Denny Hamlin easily broke the track qualifying record at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday night to earn the pole for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 -- the longest race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
He was medically cleared for the 300-mile race at Charlotte following his MRI on Monday.
Scheduled to start in the late afternoon and conclude at nighttime, the 600- mile race at Charlotte is physically and mentally challenging for drivers.
Indianapolis 500 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis, Ind.
Former Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett and legendary engine builder Maurice Petty were among those selected in the 2014 class of inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
To no one's surprise, Danica Patrick won the fan vote to earn the 22nd and final starting position in Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jamie McMurray and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gained eligibility for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after finishing 1-2 in Saturday night's Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Carl Edwards will start on the pole for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after posting the quickest time in Friday's qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Richard "Dick" Trickle, a retired NASCAR driver and short-track racing legend in the Midwest, was found dead on Thursday in North Carolina from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71.
"I need to get back to racing, so I can get some rest," Crafton jokingly said. "I'm always excited to go to the racetrack. But usually you go to the racetrack and you don't get much sleep, because you're worried about everything the night before the race. You think about everything. This week, I'm excited to get to the racetrack, so I can get some sleep."
NASCAR has made some format modifications, including a couple of tweaks revealed earlier this week, that will add more excitement to both qualifying and the race.
Sprint Cup Series
Denny Hamlin was sore and tired after this past Saturday night's Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, but his second-place finish there helped boost his confidence of making this year's Chase.
One day after testing an IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch set a new track qualifying record at Darlington Raceway to win the pole for Saturday night's Southern 500.
Spending the past five seasons in Sprint Cup, Smith returned to Nationwide full-time this year, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Smith won the 2012 Nationwide season-finale at Homestead, Fla. in his stellar debut with JRM. It was also his first win in the series.
"I've been fortunate to race this long and have the type of career I've had," Gordon said. "It's really cool to see that this will be my 700th start, but it's not something I really paid attention to. It's hard to believe I've run that many - especially consecutively."
The National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel on Wednesday substantially lessened the penalties assessed by NASCAR to Joe Gibbs Racing for an illegal engine used in Matt Kenseth's race-winning car last month at Kansas Speedway.
Penske Racing had the suspensions for seven of its members reduced on Tuesday after NASCAR issued heavy penalties to the team for rules violations that occurred last month at Texas Motor Speedway.
David Ragan proved that just about anybody can win at Talladega Superspeedway.
