The Rainbow is back!

Jeff Gordon is bringing back his iconic rainbow paint scheme on the #24 Chevrolet for the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol in August. This was the scheme that Gordon race through the end of the 2000 season and has brought back on a couple of other occasions.

A fond farewell to Larry McReynolds

On Sunday at Sonoma, Larry McReynolds called his final Sprint Cup race for Fox NASCAR. McReynolds had played the "crew chief" role alongside TV veteran Mike Joy and "driver" Darrell Waltrip since Fox's coverage of NASCAR began at Daytona Speedweeks in 2001. McReynolds will be replaced by the retiring Jeff Gordon, thus giving Fox two commentators in the driver role. NBC, meanwhile, will kick off their coverage at Daytona next Sunday with the traditional NASCAR broadcast format.

Kyle Busch completes his comeback at Sonoma

Kyle Busch took the lead late in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at the Sonoma, California road course to get his first win of the season and first since returning to competition from his leg injury suffered in a crash during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona in February. It was an excellent rebound from his 43rd-place finish at Michigan two weeks ago. Busch passed the #48 Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson following a restart with 7 laps left to bring the #18 Toyota to victory lane. Busch's brother Kurt, the winner at Michigan, finished behind Kyle, followed by another Toyota, the #15 of Clint Bowyer, in third.

David Gilliland brought out the first of five cautions on lap 23. Seven laps later, second-in-points Martin Truex Jr., one of the favorites to win this race (he did in 2013 driving for Michael Waltrip), going for his 15th top-ten in 16 races, was forced off the track by Waltrip's current driver David Ragan early in the race and hit a tire barrier. Truex's misfortune allowed points leader Kevin Harvick to widen the gap he had lost when he cut his tire at Michigan. The red flag was displayed to clean up the damage done by the #78 Chevrolet. Ragan and the #55 Toyota team found themselves under scrutiny again on lap 80 when he and the #19 Toyota of Carl Edwards wrecked in the esses, ending Edwards' day. In between those incidents was a set of staggered green-flag pit stops that saw Jimmie Johnson, leader of 45 of 110 total laps, have a 30-second lead over the rest of the leaders at one point. Johnson's teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #88 Chevrolet wound up in second a couple of laps later nearly 10 seconds behind Kurt Busch, while Joey Logano made a daring move in the #22 Ford past the slow #51 Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier to enter pit road, a move Clint Bowyer also made under caution later. During these stops, the #47 Chevrolet of polesitter A.J. Allmendinger began having engine trouble, and Allmendinger finally had to go behind the wall for repairs.

During the caution for the Ragan/Edwards incident, the crew for the #24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon (competing at his home track for the last time) threw a spring rubber, and NASCAR penalized him by moving him to the end of the longest line, forcing Gordon to fight his way back up front. Prior to the last caution on lap 99 for Casey Mears' spin, Earnhardt, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch were engaged in a battle within the top-ten, and all three forced the #42 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson back one position each as they fought it out. On the restart, Kyle Busch was leading Kurt, Bowyer and Johnson, and Gordon and Logano had found themselves in the top ten. Sam Hornish Jr. also snuck the #9 Ford into tenth place before he got the checkered flag.

This was Fox's 16th and final Sprint Cup points telecast of 2015. NBC and their cable partner NBC Sports Network will now take over at Daytona for the Coke Zero 400 next week, and take it all the way to the regular season finale at Richmond at September, and then through all ten Chase races up to the Championship Weekend in Homestead, Florida.

Race Results:

1. (11) 18-Kyle Busch - Toyota - 110 laps, led 17 laps
2. (2) 41-Kurt Busch - Chevrolet - 110 laps, led 42 laps
3. (6) 15-Clint Bowyer -Toyota - 110 laps, led 4 laps
4. (17) 4-Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet - 110 laps
5. (19) 22-Joey Logano - Ford - 110 laps
6. (13) 48-Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet - 110 laps, led 45 laps
7. (20) 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevrolet - 110 laps
8. (26) 5-Kasey Kahne - Chevrolet - 110 laps
9. (16) 31-Ryan Newman - Chevrolet - 110 laps
10. (24) 9-Sam Hornish Jr. - Ford - 110 laps

A road course race in the Chase?

At this time every year comes arguments for or against a road course race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Either Sonoma, Watkins Glen or a third track could possibly play host to this Chase event.

Danica Patrick will probably stay at Stewart-Haas Racing

Danica Patrick, despite her longtime GoDaddy sponsorship ending at the conclusion of the current Sprint Cup season, is expected to stay in the #10 Chevrolet for 2016. SHR has a multitude of other sponsors, some of which have appeared on Danica's car in place of GoDaddy, including Aspen Dental and TaxAct.

Richard Childress Xfinity crew chiefs swapped

Richard Childress Racing has swapped the crew chiefs of the #3 and #33 Chevrolet Camaros in the Xfinity Series. Nick Harrison, previously of the #33 car, is now at the #3 team whose car is driven by Ty Dillon. Danny Stockman has conversely moved from the #3 to the #33, whose primary driver this year is Sprint Cup Series sophomore Austin Dillon, Ty's older brother. Austin has taken the #33 car to victory lane twice in 10 of 13 races, at Las Vegas in March and at Charlotte last month. Dillon's Cup teammate Paul Menard and Truck Series driver Brandon Jones have also had turns behind the wheel of the #33 car in 2015. Austin Dillon also has a new Cup crew chief in veteran Richard "Slugger" Labbe.

Erik Jones wins Xfinity race at Chicagoland

Erik Jones drove the #54 Joe Gibbs/Kyle Busch Toyota to his second win of both the season and his career in the 300-mile Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday. It was delayed by rain from Saturday evening. Jones completed a sweep of this weekend's top series races, having also won the Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway on Friday evening.

Chicagoland Xfinity race delayed to Sunday

The Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in the Chicago suburb of Joliet, Illinois has been rained out to Sunday at noon Eastern time on Fox Sports 2, a change for the original channel, Fox Sports 1.

Erik Jones wins Iowa, breaks Truck streak

Erik Jones won the American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway on Friday evening, ending a winless streak going back to Phoenix last November. Jones led 109 of 200 laps in the #4 Kyle Busch Toyota. He previously had two runner-up finished at Atlanta and Charlotte earlier this year. Finishing second was the unrelated Brandon Jones in the #33 Chevrolet. Jones' teammate for the race, Christopher Bell in the #51, finished fifth in his series debut.

Dale Jr. engages his girlfriend in Germany

Dale Earnhardt Jr. used the Sprint Cup Series' off week to take the opportunity to go to Germany with his girlfriend Amy Reimann to find out more about the Earnhardt family's heritage and research the family name. On Wednesday morning, Earnhardt announced on Twitter that Amy is no longer his girlfriend - she's his fiancee. Dale Jr. proposed to Amy in an old Lutheran church and she said yes. At 40 years old, he finally decided this was the right time. No date has been set yet, but the NASCAR world is congratulating Dale and Amy on their upcoming marriage.

Slugger Labbe becomes Austin Dillon's crew chief

Longtime Sprint Cup crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe has moved to the #3 Richard Childress Racing team to replace Gil Martin as the crew chief for Austin Dillon. Labbe was previously part of the #27 RCR team of Paul Menard from 2011 through the end of last year, and before that the defunct #98 Richard Petty Motorsports car when Menard drove it in 2010. Labbe has achieved a number of milestones as a Cup crew chief, such as helping Kenny Irwin Jr. to the 1998 Rookie of the Year title as part of the Robert Yates #28 team, winning three races including the 2003 Daytona 500 with Michael Waltrip when he drove the #15 car at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and the 2011 Brickyard 400 with Menard as his driver. Labbe has also had stints with Jeremy Mayfield at the #19 team of Evernham Motorsports and Dale Jarrett in the RYR #88 car.

Viva Motorsports closes up shop

Xfinity Series team Viva Motorsports has ceased operations following Saturday's race at Michigan. The team had announced a couple of days before that their closure was likely imminent. Viva's #55 Chevrolet Camaro was piloted by Jamie Dick as well as Jeffrey Earnhardt when Dick took a few races off after being diagnosed with early-onset diabetes in March following the race at Phoenix. Both drivers are reportedly looking into arrangements to get rides for the rest of the season, although they will probably not be entered into every remaining race of the season, through the finale at Homestead in November.

Mother Nature gives Kurt Busch a win at Michigan

Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, scheduled for 200 laps and 400 miles, was interrupted by a whopping four red flags as scattered showers moved through the area. After 137 laps, a strong thunderstorm hit the track, bringing lots of rain and even lightning. Kurt Busch in the #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet was out in front at the time of the last red flag, and NASCAR soon called the race, giving Busch his second win of 2015.

Cole Custer steals Gateway truck win after late-race crashes

Cole Custer picked up his second Camping World Truck Series win on Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois after many other contenders got caught up in crashes and changed the race's outcome. The start of the race was delayed two hours by rain. Erik Jones won the pole and once again led several laps in the #4 Kyle Busch-owned Toyota. Jones' teammate, Justin Boston in the #54 truck, got caught up in a crash with Mason Mingus. The third Kyle Busch truck, the #51 of Matt Tifft, also crashed with the #13 ThorSport Toyota of Cameron Hayley on lap 93 of 160. Finally, Jones wrecked on lap 145, as did the race's other dominator, Hayley's teammate Matt Crafton in the #88 truck, seven laps later. Custer then took the #00 Chevrolet to the win over the #23 of Spencer Gallagher; it was the second series win for the 17-year-old.

Race Results:

1. (2) 00-Cole Custer - Chevrolet - 160 laps, led 19 laps
2. (14) 23-Spencer Gallagher - Chevrolet - 160 laps
3. (4) 98-Johnny Sauter - Toyota - 160 laps, led 4 laps
4. (12) 8-John Hunter Nemechek - Chevrolet - 160 laps
5. (9) 13-Cameron Hayley - Toyota - 160 laps
6. (13) 17-Timothy Peters - Chevrolet - 160 laps
7. (15) 11-Ben Kennedy - Toyota - 160 laps
8. (6) 19-Tyler Reddick - Ford - 160 laps, led 4 laps
9. (7) 14-Daniel Hemric - Chevrolet - 160 laps
10. (10) 29-Austin Theriault - Ford - 160 laps

Kyle Busch wins in Xfinity Series return

Kyle Busch won the Xfinity Series race at Michigan on Saturday in his first race in the series since his injury at Daytona in February. It was his 71st win in the series overall. In Busch's absence, his #54 Toyota was driven by Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin and Boris Said. Busch previously made his Cup return last month at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Sprint All-Star Race. Drivers who appeared to have the edge for the race included some of the Fords, specifically the Roush machines of Dover winner Chris Buescher (#60) and Elliott Sadler, as well as the Richard Childress Chevrolets, one of which, the #2 of Brian Scott, started on the front row alongside another Ford, the #22 Penske car with Joey Logano behind the wheel.

The eight cautions throughout the 125-lap, 250-mile race included a couple of debris yellows as well as crashes involving Jeffrey Earnhardt and David Starr, and another wreck collecting last year's winner Paul Menard, Jeremy Clements, Daytona winner Ryan Reed and Cale Conley, which brought out a red flag for cleanup. Busch passed the #9 Chevrolet of series champion Chase Elliott in the final laps to take the win. The race was also held under foggy conditions surrounded by rain which shortened practice on Friday.

Race Results:

1. (11) 54-Kyle Busch - Toyota - 125 laps, led 27 laps
2. (12) 9-Chase Elliott - Chevrolet - 125 laps, led 5 laps
3. (4) 42-Kyle Larson - Chevrolet - 125 laps
4. (20) 60-Chris Buescher - Ford - 125 laps, led 23 laps
5. (16) 1-Elliott Sadler - Ford - 125 laps
6. (7) 88-Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet - 125 laps
7. (1) 22-Joey Logano - Ford - 125 laps, led 54 laps
8. (14) 98-Aric Almirola - Ford - 125 laps, led 1 lap
9. (2) 2-Brian Scott - Chevrolet - 125 laps, led 10 laps
10. (13) 20-Denny Hamlin - Toyota - 125 laps

Will underdogs steal the second half of the regular season?

Last Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Pocono marked the beginning of the second half of the series' 26-race "regular season" before the beginning of the Chase in September. Martin Truex Jr., considered an underdog driver with a surprising amount of success this year in his second year with Furniture Row Racing, finally got his first win of the season at Pocono and beat some of the sport's bigger names like Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick. This could be the beginning of a shift toward lesser drivers, at least as far as this season has gone, getting to victory lane and filling of the Chase grid by winning, rather than having to hope they will make the Chase based on points.

Cup teams test at Darlington

Many Sprint Cup teams conducted tests at Darlington Speedway in South Carolina on Wednesday. The series goes to the 1.75-mile track in September for its first Labor Day weekend date in 12 years. Several drivers earned the classic "Darlington stripes" by brushing up against the walls.

Jimmie Johnson wins appeal of his penalty

Jimmie Johnson and the #48 Hendrick Motorsports team won their appeal of the P1 penalty handed to them following two straight weeks of violations at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of the Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 a few weeks ago. The penalty should have resulted in Johnson having the last pit selection for the next race at Dover (which he wound up winning), but the #48 team's decision to appeal the penalty let him retain full pit selection privileges. NASCAR then heard the appeal following Sunday's race at Pocono and ultimately decided to waive the penalty. An upholding of the penalty, on the other hand, would have given Johnson last pit selection for the Michigan race this coming Sunday.

Bowyer, Ragan to switch crew chiefs

Michael Waltrip Racing has ordered a swap of its two crew chiefs for their #15 and #55 Sprint Cup Series Toyotas. Brian Pattie, formerly the crew chief of the #15 driven by Clint Bowyer, will move to the #55 car, currently driven by David Ragan. Billy Scott will move from the #55 to the #15. Pattie was Bowyer's crew chief since Bowyer won three races in his first season at MWR in 2012, but since then their performance has suffered. The #55 has also been driven by Brian Vickers, Brett Moffitt and Michael Waltrip this year; Vickers, the car's full-time driver last year and previously this year, is out once again due to his blood clots.

Martin Truex Jr. finally breaks through at Pocono

Martin Truex Jr. took the #78 Chevrolet to a much-earned win in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. Truex had finished in the top-ten in all but one race heading into the weekend and became a driver to watch, especially considering Denver-based Furniture Row Racing's status as an "underdog" team. The team has made a big turnaround from last year and they further proved it by winning a race on the 2.5-mile triangle. Truex, driving with a different setup than he had at Kansas, Charlotte and Dover, had to hold off the #4 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick, who was slowly gaining on him during the final laps. Third-place Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was more than ten seconds behind Truex and Harvick at the checkered flag.

The pole for the race went to Harvick's teammate Kurt Busch in the #41 Chevrolet; it was his third of the season. Carl Edwards led some of the opening laps in the #19 Toyota. Truex had taken the lead by the time of the first set of green flag pit stops, during which Joey Logano in the #22 Team Penske Ford was given a speeding penalty. Harvick later reassumed the lead with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who swept both Pocono Cup races last year, getting up to second on a restart. Austin Dillon also led a few circuits in the #3 Chevrolet. Drivers who had bad restarts throughout the race included Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski.

On lap 70 of 160, the #17 Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hit the wall to bring out a caution. Sam Hornish Jr. also wrecked his #9 Ford on lap 121. During another caution a few laps later brought out by an incident involving Keselowski and Brett Moffitt, Keselowski and Kasey Kahne got together on pit road and also hit Earnhardt's car, which caused the field to get shuffled considerably by the time of the restart. The final restart took place on lap 145 and Truex assumed the lead for good. Harvick closed in to within a second and a half of Truex. These were the only two contenders in the closing laps, as Jimmie Johnson was several seconds behind Truex and Harvick.

Next week, the Cup series races in Brooklyn, Michigan for another 400-mile race, this time on a 2-mile oval, before taking Father's Day weekend off and then heading out to Sonoma, California for some road racing.

Race Results:

1. (3) 78-Martin Truex Jr. - Chevrolet - 160 laps, led 97 laps
2. (5) 4-Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet - 160 laps, led 39 laps
3. (9) 48-Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet - 160 laps
4. (11) 22-Joey Logano - Ford - 160 laps
5. (1) 41-Kurt Busch - Chevrolet - 160 laps
6. (19) 20-Matt Kenseth - Toyota - 160 laps
7. (14) 1-Jamie McMurray - Chevrolet - 160 laps
8. (15) 42-Kyle Larson - Chevrolet - 160 laps
9. (10) 18-Kyle Busch - Toyota - 160 laps
10. (8) 11-Denny Hamlin - Toyota - 160 laps

Ty Dillon wants a full-time Cup ride in 2016

Despite announcements that Richard Childress Racing development driver Ty Dillon would spend one more year in the Xfinity Series driving the #3 Chevrolet Camaro in 2016, Dillon apparently wants to forgo that third year in the series and instead move full-time to the Sprint Cup Series in February. Dillon, the brother of Cup driver Austin Dillon and grandson of Childress, has driven the #33 research and development Chevrolet in some races since his series debut at Atlanta last August, including at Kansas last month with a "Plankton" paint scheme inspired by the character from the show SpongeBob Squarepants, which sponsored the Kansas race.

Matt Crafton takes truck win at Texas

Matt Crafton took the #88 Toyota Tundra to his third win of the season in a race filled with misfortunes for many drivers at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday evening. It was also Crafton's second straight win in the series' first of two annual trips to Texas. While Crafton was lucky, many other drivers were not, including Erik Jones, whose #4 Kyle Busch Toyota suffered two mechanical problems during the race after leading 68 laps; Timothy Peters, whose #17 Red Horse truck lost power; and Daniel Hemric, who spun after having a great top-ten run during most of the race. Last week's winner Tyler Reddick started around mid-pack and had to work his way up through slower trucks in the field. Daniel Suarez, also a Kyle Busch driver, came close to beating Crafton and recorded another runner-up finish.

Race Results:

1. (2) 88-Matt Crafton - Toyota - 167 laps, led 77 laps
2. (3) 51-Daniel Suarez - Toyota - 167 laps, led 6 laps
3. (5) 05-John Wes Townley - Chevrolet - 167 laps
4. (4) 98-Johnny Sauter - Toyota - 167 laps
5. (6) 29-Austin Theriault - Ford - 167 laps
6. (10) 8-Joe Nemechek - Chevrolet - 167 laps, led 3 laps
7. (8) 13-Cameron Hayley - Toyota - 167 laps
8. (11) 54-Justin Boston - Toyota - 167 laps, led 1 lap
9. (9) 14-Daniel Hemric - Chevrolet - 167 laps
10. (12) 11-Ben Kennedy - Toyota - 167 laps

What's with all the babies?

Trevor Bayne's announcement that he and his wife Ashton are having a baby is one of just many in the past couple of years, with some fans joking that the Sprint Cup field about 25 years from now is already almost full.

Brian Vickers joining NASCAR on NBC team

Brian Vickers will appear on NBC's NASCAR telecasts starting at Daytona next month when they take over the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series schedules from Fox. Vickers has been sidelined once again by blood clots and has been replaced in the #55 Toyota at Michael Waltrip Racing by David Ragan for the time being.