Dale Earnhardt
FILE - Singer-songwriter Luke Combs speaks in the press room after winning awards for male vocalist of the year and song of the year at the 53rd annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena, in this Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, file photo. NASCAR will attempt some normalcy at the season-opening Daytona 500 with a live pre-race concert featuring country music star Luke Combs. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
NASCAR to hold pre-race Daytona 500 concert with Luke Combs

By Jenna Fryer Jan. 19, 2021 10:24 AM EST

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Nov. 14, 2020 10:00 AM EST
Nov. 15 1879 — Princeton beats Harvard 1-0 in a college football game held in New Jersey. The Tigers unveil the concept of using blockers...

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Nov. 12, 2020 11:53 AM EST
Nov. 15 1879 — Princeton beats Harvard 1-0 in a college football game held in New Jersey. The Tigers unveil the concept of using blockers...

Jimmie Johnson (48) pulls up next to Chase Elliott (9) in Turn 4 following Elliott's season championship victory in the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Column: NASCAR closes stabilized, and energized by Elliott

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 09, 2020 01:45 PM EST

Jimmie Johnson, center, stands with his family on pit road prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Johnson finishes 5th in final race of NASCAR career

By John Marshall Nov. 08, 2020 08:10 PM EST

Chase Elliott celebrates at the finish line after winning the season championship and a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Elliott drives from back of the field to first NASCAR title

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 08, 2020 03:36 PM EST

Jimmie Johnson drives past a banner on the wall at the entrance of turn three during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. NASCAR's nicest guy will run his final race this week and close a remarkable career. Jimmie Johnson's record-tying seven Cup titles are well celebrated, but his charitable work goes less noticed. The Jimmie Johnson Foundation has donated more than $12 million to schools and programs since it launched. (David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP)
Jimmie Johnson leaves indelible mark on and off race track

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 06, 2020 05:54 PM EST

Kevin Harvick (4), Brad Keselowski (2) and Alex Bowman (88) cross the starting line to begin a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Path to NASCAR title clear with Harvick out of the way

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 05, 2020 05:51 PM EST

Chase Elliott (9) drives during final laps during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Sunday, Nov.1, 2020. (AP Photo/Lee Luther Jr.)
Elliott races into NASCAR championship; Harvick eliminated

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 01, 2020 06:21 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019, file photo, Kyle Larson gets into his car during Daytona 500 auto race practice at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Reinstated last week by NASCAR, Larson on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, signed a multi-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports to drive the No. 5 Chevrolet next season. Hendrick has sold no sponsorship as of yet for Larson and only needed the blessing of Chevrolet, one of the partners that originally dropped Larson for using the n-word, to finalize the deal. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Rick Hendrick eyeing balanced, stronger 2021 NASCAR season

By Jenna Fryer Oct. 29, 2020 03:02 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb, 8, 2020, file photo, Kyle Larson climbs into his car as he gets ready for a NASCAR auto race practice at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Larson will be back in NASCAR next season driving the flagship No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson signed a multi-year contract Wednesday morning, Oct. 28, 2020, with Hendrick that ended his seven-month banishment from NASCAR for using a racial slur while playing an online racing game. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
Hendrick hires banished Kyle Larson to drive flagship No. 5

By Jenna Fryer Oct. 28, 2020 11:46 AM EDT

Jimmie Johnson, left, speaks about joining the team of Chip Ganassi, right, for the IndyCar series at a press conference during the IndyCar race weekend Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Johnson jump-starts IndyCar move with online auto retailer

By Jenna Fryer Oct. 24, 2020 01:46 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday, May 17, 2020, file photo, Jimmie Johnson (48) and Alex Bowman (88) come down a straightaway during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Darlington, S.C. The most coveted seat in NASCAR went to Alex Bowman in a Hendrick Motorsports lineup shuffle to replace seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in the iconic No. 48 Chevrolet. Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives will move from the No. 88 into Johnson's ride at the end of the season. The swap announced Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, makes Bowman just the second driver of the team created in 2001 specifically for Johnson.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File
Bowman looks to establish his own legacy in iconic No. 48

By Jenna Fryer Oct. 07, 2020 02:33 AM EDT

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)
Alex Bowman shuffled to the No. 48 to replace Jimmie Johnson

By Jenna Fryer Oct. 06, 2020 03:46 PM EDT

Tony Kanaan (14) drives into Turn 1 followed by Oliver Askew (7) and Charlie Kimball (4) during the IndyCar auto race at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, in Madison, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
IndyCar: Askew sidelined with concussion symptoms, Helio in

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 24, 2020 05:02 PM 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

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

FILE - In this Aug. 15 2019, file photo, the burned remains of a plane that was carrying NASCAR television analyst and former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his wife Amy, 15-month-old daughter Isla, two pilots and the family dog lies near a runway at Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, Tenn. Earnhardt Jr. and a pilot struggled to open a crashed airplane's rear exit door as the aircraft began to burn and fill with smoke before the race car driver and his family managed to escape from the main door, according to new details about the 2019 accident released by the National Transportation and Safety Board. (Earl Neikirk/Bristol Herald Courier via AP, File)
Details released in crash of plane carrying Earnhardt Jr.

By Adrian Sainz Jul. 17, 2020 01:56 PM EDT

A plane pulls a Confederate battle flag over Bristol Motor Speedway before the NASCAR All-Star auto race in Bristol, Tenn, Wednesday, July 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Elliott joins his father as winner of NASCAR's All-Star race

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 15, 2020 08:19 PM EDT