Nov. 9, 2014 By Seth Livingstone NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz.– The right side of Ryan Newman’s Caterpillar Mining Chevrolet bore more than a few dents and scuffs, emblematic of its epic struggle on the track. At least one or two of those blemishes might deserve a place in history, representing the bumping of Sunoco Rookie of the Year frontrunner Kyle Larson that ultimately gave Newman the chance to battle for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on ESPN). Although he took little pride in the method, Newman did what he needed to…

Nov. 9, 2014 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service AVONDALE, Ariz.— A victory at Phoenix—and a dominating one at that—was exactly what Kevin Harvick needed to keep his hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship alive. But a second-place finish in Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 did Jeff Gordon no good, thanks to a final-lap banzai run by Ryan Newman, who passed rookie Kyle Parson for the 11th position on the final lap to eliminate Gordon from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by a single point. Polesitter Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who shared the Chase lead…

Nov. 2, 2014 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas—It happens every fall, at least in recent years. Jimmie Johnson won the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway for the third straight year, holding off runner-up Kevin Harvick and third-place Brad Keselowski after Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 went to two overtimes. The action in the second race of the Chase’s Eliminator Round was scintillating enough, but it couldn’t match the intensity of a post-race brawl on pit road that left Keselowski and Jeff Gordon bruised and bloodied. Johnson, who was eliminated from the Chase two…