By Jared Turner Love him, hate him or indifferent toward him, it’s time for everyone to stand up and appreciate the job Kyle Busch has done since returning to his No. 18 Toyota in mid-May. The same Busch who missed the season’s first 11 Sprint Cup Series races while recovering from extensive leg and foot injuries suffered in the season-opening XFINITY Series race at Daytona has won three of the past four races and all but assured himself a berth in the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Although “haters are still gonna hate,” as they say, Busch has shown a will…

By Jared Turner When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series convenes for the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, drivers will debut a new, lower-downforce aerodynamic package and different Goodyear tire designed with the hopes of making passing more frequent and improve the overall level of competition at the 1.5- and 2-mile tracks. While many in the garage believe the package -- scheduled, at least so far, to be in effect for just Kentucky -- is a move in the right direction, not everyone is in wholehearted agreement. The major changes for this weekend’s aero package that was announced June…

By Jared Turner   NASCAR Will Wait Out The Rain Good luck trying to remember the last time NASCAR started a night race three-and-a-half hours after its scheduled start time. That’s exactly what happened at Daytona, though, where NASCAR weathered bleak forecasts to get the 2.5-mile track dry and race-ready within just a few minutes of the clock striking midnight. Once the race began, however, there were no stoppages for weather. While racing at such a late hour was far from ideal, NASCAR did the right thing in waiting it out, rather than throwing in the towel prematurely and forcing everyone to…

By Jared Turner From the winding road course of Sonoma Raceway to the high-speed, always entertaining Daytona International Speedway where literally just about anything can happen, the Sprint Cup Series returns to The World Center of Racing Sunday night for its annual July 4 week showdown. The stakes are certainly high for a lot of drivers heading back to Central Florida as the proverbial clock is ticking down on the number of remaining opportunities to get a win and with it a berth in the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Eleven drivers have gone to Victory Lane in the season’s first…

By Jerry Bonkowski It truly pains me to say this, but maybe Jeff Gordon picked the wrong year to retire. Perhaps he should have given it another year or two before he hung up his helmet and firesuit for good. Because, frankly, Gordon’s final season – unofficially dubbed his “Victory Tour” – is so far missing one very key component: victories. And given how Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway was arguably the best chance to date for Gordon to reach Victory Lane – in front of family and friends, on his original “home track” and in the same area of the…