Sports business
AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Sep. 24, 2020 12:55 PM EDT
Sept. 27 1894 — Aqueduct Race Track opens its doors. The building is torn down in 1955 and the new Aqueduct reopens on Sept. 14, 1959. ...

Alex Bowman, left, Chase Elliott, center, and Denny Hamlin listen to the national anthem before the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Column: NASCAR's dizzying silly season will change landscape

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 21, 2020 09:34 PM EDT

Ross Chastain is introduced to the crowd before the NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Chastain snags Ganassi Cup ride in busy NASCAR free agency

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 21, 2020 08:26 AM EDT

FILE - Jimmy Johnson is at left in a 2019 file photo. Scott Dixon is at right in a 2020 file photo. Jimmie Johnson will transition from NASCAR to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in a partnership that could pair two of the most dominant drivers of this generation on one team. The seven-time NASCAR champion will work with the Ganassi organization to finalize sponsorship on a two-year program for Johnson to run the road and street course races on IndyCar's schedule. If funding is secured, Johnson would be teammates with five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. (AP Photo/File)
Jimmie Johnson teams with Ganassi on 2-year IndyCar program

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 09, 2020 10:45 AM EDT

FILE - Fans cheer and wave a flag as fireworks explode during the playing of the national anthem before the start the Xfinity series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015, in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR has built itself around its traveling show, every weekend a super-charged event of concerts, camping and infield carousing that closes with a Cup race. The party has been canceled during the pandemic but the playoffs go on, starting Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, without any of the pomp and circumstance. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
NASCAR's playoffs move on without any pomp or circumstance

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 04, 2020 04:45 PM EDT

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Aug. 27, 2020 10:54 AM EDT
Aug. 30 1887 — Seven U.S. men’s national tennis championships and Richard Sears captures his seventh title. Sears beats Henry Slocum, 6-1,...

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2020, file photo, Bubba Wallace takes part in an interview during NASCAR Daytona 500 auto racing media day at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Corporate interest in Bubba Wallace has picked up momentum and NASCAR’s only black full-time driver has signed a new sponsor that includes funding for his Richard Petty Motorports team. Columbia Sportswear signed a multiyear sponsorship with Wallace as a brand ambassador that will also put the company on the No. 43 at Dover later this month. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace adds another sponsorship deal

Aug. 14, 2020 12:22 PM EDT

Driver Bubba Wallace stands during the national anthem before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Bubba Wallace, Columbia Sportswear sign sponsorship deal

By Jenna Fryer Aug. 12, 2020 10:32 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Ryan Newman stands on pit road after his run during NASCAR auto racing qualifying at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Roush Fenway Racing announced a 12-race sponsorship deal Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, with Guaranteed Rate to fund Ryan Newman's car throughout the remainder of this season. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
Roush Fenway signs 12-race sponsorship deal for Ryan Newman

By Jenna Fryer Aug. 12, 2020 09:48 AM EDT

US Soccer hires NASCAR's Leetzow as chief legal officer

Jul. 31, 2020 02:55 PM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Soccer Federation has hired Karen Leetzow as Chief Legal Officer. Leetzow spent 20 years at NASCAR, where she most...

In this photo provided by the NHRA, Pro Stock veteran Jason Line starts the day from the No. 1 spot then went on to pick up the win when he took out Jeg Coughlin at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis, Sunday, July 12, 2020. (Jerry Foss/NHRA via AP)
NHRA tries to find financial footing after COVID-19 shutdown

By Michael Marot Jul. 17, 2020 02:14 AM EDT

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Jul. 16, 2020 12:45 PM EDT
July 22 1921 — Jim Barnes wins the U.S. Men’s Open golf championship by edging Walter Hagen, Leo Diegel, Jock Hutchinson and Fred McLeod. ...

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

FILE - In this March 8, 2020, file photo, Harris English hits out of a bunker onto the 14th green during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in Orlando, Fla. Before the PGA Tour season was halted by the coronavirus, English worked his way up to No. 24 in the FedEx Cup. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
The Latest: Nets' DeAndre Jordan says he has coronavirus

Jun. 29, 2020 03:02 PM EDT

Ryan Blaney (12) celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega Ala., Monday, June 22, 2020. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
NASCAR hopes new fans join the sport in push for equality

By Dan Gelston Jun. 25, 2020 04:36 PM EDT

FedEx swaps NASCAR logos to spotlight Civil Rights Museum

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 21, 2020 03:23 PM EDT
Denny Hamlin's longtime sponsor FedEx replaced its logos for NASCAR's race at Talladega Superspeedway to instead feature the National Civil Rights Museum. ...

Sporting's mascot lion waves from the empty stands during the Portuguese League soccer match between Sporting CP and Pacos de Ferreira at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, June 12, 2020. The Portuguese League soccer matches are being played without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Antonio Cotrim/Pool via AP)
The Latest: Inter Miami tests positive for COVID 19

By The Associated Press Jun. 18, 2020 05:17 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 15, 2018, file photo, fans finish their food before exiting Kauffman Stadium after a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels was postponed due to inclement weather in Kansas City, Mo. As lock-downs are lifted, restrictions on social gatherings eased and life begins to resemble some sense, sports are finally starting to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. When stadiums do reopen for fans, how are teams going to drive them through the gate? (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
The Latest: Houston suspending all voluntary workouts

By The Associated Press Jun. 12, 2020 04:25 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 31, 2020, file photo, cars speed past empty stands during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. Tennis and golf tournaments could be in real financial trouble if they are held without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest team leagues such as the NFL and NBA seem to be in good shape because they derive most of their money from TV contracts worth billions each season. NASCAR also relies mainly on broadcast rights fees. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
For tennis and golf, tournaments without fans come at a cost

By Howard Fendrich Jun. 11, 2020 02:58 AM EDT

Brad Keselowski (2) drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Bristol, Tenn. Keselowski won the race. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
The Latest: 75 Penn State football players to return Monday

By The Associated Press Jun. 04, 2020 04:02 PM EDT