Jeff Gordon
William Byron stands with his trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Byron heads into playoffs with 2-year contract extension

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 01, 2020 03:36 PM EDT

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Aug. 13, 2020 11:32 AM EDT
Aug. 16 1920 — Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman is hit in the head with a pitch by New York’s Carl Mays. Chapman suffers a fractured skull...

FILE - In this June 26, 2006, file photo, Tony Stewart poses with the trophy after winning the Crown Royal IROC auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. The IROC Series, where the best drivers from various disciplines raced each other in equally prepared cars, ran for 30 seasons before Tony Stewart won its final championship in 2006 and the series quietly went away. Now Stewart, along with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham, has teamed with a group of heavyweights to bring an all-star circuit back in 2021. The Superstar Racing Experience plans a six-race, short-track series to air in prime-time on CBS in a Saturday night summer spectacular. (AP Photo/Paul Kizzle, File)
Stewart and Evernham team to recreate IROC as SRX All-Stars

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 13, 2020 08:47 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 2, 2020, file photo, Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas of Finland, left and Lewis Hamilton of Britain speak during the drivers news conference the at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria. As sports prepare to resume, journalists are facing the same reckoning that their colleagues who cover politics, education and entertainment have encountered — coming up with new approaches to coverage with reduced access and resources. Professional leagues closed media access to locker rooms and clubhouses in early March.(Mark Sutton/Pool via AP, File)
Games are restarting, but few reporters will be there

By Joe Reedy Jul. 08, 2020 12:36 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 1, 2020, file photo, Jimmie Johnson is introduced to the crowd during activities as he carries his youngest daughter Lydia as his oldest daughter Genevieve and wife Chandra follow prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Fontana, Calif. This year has hardly been the farewell tour Jimmie Johnson envisioned when he said 2020 would be his final season of full-time NASCAR racing. The seven-time champion has had to say his goodbyes at empty race tracks absent of all fanfare and now his streak of 663 consecutive races has ended because Johnson tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Will Lester, File)
Column: Jimmie Johnson finds voice during last NASCAR season

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 07, 2020 01:27 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2017, file photo, former NBA player and players union deputy Roger Mason, left, listens as entertainer Ice Cube, right, announces the launch of the BIG3, a new 3-on-3 professional basketball league, in New York. Hundreds of sports-related businesses got in line for the government-funded Payroll Protection Plan designed to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the four North American major sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball — applied, but both Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League were represented. Rapper Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league says it returned almost half of the $1.6 million it received, but givebacks were rare. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Sports jumps on PPP bandwagon, but big leagues take a pass

By The Associated Press Jul. 06, 2020 10:07 PM EDT

Kevin Harvick festeja en el círculo de ganadores, luego de conquistar la carrera de la Cup Series de la NASCAR en el Pocono Raceway de Long Pond, Pensilvania, el sábado 27 de junio de 2020 (AP Foto/Matt Slocum)
NASCAR races on at Indy after Johnson contracts coronavirus

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 04, 2020 12:34 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2020 file photo Jimmie Johnson climbs intp his car before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson will test an Indy car next week on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s long said he is open to racing in the series but did not want to compete on ovals out of safety concerns. On Friday, July 3, 2020, he indicated recent safety improvements have softened his stance and the Indianapolis 500 is not entirely out of the picture.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
Jimmie Johnson 1st NASCAR driver to test positive for virus

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 03, 2020 03:22 PM EDT

Racers speed down the front straight between the empty grandstand and their crews that are stationed along pit row as the sun goes down during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, June 28, 2020, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AUTO RACING: Auto Racing Glance

By The Associated Press Jun. 30, 2020 04:01 PM EDT

A pit crew member is silhouetted while stacking tires as the sun sets during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, June 28, 2020, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Hamlin caps marathon day of racing at Pocono with 4th win

By Dan Gelston Jun. 28, 2020 08:59 PM EDT

Kyle Busch drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, June 14, 2020, in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Pocono twin bill weekend loses luster with no fans at track

By Dan Gelston Jun. 26, 2020 02:15 PM EDT

Nascar drivers Kyle Busch, left, and Corey LaJoie, right, join other drivers and crews as they push the car of Bubba Wallace to the front of the field prior to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega Ala., Monday June 22, 2020. In an extraordinary act of solidarity with NASCAR’s only Black driver, dozens of drivers pushed the car belonging to Bubba Wallace to the front of the field before Monday’s race as FBI agents nearby tried to find out who left a noose in his garage stall over the weekend. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
NASCAR rallies around Wallace as FBI investigates noose

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 22, 2020 02:09 AM EDT

Chase Elliott (9), Aric Almirola (10) and Joey Logano (22) drive during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in Hampton, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
NASCAR vows to do better job addressing racial injustice

By Paul Newberry Jun. 07, 2020 04:33 PM EDT

Kyle Busch stands for the playing of the national anthem before the start of the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Busch and Elliott incident could spark new NASCAR rivalry

By Jenna Fryer May. 21, 2020 04:02 PM EDT

Cars approach the starting line in front of empty stands to start the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Networks have strong showing during busy sports weekend

By Joe Reedy May. 19, 2020 06:51 PM EDT

Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 17, 2020, in Darlington, S.C. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The Latest: Harvick's 50th Cup win 'just weird' without fans

May. 17, 2020 11:32 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 5, 2006, file photo, NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, left, Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning, center, and Harold Brasington Jr. look out over Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C. Brasington Jr.'s father was the track builder. The 70-year-old raceway will host the return of NASCAR Cup Series racing, among the biggest events so far as sports makes a halting comeback from a global shutdown forced by the coronavirus pandemic. (John D. Russell/The Morning News via AP, File)
NASCAR's return latest chapter in Darlington's rich legacy

By Pete Iacobelli May. 15, 2020 02:02 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2016, file photo, NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, left, speaks to the media as announcer Mike Joy, right, listens during a news conference before practice for the Daytona 500 Sprint series auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR will have a much different feel when it resumes this weekend as the two-man broadcast team for Fox will not travel to Darlington Raceway and instead call the race from a studio in Charlotte. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
Safety protocols include Fox calling NASCAR race from studio

By Jenna Fryer May. 13, 2020 04:01 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2020, file photo, driver Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Hamlin closed NASCAR's iRacing Series virtual auto race with a victory at a simulation of throwback North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, May 9, 2020. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Hamlin closes NASCAR's iRacing Series with another victory

By Jenna Fryer May. 09, 2020 04:50 PM EDT

Kyle Larson returns to racing in World of Outlaws event

By Jenna Fryer May. 08, 2020 10:21 PM EDT
The resurrection of Kyle Larson's career began with a 25-hour drive from California to Iowa for a $15,000-to-win World of Outlaws race. ...