Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won the first Sprint Cup pole of his career Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, turning a harrowing lap of 189.688 mph on the 1.54 tri-oval.
Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon avoided suspension Monday when NASCAR instead fined him $100,000 and docked him 25 points for intentionally wrecking Clint Bowyer at Phoenix International Raceway.
When the fighting stopped, the oil had dried and the last of the wrecked cars had been towed away, Brad Keselowski found himself on the brink of a first Sprint Cup title for himself and team owner Roger Penske.