Jimmie Johnson
Driver Brad Keselowski holds a giant lobster to celebrate his victory in a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Keselowski wins in New Hampshire for 3d win since shutdown

By Jimmy Golen Aug. 02, 2020 06:43 PM EDT

Maurice Petty, Hall of Fame engine builder, dies at 81

By Dave Skretta Jul. 25, 2020 04:53 PM EDT
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Maurice Petty, part of a stock car racing dynasty that includes father Lee and brother Richard and the first engine builder to be...

Denny Hamlin (11) battles Josh Bilicki (53) during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Thursday, July 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Denny Hamlin downright dominant as NASCAR season pushes on

By Dave Skretta Jul. 25, 2020 12:46 PM EDT

Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Thursday, July 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Hamlin holds off Keselowski for fifth Cup victory of season

By Dave Skretta Jul. 23, 2020 11:20 PM EDT

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

Cole Custer (41) celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, July 12, 2020, in Sparta, Ky. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
NASCAR Cup rookie Cole Custer wins in upset at Kentucky

By Gary B. Graves Jul. 12, 2020 06:34 PM EDT

Kevin Harvick, on far side of wall, celebrates with his crew after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Day trippers: Familiarity key for drivers at Kentucky oval

By Gary B. Graves Jul. 11, 2020 02:23 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 28, 2020, file photo, Jimmie Johnson stands near the start-finish line before the start of the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. 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/Matt Slocum, File)
Jimmie Johnson confused, frustrated after virus scare

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 10, 2020 11:49 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2019, file photo, driver Jimmie Johnson smiles during media day for the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has twice tested negative for the coronavirus and has been cleared to race Sunday, July 12, 2020 at Kentucky Speedway. Johnson missed the first race of his Cup career when he tested positive last Friday. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
NASCAR's Johnson OK'd to race after 2 negative virus tests

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

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks before the start of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday n Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR’s layered relationship with Trump took a sharp turn Monday, July 6, 2020, when Trump blasted the series for banning the Confederate flag and wrongly accused the sport’s only full-time Black driver of perpetrating “a hoax” when a crew member found a noose in the team garage stall.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Trump sideswipes NASCAR, Wallace over flag and noose

By Jill Colvin And Jenna Fryer Jul. 06, 2020 10:09 AM EDT

Kevin Harvick does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Harvick takes advantage of Hamlin's crash to win Brickyard

By Michael Marot Jul. 05, 2020 09:28 PM EDT

Crew members for the car driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. work on the car after a crash in the pit area during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, July 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Blaney crew member taken to hospital for further evaluation

Jul. 05, 2020 07:00 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 16, 2019, file photo, NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, center, talks with Will Power, left, of Australia, and Josef Newgarden during practice for the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. 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/Darron Cummings)
Knocked out of Brickyard, Johnson copes at home with virus

By Michael Marot Jul. 04, 2020 01:32 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

7-time champion Jimmie Johnson becomes first NASCAR driver to test positive for the coronavirus

Jul. 03, 2020 06:36 PM EDT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson becomes first NASCAR driver to test positive for the coronavirus. ...

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

FILE - In this May 26, 2019, file photo, Simon Pagenaud, of France, leads the field through the first turn on the start of the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Indianapolis. The once frosty schism between the two biggest racing series in the United States has thawed and NASCAR's elite Cup Series will share a venue with IndyCar on the same weekend for the first time in history. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
NASCAR and IndyCar collide for racing extravaganza at Indy

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 02, 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