Jimmie Johnson
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 23 hrs ago

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

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 driver Bubba Wallace is consoled by team owner Richard Petty, right, prior to the start of the NASCAR Cup Series at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., Monday, June 22, 2020. In an extraordinary act of solidarity with Wallace, NASCAR's only Black driver, dozens of drivers pushed his car to the front of the field before Monday's race. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Column: NASCAR rallies around Wallace in poignant moment

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 23, 2020 04:43 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

Alex Bowman makes a pit stop during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, June 14, 2020, in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Denny Hamlin wins on a long day at Homestead

By Tim Reynolds Jun. 14, 2020 11:10 PM EDT

Brad Keselowski puts on a helmet before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in Hampton, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Heat is on: Hectic NASCAR tests drained drivers at Homestead

By Tim Reynolds Jun. 13, 2020 11:46 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 4, 2015, file photo, U.S., Confederate and Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. flags fly near Turn 4 during NASCAR qualifying at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and venues Wednesday, June 10, 2020, formally severing itself from what for many is a symbol of slavery and racism. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
Flag ban fallout: Now comes the tricky part for NASCAR

By Dan Gelston Jun. 11, 2020 04:11 PM EDT