FanHouse Kurt Busch

For the sixth time, the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set. Here's a look at some of the stories:

Kyle Busch did not make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Think about the enormity of that.

Should we be making anything about Tony Stewart's complete lack of momentum as the Sprint Cup heads to the Chase?

Tony's No. 14 has been the consistent class of the field all year -- and to some, the surprise of it too -- but the last four races have been a lesson on frustration with finishes of 18th, 30th, 12th and 17th.

After a slip-sliding affair in the Peach State on Sunday night, here's some Notes & Quotes from NASCAR's newest Labor Day tradition.

You've got to hand it to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sunday night's race looked and felt like a breath of fresh air into the venue that has long seen attendance woes -- even while the racing has generally been well above par. Estimates from media and drivers alike put the crowd much larger than the track has seen in years.

The on-track action -- thanks mostly to a tire that wore down and slowed the cars during a run -- was second to none with some 31 lead changes. You've got to bet track president Ed Clark has a big smile on his face this week because Labor Day weekend really clicked with the 1.54-mile track.

David Reutimann finished a strong 4th driving an ultra-cool camouflage-painted No. 00, but it wasn't an easy process.

Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 7:47pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: High 60s, Mostly Cloudy
Distance: 325 laps (500.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards
Sunday night's race might be a last ditch effort to ensure Atlanta Motor Speedway has a spot on the NASCAR schedule, much less two.

And judging by the optimism of AMS track president Ed Clark, the expected attendance is working in his favor.

Where: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 2:00pm/EDT
TV/Radio: TNT, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates at FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 67 degrees, 80% chance of rain
Distance: 301 laps (318.46 miles)
Pole Winner: Tony Stewart
2008 Winner: Kurt Busch

You may have heard or seen some reports this morning connecting Danica Patrick to NASCAR in a very big way, that also heavily impacts the sport's most popular driver. But here's one word of advice: don't read into it quite yet.

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) -- Tony Stewart is off to such a strong first season as a team owner, he's already open to expansion.

The Sprint Cup Series points leader said Friday he'd consider adding a third team to Stewart-Haas Racing next year if the right combination was available. Although he promised his team not to expand too quickly, their success so far this season has made him consider his options.

"I wanted to make sure we had two cars that were competitive and had a chance to win a championship," he said Friday at Infineon Raceway. "I'm proud of the fact that I think we're at that point. So if the right situation came along, we would entertain it."

TALLEDEGA, Ala. -- Brad Keselowski did what any driver would do.

It was the last lap, and he had a shot to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race. So he held his line and powered forward.

That the ensuing collision between his Chevy and Carl Edwards's Ford as they approached the finish line resulted in Edwards taking a frightening airborne ride into grandstands fencing and injuring seven fans had less to do with Keselowski than the innate dangers of restrictor plate racing.

In fact, NASCAR started putting restrictor plates on the cars at its two super speedways in Talladega and Daytona because of a similar airborne accident at Talladega in 1987. The idea was to control speeds. Roof flaps developed in the 1990s were supposed to keep the cars on the ground.

And so the 25-year-old Keselowski, whose win came in only his fifth Cup start, didn't make apologies for the racing.

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It took 97 races, nearly four years and lot of decision-making but 50-year-old Mark Martin is back in NASCAR Sprint Cup victory lane.

Martin led the most laps of the Subway Fresh Fit 500k -- he also started from the pole position -- to win Saturday night's 312-miler at Phoenix International Raceway during his first season back as a full-time driver with Hendrick Motorsports.

Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle rounded out Top-5 of the afternoon-to-evening event.

It wasn't a great week and change to be the assistant of Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch after the Las Vegas native won the series' last outing two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Thanks to a nameless, peculiar victory lap Busch unveiled after the win by driving his No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge in reverse in the correct counter-clockwise fashion for a full lap, ideas poured from all corners of the NASCAR world on what the lap should be called.

And because, you know, that's what people in NASCAR do, Busch announced Friday that the lap's official title will be the "Unwind Lap".

Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming back ... Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.

Let's hear it for Kurt.

It's been a while since he was a regular atop NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series leaderboard, but Busch is making an early-season case as a viable Hendrick-Roush-Childress buster -- a compelling alternative to the recent cast of championship characters.

Like his one-of-a-kind reverse victory lap at Atlanta two weeks ago, Busch and his Penske Racing team seem to be turning things around from a frustrating 2008 and what some consider an under-achieving tenure at the high profile team.

"You got to bang your head against a wall every now and then if you want to figure out what you need to do," Busch said Tuesday about his recent resurgence.