Tony Stewart has officially qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup in his final year, securing the spot with his 21st-place finish at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

Tony Stewart Officially Makes Chase For Sprint Cup In Final Year

His victory at Sonoma (California) Raceway in June meant he needed to reach the top 30 in points and stay there, after missing the first eight races while recovering from a broken back.

The 45-year-old, three-time Cup champion is racing in his final season in NASCAR’s top-tier series.  Stewart began his Cup career in 1999 and has won at least one race a year every season except for 2014 and 2015.

His win at Sonoma on June 26 ended an 84-race winless streak. The following week, he finished 26th at Daytona International Speedway, thus reaching the top 30 in points.

Stewart is also one of the many sports stars who weighed in on the controversy surrounding the San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit in protest during the national anthem during an NFL preseason game. The quarterback, who is mixed-race, stated he refused to stand for the flag of a country “that oppresses black people and people of color.”

Stewart took to Twitter Monday to call the QB an ‘idiot’ in the form of a hashtag, all while defending police for their work.

“I’m sorry but (Kaepernick) needs to learn the fact about police before running his (expletive) mouth! He has no clue what they go thru!” the driver tweeted.

However, sports fans on Twitter fired back at Stewart, calling him out for striking and killing 20-year-old Sprint Cup driver Kevin Ward, Jr. during a dirt track race in Canandaigua, New York in 2014. The Ontario County (New York) District Attorney later announced that a grand jury found no reason to charge Stewart in connection with Ward’s death.

Stewart then retorted, calling one user an ‘idiot’ as well.

Who knows how long this feud will go on, but clearly, not everyone thinks Kaepernick’s form of protest was appropriate.

Stewart’s results by track are listed in order of the remaining 2016 schedule (through Homestead-Miami Speedway), followed by the tracks where he has run his last Cup event. He has won at every current Cup track except Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway, the site of next week’s race.

*-Stewart raced at Rockingham Speedway from 1999-2004. The series no longer races there.

Source: Racing-reference.com

SONOMA, CA – JUNE 26: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Code 3 Assoc/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, leads Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Cares Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 26, 2016 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Kyle Busch took the lead after the final restart in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Fort Worth, Texas, to complete his second straight NASCAR weekend sweep.

Kyle Busch Wins Second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series In Texas

Busch, 30, ended Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet SS driver Jimmie Johnson’s three-race winning streak at Texas Motor Speedway, earning his 36th Sprint Cup victory just a week after winning at Martinsville. Busch, the No. 18 Toyota Camry driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, also won the Xfinity race in Texas on Friday night, his 80th win in that series following a two-week break.

“It’s pretty darn good, I’ll tell you that,” Busch stated when asked what his life is like right now. “I’ve got a great wife, a great son and I’m having a blast, living the dream.”

On lap 302 of 334, the first lap after the final restart, Busch went on the outside of Turn 4 to shoot around No. 78 Toyota Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. Busch continued to lead for the rest of the race, beating Dale Earnhardt Jr. by just under four seconds, with Joey Logano coming in third.

“The restart was going to be key. If I could just get out in front of him, I knew I could protect the rest of the race,” Busch said.

This was Busch’s second Sprint Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway, the first coming in 2013 when he also swept both spring races. NASCAR’s first night race of the season actually went into the next morning, ending a few minutes after midnight. Johnson, who had won five out of the last seven Texas races, finished fourth.

When the Sprint Cup Series returns to Texas in November, Johnson will be pursuing his fifth straight victory there. Chase Elliott, the rookie teammate of Earnhardt and Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports, finished fifth.

All four Gibbs drivers finished in the top 12, with pole-sitter Carl Edwards seventh, Matt Kenseth 11th and Denny Hamlin 12th. Edwards led 124 laps and was running second on a restart with 113 laps to go after pitting during a caution.

Truex was in the lead six times for 141 laps in total. The last restart followed an incident that involved 13 cars on the backstretch.

Caption: FONTANA, CA – MARCH 20: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s 75 Toyota, races Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, 2016 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Busch with five laps to go Sunday and surged to his second win in three years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Kobalt 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday despite strange and windy weather conditions.

Brad Keselowski Races Past Kyle Busch To Win in Sin City

Keselowski passed teammate Joey Logano and then caught up with Busch, whose right front wheel vibrated and struggled down the stretch. Keselowski overcame an early speeding penalty and drove his Team Penske Ford to his first Sprint Cup Series victory of the season, as well as his first win in nearly a full year since Fontana in March 2015.

“This is really, really great,” Keselowski stated. “It seemed like there were plenty of challenges, whether it was pit road or the weather or cautions. They threw everything they had at us today . . . but we were able to fight them off and get to Victory Lane.”

Logano and Jimmie Johnson finished second and third, respectively. Busch finished fourth in the opener of NASCAR’s three-week Southwest swing, falling a few laps short of completing a weekend sweep. Busch, defending Sprint Cup champ, dominated the Xfinity Series race on Saturday.

Keselowski appeared to bank on having enough fuel to win Sunday’s race. Strong winds and light rain also proved to be a large obstacle on the desert track. Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson fell behind in the opening laps after debris fell into their cars’ grills.

“I guess that’s the Wild Wild West, right?” Logano asked. “It was just dusty, grainy, windy. Crazy.”

Keselowski surged in front for good after Busch reported problems with his wheel.

Matt Kenseth also spun into Chase Elliott in a late wreck that sidelined both cars, after which Kyle Busch confidently stayed in front off the restart with 35 laps left.

All three manufacturers now have a Cup victory through the first three races. Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing won at Daytona, Johnson led Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to victory at Atlantam and now Keselowski won for Ford and Team Penske in Las Vegas.

Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 06: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

The Summer of Kyle Busch rolls on, as the NASCAR star won his third race in a row, fourth in five races, and arguably his biggest victory of his career as he won the 2015 Brickyard 400 on Sunday. The win is his fourth in just nine races on the season, which was delayed after breaking his leg in an accident in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona. It also puts Kyle Busch just 23 points away from a berth in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup with six races to go before the playoffs.

Kyle Busch took advantage of a series of late restarts to pass leader Kevin Harvick, then continued his excellent short run ability by holding off Harvick and Joey Logano to cross the yard of bricks in first. The win not only continued his winning streak, but also completed a weekend sweep at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Busch also took the checkered flag on Saturday in the Xfinity Series race. The win also marks Kyle Busch’s second win in a “Grand Slam” event, which is seen by most NASCAR observers as the Brickyard 400, Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500– the latter of which he won in 2008.

Logano finished behind Busch for 2nd, unable to recover from going loose in turn 1 in the race’s green-white-checkered attempt. Harvick settled for 3rd, while Martin Truex, Jr. returned to form in 4th and Denny Hamlin provided another boost to Joe Gibbs Racing’s great weekend with a top 5. Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.

The final trip to IMS for Indiana native Jeff Gordon would be a heartbreaking one, as the four-time champion and five-time Brickyard winner crashed on lap 50 trying to avoid Bowyer’s car. Gordon finished the race 42nd, dropping him to 11th in standings and putting him closer to the Chase bubble in his final season as he continues to search for his first win of the year.

Kyle Busch now sits just 23 points away from 30th place driver Justin Allgaier to clinch a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. After returning from injury, NASCAR granted Busch a waiver to compete for the championship as long as he won a race– which has clearly been no problem for him– and finished top 30 in points. Kyle’s brother Kurt Busch clinched his spot in the Chase on Sunday for good with his top 10 finish, which ensures he will finish the regular season in the top 30. Clint Bowyer is the driver on the bubble, as he sits in 16th 30 points ahead of Aric Almirola. Once Kyle Busch enters the top 30, however, the bubble would shift to Kasey Kahne, who’s 20 points better than Bowyer.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup will move on to Pocono on Sunday for the Microsoft 10 400. Six races remain until the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.

The long absence of Kyle Busch from NASCAR’s top series seems like an eternity ago, as the driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota has made his presence felt since returning from a broken leg. So much so that Kyle’s the hottest driver on the circuit. On Sunday, Busch won the 5 Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to win his third Sprint Cup Series race of the season, all coming in the past four races, to help inch his way closer to a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kyle Busch’s win didn’t look like it was going to happen with just 57 laps to go, as he had to make an unscheduled pit stop with what he thought was a flat tire. However, the pit stop ended up being the best thing for Busch, as he was soon able to pass leaders Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick to get back on the lead lap. Shortly thereafter the caution flew for fluid on the track, allowing Busch to stay out while everyone else had to pit. This gave Busch the lead and some very beneficial track position compared to his rivals. From the restart on, Busch led the rest of the way and held off a late charge by Keselowski to take the checkered flag under caution, which flew after Alex Bowman crashed on the final lap.

Keselowski finished the race in 2nd while Harvick crossed the line in 3rd. Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the top 5, followed by Carl Edwards, Austin Dillon, Jeff Gordon, and Kurt Busch.

The win moves Kyle Busch one step closer to the 30th place criteria that he needs to meet to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR granted him a waiver after his injury to allow him to compete for the Sprint Cup championship as long as he won a race and finished top 30 in the points standings. Busch’s deficit continues to shrink, as he’s now just 58 points behind David Gilliland for 30th place with seven races to work with.

Kevin Harvick remains the overall points leader, growing his lead over 69 points over Joey Logano. Aric Almirola moved into the final spot in the Chase standings, as he sits in 16th as the last driver that would make the playoff system on points at the moment. Clint Bowyer is now the first driver out at 17th.

Next weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will move on to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the annual running of the Brickyard 400.

Just four months ago, NASCAR star Kyle Busch was sitting out with a leg injury after an awful crash at Daytona in the Xfinity Series race. Now he’s back in victory lane after a gusty performance at the winding road course of Sonoma Raceway. Kyle Busch took the lead from Jimmie Johnson late to grab the win at the the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Brother Kurt Busch finished 2nd, marking the first time in their careers that the Busch brothers finished 1-2 in a Sprint Cup series race.

Kyle Busch ran well throughout the day and took advantage of a late caution to come in and pit to grab four fresh tires. Leader Jimmie Johnson, who was dominant throughout the second half of the race, decided with crew chief Chad Knaus to stay out. The decision made Johnson a sitting duck, as everyone outside of five drivers came in to pit. On the ensuing restart, Busch passed Clint Bowyer and began to pick off cars that were on worn out tires. By lap 106, Busch had caught up to Johnson and took the lead away from him. Kurt Busch made his way up to 2nd and was quickly coming up on his brother, but it was too late as Kyle came away with the checkered flag. Bowyer finished 3rd, followed by Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano to round out the top 5. Johnson would settle for a 6th place finish.

With the win, Kyle Busch can attempt to cap off a remarkable comeback with a bid in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR gave him a waiver to earn a Chase bid should be finish top 30 in points despite the fact he missed the season’s first ten races. It’s certainly manageable for Busch to do so, as he sits about 140 points away from 30th, which is a little over three races worth. With inferior competition ahead of him in the standings and a projected average finish of 13th being good enough to get himself in position, Busch might be able to pull off one of the biggest rebounds in NASCAR history.

The points standings remained relatively unchanged at the top, with Kevin Harvick leading Martin Truex, Jr. and Joey Logano. Jimmie Johnson jumped over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for 4th in points. Ryan Newman has a four point lead over Aric Almirola for the 16th and final spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Jimmie Johnson drove his #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to victory at Dover International Speedway on Sunday in the FedEx 400, giving him his 10th victory at the concrete track. The win made Johnson only the fifth NASCAR driver to ever win at least ten races at one track. It was also Johnson’s fourth victory of the season with 13 races gone by.

After starting the race 14th, Johnson worked his way to the front and led the race’s final 23 laps. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus made a gutsy call to stay out on old tires during a late race caution, grabbed the lead on the restart, and held off a charging pack on fresher tires. Johnson also had to survive a green-white-checkered two lap overtime, which gave the rest of the field one last chance to catch him after Johnson was previously pulling away to victory.

Johnson joins elite company in those who have won 10 races at a track. Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, and David Pearson are the only other four drivers who have accomplished the feat.

Kevin Harvick, also on older tires, was able to push Johnson on the final restart and get himself a 2nd place finish, giving him his whopping 9th top 5 finish of the season. Kyle Larson, Kasey Kahne, and Aric Almirola all had great runs to round out the top 5. Martin Truex, Jr. came close to contending for his first win of the season, but a dustup on the final restart meant he had to settle for 6th. Still, it is Truex’s 12th top 10 finish in 13 races. Harvick has a 44 point lead in the traditional points standings, while Johnson leads the “Chase Grid” setup for the Chase for the Sprint Cup alignment with his four wins.

The completion of Dover means the regular season is halfway over. Currently, nine drivers have wins on the season to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff automatically. Seven drivers would make their way in on points, but those spots are sure to dwindle as more drivers get their way to victory lane. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will move on to Pocono Raceway next Sunday.

NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., dominated Talladega Superspeedway early on in his career, just like his father did. And although Junior’s still one of the best at restrictor plate tracks, he hadn’t won at Talladega since 2004. That changed on Sunday, as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led the pack through the final green flag run without much of a charge behind him to win the GEICO 500.

Earnhardt, Jr. led 67 of the 188 laps of the race, with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon also leading a big bulk of the race. With Johnson behind him in 2nd, Earnhardt, Jr. had no worries about a late charge as anyone trying to form a draft to pass him would be blocked by his teammate.

That is, of course, if there was much of a late charge, as the pack stayed single file all the way until the final lap, when any attempts to make moves were met with futile. Tony Stewart attempted to go to the bottom of the track while the leaders ran up top, but found no help and fell back in the field to a 19th place finish. Rookie Ryan Blaney was criticized by some for not trying to make a move on the leaders earlier, but still impressed everyone with a 4th place finish in his first race at Talladega.

With the win, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. all but clinches a spot in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff in September. He joins points leader Kevin Harvick, teammate Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch as race winners on the season. That means as long as there aren’t more than sixteen race winners, half of the Chase’s sixteen spots are already accounted for.

But for now, it was a celebration for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his legion of fans at Talladega– a sight that is well accustomed yet so long in returning.

Kurt Busch was dominant on Sunday at Richmond International Speedway’s Toyota Owners 400, leading 291 of 400 laps to win the rain-postponed event. It was the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win for Busch since he was reinstated by NASCAR on March 11th after serving a three race suspension for domestic violence charges. The win, thanks to a waiver given to him by NASCAR, all but puts Busch into this season’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” Busch told reporters after the race. “It’s a total team effort. And the way that everything came together, it just seemed like we were building, building and building towards a great finish like this.”

Kurt Busch was suspended before the Daytona 500 as a domestic violence case against him was being investigated by Delaware authorities. After a judge dropped the charges, Busch was reinstated by NASCAR and able to get back behind the wheel of his #41 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet. Since then, he’s come knocking on the door of a victory, including leading at the start of a green-white-checkered at Auto Club Speedway. On Sunday, he was finally able to get back to victory lane.

Even with missing the first three races, Busch is up to 18th in points, making him easily eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR had granted Busch a waiver for the playoff system if he won a race, but he probably won’t need it. Finishing top 30 in points with a win gets you into the Chase and Busch has already given himself a buffer. In just six races, Kurt Busch has already put up three top fives on the season.

Teammate Kevin Harvick had another great day on Sunday, finishing 2nd. It’s Harvick’s 8th top 10 of the season and whopping 7th top 2 finish in 2015. Jimmie Johnson came from back in the pack to finish 3rd, giving him his 5th top 5 in the young season. Jamie McMurray had an impressive 4th place finish to bump him up to 9th in points, while Joey Logano got his 8th top 10 by rounding out the top 5.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will move onto the wildly unpredictable Talladega next weekend. Denny Hamlin was last year’s event winner, but any one of the 43 drivers in the field has a shot at winning with the restrictor plate pack racing and large pileups that can take out contenders.

Joey Logano and the Penske Racing #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford took the spoils of victory at the 57th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday. It’s the 24-year-old Connecticut native’s 9th career victory and 6th trip to victory lane since last April, but his first in NASCAR’s biggest race.

Logano charged up to the front in the late portion of the race and was at the head of the pack with 10 to go. As some of NASCAR’s biggest stars were going 3-wide behind them, Logano was able to pick and choose which lane to go on to help keep him in front. However, a late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish, NASCAR’s two lap overtime, to finish the race. As the front four tamed themselves to go single file on the final lap, Austin Dillion spun Jeff Gordon, running his final Daytona 500, to cause a multi-car accident on the backstretch. The caution flag waved to freeze the field before defending series champion Kevin Harvick and defending 500 winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could mount a charge, ensuring Logano his biggest win of his career. Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.

“I was so nervous pretty much the whole race,” Logano told reporters in victory lane. “We worked so hard in the offseason and this is my weakest race track, the superspeedways, and we worked so hard at them. I couldn’t be more proud.” He was also overwhelmed by the fact he had won the crown jewel of NASCAR’s schedule. “That is really amazing,” he exclaimed. “The Daytona 500. Oh my God. Are you kidding me?”

The exciting finish capped off a wild week in NASCAR. On Friday, Kurt Busch was suspended indefinitely after a ruling on a domestic violence charge brought up by his ex-girlfriend was made against him in Delaware. The next day in the XFINITY Series race, his brother Kyle was injured in a hard crash coming out of the tri-oval. Kyle Busch will likely miss several months with a leg injury, but avoided any other serious injuries. Regan Smith replaced Kurt in the #41 car and Matt Crafton did the same for Kyle in the #18, and both came away with solid top 20 finishes.

But the main storyline of the week was the fact that this was going to be four time champion and three time 500 winner Jeff Gordon‘s final Daytona 500. Gordon, who will be retiring from full-time racing at the end of this season, led a race-high 87 laps on the day. Unfortunately for him, his day ended badly after slipping in the pack and then being caught up in the final wreck. He would have to settle for a 33rd place finish.

Still, Gordon was all smiles after the race when talking with reporters. “I obviously enjoyed the first half more than the second half,” he said, “[but] this is an amazing week and an amazing day. I’m just in this different place that is so foreign yet so incredible, just soaking it all in.”

Meanwhile, Logano continues to rack up an impressive resume early on in his career. He was in NASCAR’s championship round last season and could’ve won the Sprint Cup Series title had it not been for a costly final pit stop. The Daytona 500 victory might be a sign of his momentum from last season carrying on to this year. Logano has also virtually locked himself into this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff, as a race victory all but guarantees a spot in the 16 driver showdown.

The victory was also legendary owner Roger Penske’s second win at the “Great American Race.” He also has won 15 Indianapolis 500’s as an owner.