Pop Secret 400

If Matt Kenseth clinches the Winston Cup championship on Sunday at Rockingham, it will cap an amazing 18 months for car owner Jack Roush.

	Jack Roush

As most fans are well aware, in April of 2002, Roush crashed an experimental aircraft near Troy, Ala. and suffered rib fractures, a lung injury, a closed head injury and multiple fractures to his left leg, including a compound fracture of the femur.

There was doubt as to whether Roush would even survive the accident. Not only did he survive, but he -- and his team -- have flourished since.

In all likelihood, Roush will claim his first Winston Cup championship Sunday. Roush and Bill Weber recently sat down to talk about his Roush's recent history, the accident that nearly took his life and what he's feeling as the championship he's wanted for so long finally comes into focus.

In addition, Kenseth will join Bill Weber on "The Wagon" to discuss his feelings on what could be the biggest day of his racing career.

	Benny Parsons

Benny and his crew: Benny Parsons will be honored in the Winston Cup Victory Lap ceremony before the green flag falls Sunday at Rockingham. On the pre-race show, Parsons will be reunited with the pit crew that led him to the Winston Cup championship in 1973.

Getting tired: If it's Rockingham, tires are always a hot topic. Dave Burns will explore why tires are such a point of contention at North Carolina Speedway during his "Dave Discovers" segment on Sunday.

Ask The Producer: Since NBC and TNT took over coverage of NASCAR in July, lots of fans have written in wondering how it's decided which races run on NBC and which races run on TNT.

"There are races that are earmarked for each network -- Bristol and Richmond are always TNT races and Daytona races are always NBC races. Mostly though, it just comes down to scheduling -- each network has many other programming commitments and some races conflict with other programming."

"A good example is next August, when NBC has the Olympics, TNT will have NASCAR for those three weeks."

EMAIL Send Mark a note or a question for "Ask The Producer"

Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

Quote of the week: "I sure as hell love runnin' into him. He's a fun guy to race hard with." -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. talking about Ryan Newman after Junior's win last weekend at Phoenix.

Ya think Newman feels the same way about Junior?

On to this weekend's schedule...

Winston Cup Series: Pop Secret 400

Site: Rockingham, N.C.

Track: North Carolina Speedway (1.017-mile oval, 22-degree banking in Turns 1-2, 25-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4, 8-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,300 feet, Backstretch: 1,367 feet)

Last year Benson passes Martin and hangs on for the win. Play video Wallace and Gordon bang; Busch gets the lead Play video Contact with Brett Bodine puts Ward Burton in the wall. Play video

Race distance: 393 laps, 399.6 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: TNT, 3 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: TNT, Noon ET Saturday (tape). Race: TNT, 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday.

Last year: Johnny Benson had his hands full holding off Mark Martin through the last 12 laps, but captured his first win in 226 Winston Cup starts.

Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. held off Jimmie Johnson and kept his slim Winston Cup championship hopes alive Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway by winning the Checker Auto Parts 500.

Potential storyline: While Matt Kenseth can clinch the Winston Cup championship Sunday, just 101 points separate second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and fifth-place Ryan Newman heading into this weekend's action. The difference in prize money between second and fifth is $1.6 million.

Point to ponder: The $17 million Winston Cup Point Fund is distributed among places 1-25, and the fight is on to finish in the top 25 to receive the $132,000 award for that cut-off slot.

Dale Jarrett, who has finished in the top 10 in each of the past seven years, has never finished out of the top 25 in any of his 15 full-time NASCAR Winston Cup seasons. He is 25th this week, 12 points ahead of Ricky Craven and 17 points better than Benson.

Next race: Ford 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 16.

Busch Series: Target House 200

Site: Rockingham, N.C.

Track: North Carolina Speedway (1.017-mile oval, 22-degree banking in Turns 1-2, 25-degree banking in Turns 3 and 4, 8-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,300 feet, Backstretch: 1,367 feet)

Race distance: 393 laps, 399.6 miles

Last year A crash on the final lap gives McMurray the victory Play video Waltrip and Green differ on what happened Play video Barrett finds the wall as Waltrip and Green battle Play video

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 1:30 p.m. ET Friday. Race: TNT, 1 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year: Jamie McMurray stumbled upon victory for the second consecutive week Saturday at North Carolina Speedway, this time after race dominator Jeff Green and determined suitor Michael Waltrip wrecked each other out of contention on the next-to-last lap.

Last race: Bobby Hamilton Jr. was declared the winner of Saturday's Bashas Supermarkets 200 when the race was halted after 181 of 200 scheduled laps.

Potential storyline: Hamilton Jr. has seven top-five finishes in the past ten races, eight top-10s and two wins in the past three events. Considering that he was in an accident on the last lap Oct. 4 at Kansas Speedway while going for the win, the streak is that much more impressive.

Hamilton Jr. is sixth in the NASCAR Busch Series driver standings, 125 points behind leader Scott Riggs.

Point to ponder: Mark Martin and Todd Bodine are the only drivers who have swept both the spring and fall NASCAR Busch Series races at Rockingham.

The most consecutive wins at the track is four by Martin, who scored back-to-back victories in 1996 and '97. Martin also won three straight by winning in the fall of 1992 and both 1993 races. In all, Martin has a series high 11 wins at Rockingham.

Next race: Ford 300, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Nov. 15.

Mark Spoor is an associate producer of NASCAR.com. The Domino's Viewer's Guide appears each Thursday.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.