Obituaries
Jourdan Osinskie, the jack man on the pit crew for driver Todd Gilliland, tries to dry off their pit box during a storm delay at a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Lebanon, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Speedway Motorsports founder remembered at NASCAR race

By Teresa M. Walker Jun. 26, 2022 11:19 PM EDT

FILE -New Hampshire Motor Speedway Chairman of the Board Bruton Smith speaks during a news conference at the track, Friday July 15, 2011, in Loudon, N.H. Bruton Smith, a North Carolina native and entrepreneur who fell in love with auto racing and parlayed it into a career as an eccentric and successful promoter, died Wednesday, June 22, 2022 of natural causes. He was 95. His death was confirmed by Speedway Motorsports, the company he founded and owns and operates 11 race tracks across the United States. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)
Speedway Motorsports founder Bruton Smith dies at 95

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 22, 2022 04:45 PM EDT

FILE - French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant and his ex-wife director Nadine Trintignant arrive for the funeral of their daughter, actress Marie Trintignant, at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2003. French film legend and amateur racecar driver Jean-Louis Trintignant, who earned acclaim for the Oscar-winning "A Man and a Woman" a half a century ago and went on to portray the brutality of aging in his later years, has died at 91. (AP Photo/Franck Prevel, File)
French film titan Trintignant, of 'A Man and a Woman,' dies

Jun. 17, 2022 12:53 PM EDT

Greg Biffle, center, smiles after finishing during the second of two NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying auto races Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Biffle was able to make it into Sunday's race. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
NASCAR revs up at Daytona with new car, new teams, new look

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 18, 2022 04:05 PM EST

Indianapolis 500-winning team owner Kalkhoven dies at 77

Jan. 04, 2022 06:17 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Kalkhoven, the team co-owner of Tony Kanaan's Indianapolis 500-winning entry in 2013, died Tuesday. He was 77. The...

Deke Houlgate, West Coast auto racing promoter, dies at 91

Dec. 30, 2021 06:08 PM EST
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Deke Houlgate, a longtime West Coast sports publicist whose clients included such auto racing greats as Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Richard...

Martha Earnhardt, matriarch of racing family, dies at 91

Dec. 26, 2021 06:36 PM EST
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — Martha Earnhardt, the matriarch of one of NASCAR's best-known families, has died. She was 91. Grandchildren Dale Earnhardt Jr....

FILE - Bobby Unser is a happy man as he accepts congratulations in the winner's circle for his triumph in the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, Calif., March 11, 1974. He beat his brother, Al, by a half second to win $70,250. Al Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, following years of health issues. He was 82. (AP Photo, File)
'Like losing a family member': Unser's death hits hard

By Michael Marot Dec. 10, 2021 03:59 PM EST

FILE - Formula 1 race car driver Al Unser is seen in 1993. Unser, one of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four times, died Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, following years of health issues. He was 82. (AP Photo, File)
Al Unser, a four-time winner of Indianapolis 500, dies at 82

By Jenna Fryer Dec. 10, 2021 03:29 AM EST

FILE - Williams Team Principal Frank Williams in his team box during a practice session at the track in Montmelo just outside Barcelona, Spain, on May 7, 2010. Sir Frank Williams, the founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, has died. He was 79. Williams took his motor racing team from an empty carpet warehouse to the summit of Formula One, overseeing 114 victories, a combined 16 drivers' and constructors' world championships, while becoming the longest-serving team boss in the sport's history. (AP Photo/David Ramos, File)
Frank Williams, founder of Formula One team, dies at 79

Nov. 28, 2021 10:14 AM EST

Champion race car driver, top instructor Bob Bondurant dies

Nov. 14, 2021 02:39 PM EST
PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — Bob Bondurant, a former champion race car driver who opened a high-performance driving school in 1968 and taught numerous A-list...

Driver Chase Elliott speaks during media day ahead of Sunday's NASCAR championship auto race on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Hamlin thriving amid chaos as he chases first NASCAR title

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 04, 2021 07:55 PM EDT

Alex Bowman (48) celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, in Martinsville, Va. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
NASCAR's Bowman drives on, shrugs off Hamlin 'hack' label

By Jenna Fryer Nov. 02, 2021 05:02 PM EDT

Dale Earnhardt Jr., comforts his daughter Isla, 3, during driver introductions prior to the start of the NASCAR Xfinity auto race in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Mets, Yankees and more pay tribute on 9/11 20th anniversary

By Noah Trister And Jake Seiner Sep. 11, 2021 05:20 PM EDT

Longtime Indy 500, ESPN racing announcer Jenkins dies at 73

Aug. 09, 2021 09:55 PM EDT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bob Jenkins, who was ESPN's lead motorsports announcer for more than 20 years and called the Indianapolis 500 on television and radio, died...

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Washington. Biden on Tuesday will lay out the “moral case” voting rights, delivering a much anticipated speech as he faces growing pressure from civil rights activists and other Democrats that the White House to combat efforts by Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Latest: Georgia cases, hospitalizations creep upward

By The Associated Press Jul. 13, 2021 03:02 PM EDT

FILE - In this July 10, 2002 file photo, Carlos Reutemann, governor of Santa Fe, talks with aides during a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Government Palace. Reutemann, the Argentine ex-Formula One driver who entered politics after retirement, died at age 79 on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, according to his daughter Cora Reutemann. (AP Photo/Eduardo Di Baia, File)
Ex-Formula 1 driver Carlos Reutemann dies, aged 79

Jul. 07, 2021 03:05 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 22, 2013, file photo, Jack Ingram, right, is congratulated by a guest after being named to the next class of inductees during an announcement at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. Ingram, a hard-hosed, hot-tempered racer who won five NASCAR championships and more than 300 races, has died, the NASCAR Hall of Fame said Friday, June 25, 2021. He was 84. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
'Iron Man' racer, NASCAR champion Jack Ingram dies at 84

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 25, 2021 12:20 PM EDT

Helio Castroneves of Brazil, winner of the 2021 Indianapolis 500 auto race, poses during the traditional winners photo session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday, May 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Column: Age is a meaningless number for Indy's 4-time winner

By Jenna Fryer May. 31, 2021 05:10 PM EDT

Teammates of 19 years-old Swiss pilot Jason Dupasquier stand near his motorbike, right, as they pay a minute of silence in his memory prior to the start of the Motogp Grand Prix of Italy at the Mugello circuit, in Scarperia, Italy, Sunday, May 30, 2021. Dupasquier died Sunday after being hospitalized Saturday, at the Florence hospital following his crash during the qualifying practices of the Moto3. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Swiss motorcyclist Dupasquier dies following Moto3 crash

May. 30, 2021 02:18 PM EDT