NASCAR

Danica Patrick made more history at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. She became the first woman to lead a lap and was the highest female finisher in the famed Daytona 500. She led five laps and finished eighth. Janet Guthrie had the previous best finish for a woman in...

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, 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...

Danica Patrick turned attention from her personal life to her driving Saturday. The 30-year-old Stewart-Haas Racing driver topped the second Sprint Cup practice with a fast lap of 196.220 mph, raising the possibility of her becoming on Sunday the first female to win the pole for the Daytona 500...

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) Hendrick Motorsports has replaced driver Kasey Kahne's crew chief for the rest of the season. The team named Darian Grubb the crew chief for Kahne's No. 5 Chevrolet for the remaining nine races of the NASCAR season. Kahne is in the playoffs and finished 21st Sunday...

Matt Kenseth decided not to replace any tires during the final pit stop under caution, and the calculated risk put him in the lead. Kenseth knows a bit about risk after his offseason move to Joe Gibbs Racing, and this latest gamble paid off with his third victory in Vegas. Kenseth...

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) Get ready for more slippin' and slidin' at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After numerous complaints from NASCAR drivers, the track announced Thursday it has postponed the repaving of the 20-year-old racing surface at least until after next year's race weekend. Speedway President Ed Clark said the decision was...

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) Although Kyle Larson has been in second place for most of this NASCAR season, nobody could catch him in qualifying at Fontana. Larson turned a lap in 38.493 seconds Friday in his Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, hitting 187.047 mph to claim the pole for Sunday's race. Denny...

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....

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Matt Kenseth won the pole position for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. The 2003 series champion needed only four laps in three rounds of qualifying Friday, outrunning final-round qualifiers like Joey Logano, who was fastest in each of the first...

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) When NASCAR decided not to fine Austin Dillon for running Cole Custer into a wall last week in Phoenix, other drivers were left wondering how the sport decides who gets fined and who gets away with rambunctious behavior. ''Give me my money back,'' Danica Patrick said Friday...

Quiet most of Speedweeks, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a little noise Saturday. Earnhardt topped the speed chart for the final practice session before Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500. The 2004 Daytona 500 champion turned the fast lap by averaging 198.592 mph around the 2½ -mile superspeedway. David Gilliland was second, followed...