Jimmie Johnson

Racing, rather than traffic, ruled the day at the second annual running of the Quaker State 400. Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from Kentucky Speedway.

A recent, first of its kind study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research proved definitively that not only are athletic skills needed behind the wheel of a stock car, but also that there is a significant correlation between performance on the track and the length of resistance training sessions.

Johnson posted his eighth top-5 finish of the year with a fifth in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. He is fourth in the standings, 25 out of first.

From blistering speeds to blistering tires, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 44th annual Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

It was never supposed to be like this. The story wasn’t supposed to be written this way. The plot one that was never considered.

With a shortened race, a repaved track, a snazzy new Twitter partnership, and Doc Mattioli looking down from heaven, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR.

Johnson finished fourth at Pocono, posting his 10th top-10 result of the year. He remained fifth in the Spring Cup point standings, 30 out of first.

After starting on the pole on Sunday, Joey Logano claimed his second Cup win in 125 starts. The Joe Gibbs Driver broke a 104 race win-less streak to become the youngest driver to win at Pocono, at 22 years and seven days old.

From an abysmal 29th place finish at Daytona and with even more bad luck in the next few races at the start of the season, Kasey Kahne has made a phenomenal turnaround, with top-10 finishes in the last seven races and a win in the Coke 600.

While it was not surprising that the Monster Mile lived up to its reputation, with a major wreck in the early laps of the FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks, here are some of the other surprises at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.