriculture on the car. Sunday's start will mark Allgaier's third at the Joilet, Ill. track, with a best finish of 27th. Chicagoland is also the site of one of Allgaier's three wins in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, June of 2011.

Brad Keselowski enters the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as the ninth seed after his win at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year. Keselowski, the defending winner of this weekend’s Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, held a Q&A session during a break in testing today at Kansas Speedway.

Chicagoland on Tap...Michael Annett and his No. 46 Allstate Peterbilt Group team travel to Chicagoland Speedway for this Sunday's MyAFibRisk.com 400, the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event this season at the 1.5-mile Joliet, Ill. racetrack

Ten races separate Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup No. 1 seed Jimmie Johnson from potential immortality. If Johnson wins NASCAR’s 16-driver, four-knockout round playoff, he will capture his seventh series title, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the all-time lead.

The similarities between racecars and rockets provide a unique opportunity to engage children in the science, technology, engineering and math used by both NASCAR and NASA.