NASCAR announced today the base NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rules package to be used during the 2016 season. The package was delivered to teams after an extensive collaborative process between NASCAR and industry stakeholders.

The base package will include a 3.5-inch spoiler, a 0.25-inch front leading splitter edge and a 33-inch wide radiator pan. These components will provide lower downforce on the cars, and Goodyear will develop tires to complement them. Earlier this season, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway featured a similar aero package.

"It's never gonna happen."
If you had told me a few years ago that NASCAR's Tony Stewart would be retired from the Sprint Cup series career as soon as 2017, that would have been my response.

Tony Stewart loves racing more than anything, I would have said, and he will be here as long as he can compete -- possibly longer.
But of course, that's not the case. On Wednesday, Stewart is expected to announce that he will be competing in his final season in the Cup series in 2016, with Clint Bowyer expected to take over behind the wheel of the 14 car starting in 2017 (no 2016 stopover destination for Bowyer has yet been announced).

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- If any team is a part of the fabric of NASCAR, it's the Wood Brothers Racing team.

Running continuously since 1950 (that's 65 years if you're not good at math), most of the great drivers in NASCAR's have spent some time behind the wheel of a Wood Brothers #21 Ford. Outside of Richard Petty's #43 and Dale Earnhardt's #3, the #21 of the Wood Brothers is arguably the most recognizable car in the sport's history. The teammade has made many contributions that all of auto racing should be thankful for, including inventing the modern pit stop.

Pure Michigan announced the results of the Pure Michigan 400 Honorary Starter Contest, naming Kyle Brow of Vassar, Mich. as the 2015 Pure Michigan 400 Honorary Starter. Michael Harris, Executive Director of Paralyzed Veterans of America Michigan Chapter, has been named 2015 Pure Michigan 400 Grand Marshal.

Brow, a 20-year-old with autism, developed a passion for NASCAR and racing at a young age. Over the years, Brow’s enthusiasm for the sport has only grown; he keeps meticulous records of each race and aspires to be a NASCAR announcer one day. His mother, Laura Oliver, nominated him to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience, saying “you cannot have a conversation with Kyle that does not turn into a conversation about NASCAR.”

A mere 11 races after returning from a broken leg and foot suffered in February, Kyle Busch has cracked the top 30 in the points standings and is now eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Busch will qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs if he can remain in the top 30 at the end of next month’s Richmond race. 

Busch currently mans the 30th spot in the driver standings, six points ahead of 31st-place Cole Whitt and one point behind 29th-place Justin Allgaier.