NASCAR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Just a generation ago, NASCAR drivers raced until they were embarrassing themselves, the money ran out or they simply couldn't make it to the track anymore. They could compete into their mid-50s, and make a really good living. It's an entirely different world now. First went Jeff Gordon....

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) There was a moment during the Bristol Motor Speedway race that captured the essence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was walking briskly to the care center for a mandatory health check after a crash. Flanked by a television reporter on one side, a handler on the...

Junior's job is up for grabs. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s surprise decision to retire from the NASCAR Cup series at the end of the season will surely make his No. 88 Chevrolet the hottest ride in racing. But more than talent is needed to take the wheel for team owner Rick...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The Latest on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s announcement that he will retire from racing at the end of the season (all times local): 4:55 p.m. NASCAR's chairman and CEO is praising Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s passion for the sport, saying it will ''leave an impact on NASCAR that will...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) It's never easy to be the son of a legend, especially when he is a tough-as-nails hero and the most feared man in his profession. Follow in his footsteps? Forget it. Just being able to drive cars was enough for Dale Earnhardt Jr., and if it made...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Jimmie Johnson has led more laps at Texas than any other NASCAR Cup Series driver, and won a record six times there. But all that was before the entire 1 1/2-mile track was repaved, and Turns 1 and 2 were reconfigured. ''It's a clean sheet of paper....

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Kevin Harvick quickly got up to speed on the new pavement at Texas Motor Speedway, while some top drivers never made on the track for qualifying. Harvick won all three rounds of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Friday, earning his 19th career pole with a...

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) Jamie McMurray has become the ''other'' driver on Chip Ganassi Racing's two-car team. The 40-year-old veteran, in his 15th season on NASCAR's top circuit, hasn't won in more than four years. His teammate is 24-year-old Kyle Larson, the early points leader and one of racing's rising...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ?? Sam Ard, a two-time champion of NASCAR's second-tier series, died Sunday. He was 78. Ard died in South Carolina. NASCAR called Ard "a tough-as-nails racer" in a statement confirming his death, but gave no details. Ard won titles in what is now known as the Xfinity Series...

MARTINSVILLE, Virginia (AP) Brad Keselowski had sampled success at Martinsville Speedway, but had never put everything together to get to Victory Lane. He changed that on Sunday, passing Kyle Busch with 43 laps to go and pulling away to win for the 23rd time in his career. ''It felt like...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) It's time to pay attention to Ryan Blaney, the second-year NASCAR driver who is as close to a throwback as fans are going to get from this current crop of talent. He's a second-generation Cup driver, North Carolina raised, and prefers Bill Elliott T-shirts and Talladega 500...

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) NASCAR's top series has had five different winners in five races this season, and as the Monster Energy Cup Series arrives at Martinsville Speedway and its first experience with stage racing rewarding drivers at three points during the race, the focus shifts to drivers who...