By Joseph Wolkin Welcoming Amanda Mertz as the New Miss Coors Light By Joseph Wolkin It’s time to start fresh for the Miss Coors Light program. Starting at Richmond, Rachel Rupert will no longer be the face that greets drivers following their pole runs on qualifying day. Instead, Amanda Mertz, who was Miss Kentucky in 2012, will take over the position that Rupert has held since 2010. Growing up, her father took her to a NASCAR race, and ever since – she has fallen in love with the sport. As she adjusts to her new role, Mertz is set to move to…

By Jared Turner From one of NASCAR’s shortest tracks to its longest and one of its fastest ones, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the running of the GEICO 500. Rest assured, there will be no shortage of drama. The high-banked 2.66-mile Talladega tri-oval is one of only two tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule where restrictor plates keep cars bunched in tight packs from the start of the race to the checkered flag. Talladega, even more so than Daytona – the other restrictor-plate track – is notorious for breeding major and sometimes downright scary multi-car pileups…

By Jared Turner 5 Lessons Learned at Richmond   Kurt Busch Comeback Complete In practically every race since returning from an indefinite suspension for alleged domestic abuse, Kurt Busch has had tremendous speed in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. It wasn’t until Sunday’s race at Richmond, however, that speed finally translated into a win. The 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion put a whipping on the competition at RIR, leading 291 of 400 laps on the way to his first victory in more than a year. Now, he’s locked into the Chase for the Sprint Cup and looks to be one of…