O'Reilly Series

As the action on-track heats up with NASCAR’s postseason set to begin, NASCAR, Sprint and Turner Sports announced today the launch of the sport’s first official app for iPhone and iPod Touch. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile App allows fans to follow their favorite drivers and stay on top of all the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race action, including access to race day content, schedules, standings, breaking news and more.

My next interview, I had the chance to speak with 21 year old NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Matt DiBenedetto. Matt currently drives the No. 47 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet. He first appeared in the racing scene in 2009 when he raced the No. 20 Pizza Ranch Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing at Memphis Motorsports Park. Here is my interview with him.

Michael Annett on Racing in Chicago: “Chicago is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. The track is different than some of the other intermediate tracks that we go to because it has those bumps in Turns 1 and 2. The uniqueness of the track makes it more challenging for me as a driver, and I like that because it keeps the racing interesting. We had a fifth-place finish earlier this summer at Chicagoland, and we are taking that same car back this weekend."

Roush Fenway Racing moves into the first weekend of the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup looking for its first-ever NASCAR win at the 1.5-mile tri-oval of Chicagoland Speedway.

On August 17, 2012, Justin Griffin was riding his bicycle, a 15th birthday present from his mom, down a road in his hometown of Grove City, Penn.

DODGE QUOTES: “I’m really looking forward to Chicago. We ran really well there in the fall race last year. We had a pit stop and a couple of the nuts got away from the changer. We were already debating whether to take two or four and we should have taken two ‘cause it was the left-front ones that got away from him. But we finished fifth. We had a real long green-flag run there towards the end. We came out tenth or so and we were able to get back up to fifth without any yellow flags. We had a car that was capable of winning there but we didn’t get the job done. We’ll go back and try to get it done this year.” --Sam Hornish Jr.

TOYOTA TIDBITS RICHMOND REWIND: Clint Bowyer earned his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) win of the season in Saturday night's rain-delayed race at Richmond International Raceway, the final event before the start of the 10-race 'Chase for the Sprint Cup' championship. Bowyer's triumph also marked the third consecutive victory by a Toyota driver -- after Denny Hamlin's back-to-back wins at Bristol Motor Speedway (Aug. 25) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 2). Bowyer led the final 88 laps (of 400) in the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry en route to victory lane.

Mike Wallace and the No. 01 G&K Services Chevrolet team of JD Motorsports w/Gary Keller has high hopes for a great race at the 1.5-mile oval of Chicagoland Speedway in this Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Two weeks ago in Bristol Elliott Sadler, after disappointingly finishing fifth following bump-and-run from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., declared that the fight for the Nationwide Series championship was on. From his point of view, the two would race each other differently, no holds barred as the season started to wind down.

IT’S A DOLLAR GENERAL KIND OF WEEKEND: In 2011, music artist Wiz Khalifa came out with the radio hit “Black and Yellow.” That song, which hit number one on the Billboard Music Charts, could be the theme song to Logano’s Chicagoland Speedway weekend. Logano will be behind the wheel of not just one but two Dollar General Toyotas. Logano will pilot the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at the 1.5-mile track. He will also once again be behind the wheel of the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Chicagoland on Saturday. Even adding to the “Black and Yellow” themed weekend, Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event is the Dollar General 300 powered by Coca-Cola. That will be a whole lot of “Black and Yellow.”