RC NASCAR Cup

Kasey Kahne claimed his first victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season while Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart spent the afternoon in such close proximity at Phoenix International Raceway that they maintained the same three-point margin of their thrilling battle in the tightest Chase in history.

Qualifying for the Kobalt Tools 500 in Phoenix was everything but smooth for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers as the new configuration frustrated many drivers including Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray.

Tony Stewart led seven times for a race-high 173 laps in route to his second straight victory and the fourth out of the eight Chase races on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Tony Stewart won the Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway by getting past the leader, Jimmie Johnson on a late restart and leading the final 3 laps. At one point Stewart was about to go a lap down to the leader but fought him off and remained on the lead lap. Johnson finished second and Jeff Gordon followed in third.

Jeff Burton and teammate Clint Bowyer did the two car tango up until the final turn on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. Bowyer pulled around Burton as they headed to the finish line, Bowyer edging out Burton by .018 seconds and captured his first victory of the season and the fifth of his career.

Matt Kenseth captured his third win of the season Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The win is his 21st victory in 431 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Tony Stewart captured his thirteenth career pole Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a qualifying speed of 191.959 mph.

Jimmie Johnson won one of the longest races of the year. The excitement level of this race was very similar to waiting in the waiting room at the dentist office.

Qualifying at Kansas took place under cool and cloudy conditions with wind gusts that reached up to 25 mph.

Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, conquered the concrete track at Dover for the first time ever to score his second win of the season. This was his 24th victory in 393 Cup Series races.