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Sprint Cup drivers Kyle Busch (front) and Carl Edwards have a combined 14 wins in 24 races.

Just when NASCAR needs a spark to help keep the engines humming down the stretch and into the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the rivalry between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch is providing it, writes motor sports columnist Richard Durrett.

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Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Cup champion, moved from 12th place to 10th with last Sunday's fifth-place finish at Michigan.

One bad finish in the next three races could put Matt Kenseth out of the playoffs for the first time. He and Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers who have made the Chase every season since its inception in 2004. Though Kenseth is still looking for his first win this season, he doesn't appear worried, writes motor sports columnist Richard Durrett.

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Jeff Gordon is 500 points behind leader Kyle Busch and sixth in the points standings.

What has happened to Jeff Gordon and his team? The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is asking the same question and tried to get some answers in a team meeting in the No. 24 hauler after Sunday's shockingly bad finish at Watkins Glen, writes Richard Durrett.

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Carl Edwards has won at four of the tracks coming up in the Chase.

One of the objects getting a little closer in Kyle Busch's rearview mirror is the No. 99 car. The driver of that Sprint Cup Series car, Carl Edwards, won for the fourth time this season. He's the only driver besides Busch with more than two wins, writes Richard Durrett.

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Tire wear forced NASCAR to provide competition cautions every 10 laps in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis.

NASCAR's first step this week in moving on from Sunday's debacle at the Brickyard was to say it was sorry. That apology to fans was important, but it will mean a lot more once NASCAR takes some action, writes Richard Durrett.

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If driver Clint Bowyer (left) wants his name in the Chase for the Cup, now is the time to make a move.

Having enjoyed one final weekend of rest, NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and teams will grind it out for the next 17 weekends. Columnist Richard Durrett writes that those who handle the stretch run best will have a shot at a championship.

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On June 21, Scott Kalitta's Funny Car burns as it heads down the track in Englishtown, N.J.

Imagine the NFL shortening the football field to 80 yards for half the season. That's similar to what the NHRA did last weekend in the aftermath of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta's death, writes motor sports columnist Richard Durrett.

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Tony Stewart is leaving the No. 20 Home Depot car that he has driven for a decade at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Tony Stewart is taking one of his biggest risks in a racing career full of them, writes motor sports columnist Richard Durrett. Stewart said he looks at current owners who were drivers, like Richard Childress and Richard Petty, and wants that kind of legacy.