Chase for the Sprint Cup

Everyone expects the big one to happen at Talladega Superspeedway. For some reason, it never occurred Sunday. Oh sure, there was a wreck on the final lap, which allowed Jamie McMurray to coast to the victory under caution.

Aric Almirola has a fast car. Turns out, he's a pretty good weather forecaster, too.

Brad Keselowski snapped a 37-race winless streak Saturday night by chasing down Kasey Kahne in the closing laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski became the first non-Chase driver to win a Chase race since Kahne at Phoenix in 2011.

Jeff Gordon is feeling rejuvenated as the NASCAR Sprint Cup season winds down. Gordon carried over a strong performance in Kansas last weekend to Thursday night by winning the pole for the race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick didn't simply have his hands full with the rest of the Sprint Cup field Sunday. He also was trying to tame a squirrely surface at Kansas Speedway. He handled both better than anybody else.

It was easy for Kevin Harvick to remember what transpired the last time he sat on the pole. For one thing, he won the race. For another, he doesn't sit on them very often.

Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned a track record lap of 161.849 mph to win the pole at Dover International Speedway.

Ryan Newman used a track-record lap to fuel his run at a championship. Newman set the New Hampshire Motor Speedway qualifying record with a lap of 136.497 mph to win the pole and headline a top 12 loaded with Chase drivers for Sunday's race.

NAPA Auto Parts said Thursday it will end its multimillion-dollar sponsorship of Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the year, the latest fallout from the team's attempt to manipulate a race to get Martin Truex Jr. into NASCAR's version of the playoffs.