Smith still smarting about wild finish at Talladega

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- When Regan Smith passed Tony Stewart on the last lap at Talladega Superspeedway, he was certain he'd just earned his first Sprint Cup Series victory. When NASCAR ruled the pass illegal, Smith figured he was for sure a career-best second. Still unhappy with his runner-up finish, he went to argue his case in the NASCAR office following Sunday's finish. So imagine his surprise, while waiting for top NASCAR officials, Smith saw himself dropped to an 18th-place finish. "I thought I was going to plead my case about if I was first or second," Smith said Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "I was sitting in the [NASCAR] hauler, literally sitting there, and it flashed up on the screen and it went from second down to 18th. "And I said 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, what just happened there?' I was like 'Man, that's even worse... [read full story]