Indeed, Kevin Harvick left the 1.54-mile track feeling robbed — but not by Stenhouse, who grabbed the lead from Harvick on the final lap, after a restart with three laps remaining, but by race runner-up Brad Keselowski.

In an awkward post-race press conference with the protagonists seated side-by-side, Harvick accused Keselowski of highway robbery for throwing a water bottle out of his car late in the race. Harvick, who saw the replay of the water bottle toss on the Sprint Vision screen as he circled the track under caution, believed that was the cause of the seventh caution, which allowed Keselowski and Justin Allgaier to pit for fresh tires.

It was contact between the cars of Danica Patrick and James Buescher, however, that ignited a four-car wreck on Lap 188 that caused the eighth and final caution and gave Stenhouse the chance to win.

“Heck, yeah, we stole it,” Stenhouse said. “We’ve had a few stolen from us. You go out and get as many as you can, any way you can. It was good, hard, clean racing. I’m glad we could put on a show for the fans, because it really wasn’t a show up to that point.”

Keselowski, on fresh tires, passed Harvick for the second spot after Stenhouse grabbed the lead. Harvick ran third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Allgaier.

Though it was Stenhouse who prevailed on the track, it was Keselowski’s water bottle that stuck in Harvick’s craw.

“It’s pretty obvious,” said Harvick, who had confronted Keselowski on pit road after the race. “They put it on TV and showed when the caution came out on the same lap. . . . He told me it was intentional, so it is what it is.”

Turning to Keselowski, Harvick added, “Sleep good tonight.”

Keselowski said throwing a water bottle from the car is nothing unusual and that many drivers follow the same practice. Keselowski also disagreed with Harvick on the timing of the incident.

“It went out of my car 15 to 20 laps before the yellow came out,” Keselowski asserted. “I guess that’s why I was caught off guard with the comment that the water bottle caused the yellow.

“Everybody throws water bottles out of the car. . . . That’s how racing works. If you go around the infield at these tracks, I’m sure after the race you’ll find 20 water bottles.”

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said that a piece of aluminum in Turn 1 was the cause of the caution. He added that the jettisoning of water bottles is a common practice with some drivers.

“We don’t think it’s out of hand,” Pemberton said.

An ESPN spokesperson said the network had taped the water bottle toss earlier and showed it during the caution as a possible cause of the yellow, a set of facts which supports Keselowski’s version of events.

Perhaps a portion of Harvick’s frustration can be attributed to his failure to win the race with the fastest car, one that led 157 of 195 laps before Stenhouse grabbed the lead on the final circuit. Before the last restart, Harvick appeared to have the race in hand, having opened an advantage that exceeded 16 seconds at one point.

Emblematic of Harvick’s dominance was a restart on Lap 127. Travis Pastrana had stayed out under caution for Eric McClure’s brush with the Turn 2 wall and led the first six laps of his Nationwide career under yellow.

Under green? Another matter. Pastrana led the field to the restart, but before the field cleared Turn 2, Harvick had powered from fifth to first, as Stenhouse tried in vain to keep pace.

Harvick lost the lead briefly during a cycle of green-flag pit stops late in the race, but he was back in front for a restart on Lap 188, after NASCAR called the seventh caution of the night — the source of the controversy between Harvick and Keselowski — on Lap 182 for the debris in Turn 1.

Stenhouse narrowed Sadler’s lead in the Nationwide standings to 12 points, as the same two drivers who battled for last year’s title have begun to separate themselves from their pursuers. Sam Hornish Jr. finished ninth Saturday and is third in points, 32 behind Sadler.

“We believe the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will once again provide fans with what they’ve come to expect every season – the world’s most exciting and competitive form of motorsports,” said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “Next year’s schedule has a few adjustments that we think will be good for the fans and good for the overall flow of the season. One thing will remain constant, however, and that’s the intense competition we see week in and week out from our drivers and race teams.”

One of those adjustments takes place during NASCAR’s playoffs – the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – and could affect the strategy during the championship run. Talladega Superspeedway’s Chase event moves up two weeks to Oct. 7, becoming the fourth race in the Chase. Often labeled as the wild-card track in the Chase, Talladega’s grueling test is now staged during the first half of the Chase.

Talladega swaps its Chase date with Kansas Speedway (Oct. 21) to accommodate Kansas’ repave, scheduled for after the track’s spring event. As such, Kansas’ spring date has also been moved. Kansas now will be the eighth race of the season on April 22. Talladega’s spring event moves to May 6, and Dover International Speedway’s spring event returns to its traditional spot on June 3.

As previously announced, the season-opening Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway will start one week later with the running of the preseason “non-points” Shootout at Daytona on Feb. 18. The 54th annual Daytona 500 will run on Feb. 26.

The race dates for Phoenix International Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway have likewise been moved a week later, to March 4 and March 11, respectively.

Two other featured adjustments to the 2012 schedule:

Texas Motor Speedway’s spring date will be moved to April 14, to accommodate the traditional open week for the Easter holiday.

Daytona’s summer event and Kentucky Speedway’s race will swap weekends in 2012, as the July 4th holiday falls mid-week next year. Kentucky’s race will be June 30; Daytona will run on July 7.

As in past years, FOX will broadcast the first 13 races of next year’s schedule. TNT will follow, broadcasting the next six. ESPN/ABC will broadcast the final 17 events. Race start times will be announced at a later date.

NASCAR will also release the 2012 schedules for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at a later date.

2012 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Busch, who chased Edwards to the checkered flag after passing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for second place on Lap 186 of 195, was the runner-up, .697 seconds behind Edwards. Stenhouse, the series points leader, came home third, followed by Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne.

After regaining the lead from Harvick following a Lap 177 restart, Edwards stayed there and held a comfortable advantage until Busch cleared Stenhouse for second.

“That was the hardest we could race out there,” Edwards said. “Kyle and I, Kevin, I raced Kasey—it was a lot of fun. This track is as good as it gets. This was a blast.”

Edwards’ crew was fastest during pit stops under caution on Lap 165, and he led the field to a restart on Lap 169. Harvick, however, grabbed the top spot before the lap was over and stayed there until contact from Justin Allgaier sent Turner Motorsports teammate Reed Sorenson’s Chevrolet into the Ford of Trevor Bayne in Turn 2.

“I will tell you one thing: I’ll find him after the race, and it’ll be between me and him—I promise you,” said Sorenson, who took a huge hit in the Nationwide standings.

Allgaier, who finished sixth, said after the race he wanted to find Sorenson, too—to apologize. Sorenson finished 32nd and now trails Stenhouse by 40 points.

Edwards led from the outset, pacing the first 41 laps before Eric McClure smacked the Turn 2 wall to cause the first caution. During pit stops on Lap 43, Edwards dragged an air gun beyond the boundary of his stall and had to return to pit road to serve a penalty.

Busch led the field to a restart on Lap 47, with Harvick beside him and Edwards in 17th place, the last car on the lead lap thanks to the infraction. As Harvick battled Busch and Stenhouse for the top spot, Edwards began a methodical climb through the field, working his way to the sixth position within 15 laps.

Harvick swapped the lead with Stenhouse three times, and Harvick on his team radio acknowledged the broader implications of that battle. Harvick owns the No. 2 Chevrolet driven by Elliott Sadler, and entering Saturday’s event, Sadler trailed Stenhouse by five points in the race for the Nationwide championship.

“I’ll get rougher with him (Stenhouse) the later it goes, if I have to,” Harvick promised as the cars slowed under caution for Joe Nemechek’s spin in Turn 2 on Lap 68. “I feel like I’m racing for the 2’s life up here.”

Sadler finished 10th. He remains second in the standings but is now 13 points behind Stenhouse.

That caution and one that followed on Lap 76 for Michael Annett’s spin through the infield grass bunched the field and gave Edwards the opportunity he needed to regain the lead. After trading the top spot with Busch following a restart on Lap 82, Edwards moved to the front decisively on Lap 102 and began to pull away.

By Lap 110, he had a lead of 1.394 seconds over Busch.

Keselowski took the lead on the last restart with 80 laps to go, holding off Martin Truex Jr and Jeff Gordon for the win.  Since injuring his ankle at a Road Atlanta test crash at the beginning of August, he has finished first at Pocono, second at Watkins Glen, third at Michigan, and first at Bristol.

He has climbed from 23rd to 11th in the point’s standings over the last five races and currently sits in the top wild card spot.  He is a virtual lock for the Chase with two races to go and three victories. Don’t be surprised if at Richmond International Raceway he cracks the Top 10 in points.  If he were to make the Chase by virtue of points, that would open the wild card up to drivers like Paul Menard, David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose or Regan Smith.

Truex Has A Good Run

Martin Truex Jr hasn’t been a driver talked about much this season, but he definitely gave us something to talk about Saturday night.  Truex took two tires on his last pit stop, putting him in second place.  He had a hard battle with Jeff Gordon over the last 20-laps, but he was able to hold off the four-time champion to finish in second position.

“We’ve had a real up-and-down season,” Truex said. “We’ve had some bright spots; we’ve had some really tough days. So it’s really nice to come here and have a good finish.”  Chad Johnson took over crew chief duties for the No. 56 team in June and we are slowly but surely seeing the results from it.

Gordon Wants NASCAR To Fix Pit Road Advantage

Jeff Gordon may have been happy with his third place finish, but he certainly wasn’t happy with the way some drivers were speeding down pit road.   Some drivers would speed entering and exiting their pit box, and then slow back down to pit road speed right before the scoring timer.  Although this isn’t considered a penalty, Gordon found that it was an unfair advantage for position.

“It’s a joke,” he said, “that somebody can leave pit road and run that fast down pit road and then slam on the brakes. Kenseth drove by four cars and so did the 2 car when he left his pit stall. I just don’t understand it.”  Director of the Sprint Cup Series, John Darby, said that NASCAR will address the situation and install more scoring loops on pit road.

Johnson, Busch Tied For Points Lead

Kyle Busch remains the point’s leader, tied with Jimmie Johnson, who is in second position based on his number of wins this season.  Kevin Harvick dropped two spots to fifth, putting Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards in third and fourth position, respectively.  Gordon, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Stewart round out the Top 10.

We head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend where the Sprint Summer Showdown will conclude.  The showdown drivers consist of Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose.  If one of them were to win the race, the driver, his charity of choice, and one lucky fan will each recieve $1 million.  The two fans that picked Keselowski to win at Pocono and Bristol will split the $1 million.  Tune into the race September 4th to see who comes out on top!

Speedway president Ed Clark said:

Atlanta Motor speedway has provided top-quality racing entertainment to spectators from across the nation and around the world for 50 years. While our schedule will change, our commitment to the racing fans who have been the heart and soul of Atlanta Motor Speedway through these years will be stronger than ever.

According to court documents, AMS claims that Pep Boys stopped making payments on a $3 million race sponsorship contract. The suit states that contract called for $1.4 million for AMS’s 2008 fall race, and $1.6 million for the 2009 fall race.

The suit alleges that the auto parts retailer failed to pay $800,000 by March 1, 2009, as the agreement required. And, Pep Boys still owes $1.6 million for this season’s fall race.

Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns AMS, claims that Pep boys did not have a problem with the fall Sprint Cup race at Atlanta being moved to Labor Day weekend, making it a summer race instead of a fall race, as the contract states.

Pep Boys, however, sent a letter to SMI saying it could void the contract because of the move. SMI disputes that, saying the contract cannot be voided on those grounds.

SceneDaily has some other information about the sponsorship deal.

Kerry is the son of the seven-time Sprint Cup champion, and half-brother of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeffrey is the grandson of Dale Sr.

RWR fields that No. 31 and No. 41 Chevys in the series. The No. 31 will be the focus of the team, with the No. 41 running on a part time basis.

Jeffrey was, and still is, a developmental driver for Dale Earnhardt Inc. DEI and RWR formed an alliance, and DEI will provide some Chevys to RWR.

Jeffrey is slated to drive  at Dover International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Michigan International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  Jeffrey may also race at Iowa Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, but those would have to be switched for other races to keep Jeffrey eligible for Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Kerry Earnhardt will run “several” races for the team, making his debut with the team at Texas Motor Speedway. He is also expected to run at Talladega Superspeedway and Atlanta.

In addition to the Earnhardts, Stanton Barrett, Derrike Cope, Travis Kittleson, Tim Brown and Tim Andrews drive for RWR.

The No. 5 Chevy will be split among team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr, all-time series wins leader Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and Scott Wimmer.

Jr will drive at Texas Motor Speedway in April, Talladega Superspeedway in April, Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May, Daytona International Speedway in July and Atlanta Motor Speedway in Sept. in Chevys that will be sponsored by Fastenal, Godaddy.com, and Unilever.

Martin will drive the Chevy at Richmond International Raceway in May with Lipton as a sponsor. Tony Stewart will drive at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Oct. with Delphi as a sponsor. Stewart already has one victory in the series this season, winning the Camping World 300 at Daytona in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevy.

Newman will drive the No. 5 Fastenal Chevy in four races: Dover International Speedway in May, Chicagoland Speedway in July, Michigan International Speedway in Aug., and Kansas Speedway in Oct.

Wimmer will also pilot the No. 5 Fastenal Chevy for six races: Darlington Raceway in May, The Milwaukee Mile in June, O’Reilly Raceway Park in July, Iowa Speedway in Aug., Bristol Motor Speedway in Aug., and Richmond International Raceway in Sept.

Wimmer said in a JR Motorsports press release:

I am really excited to be associated with JR Motorsports and a great sponsor like Fastenal. I will be running at tracks that have been good for me in the past and look forward to my first event with JR Motorsports at Darlington in May. Hopefully, we can get the Fastenal car in the Winners Circle.

The announcement leaves two races without a named driver — the road-course events at Watkins Glen and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, both in Aug. Drivers for those races will be announced at a later date. Last season, Ron Fellows drove the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevy to victory in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, so he may be considered for that race.

Earnhardt Jr. drove at Watkins Glen last year, presumably to get more experience at road courses, so he may take one of those races.

Also, anytime you mention road courses, you have to mention Boris Said’s name. He could also be considered.

Earnhardt Jr said:

This No. 5 team carries a strong tradition and a lot of expectations, and we are fortunate to attract such quality talent to help carry on that tradition. We had a similar set-up with this team last year, and we were able to go to Victory Lane twice. Obviously with this driver line-up, there’s no reason we can’t exceed last year’s win total.

Martin has experienced a ton of misfortune to start this season. He was running fourth in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he ran over a piece of debris, cutting a tire and severly damaging his No. 5 Kelloggs/Carquest Chevy. He finished 31st.

During the previous two races, the Shelby 427 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Auto Club 500 from Auto Club Speedway (Fontana), he experienced engine failures that gave him a pair of 40th place finishes. 

His 16th-place finish in the Daytona 500 looks pretty good right now, compared to his finishes in the last three races.

Crew cheif Alan Gustafson was expected to meet with Martin to discuss how the team can save its season. The problem is, it hasn’t been mistakes as much as it has been bad luck.

The Daytona 500 was called early due to rain. If it hadn’t been, Martin may have finished better than 16th. He won the pole at Atlanta and was running in the top 5 when his tire blew.

He didn’t have winning cars at Las Vegas or Fontana, but he certainly could have finished better than 40th.

As a result of the misfortune, Martin is changing his focus from the Chase and championship to winning races. He is mathematically still in contention, but he knows that making up points on one person is easier than making up points on 34 people.

So, for now, Martin is concentrating on winning his first race since 2005.

Busch has been on fire of late, sitting third in points and coming off his dominating win at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend.

The older Busch brother is seeing a resurgence. He’s got one win, two top fives, and three top 10s in four races this season. He hasn’t finished worse than 23rd, no small feat considering that some of NASCAR’s bigger names have seen their share of misfortune (see Mark Martin, Jimmy Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch).

Busch has got to be exciting going into Bristol, a track he’s won at five times. Seven of his 19 career victories in the Cup series have come at short tracks. And, no one can argue that he seems much more comfortable in the car, and with his team than he ever has before.

The rest of Sprint Cup garage has to be taking notice, and rightfully so.

It’s still early, but perhaps Kurt Busch is returning to championship form.