NASCAR

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) Jimmie Johnson will start from the back Sunday when he defends his Fontana title after a spin during practice wrecked his primary car. And if anybody can rally from 37th position to the checkered flag, Johnson thinks he has a good shot on his home track. Johnson elected...

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...

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) NASCAR rookie Daniel Suarez has a new crew chief. Joe Gibbs Racing said crew chief Dave Rogers is out indefinitely on personal leave. Scott Graves will now call the shots for the No. 19 Toyota in the Cup series. Graves had served as the crew chief for JGR's...

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...

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...

Kyle Busch is winning again in the Nationwide Series, at Texas and everywhere else, since getting back into a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Busch won his third consecutive Nationwide race by leading 91 of 200 laps Friday night at Texas, where he became the first six-time winner in the series...

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) Ryan Blaney already had his Hollywood moment earlier in the week when he got a photo with actress Daisy Ridley at a Lakers game. ''She had no idea who I was,'' Blaney said with a grin. ''I wasn't going to be like, `Hey, I drive race...

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...

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) The Latest on the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (all times local): 2:25 p.m. Aric Almirola has won the first stage of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. Almirola began the day in the No. 6 position. It was his first stage win in the...

Danica Patrick walked away unhurt after a vicious crash into the frontstretch wall after her No. 10 Chevrolet blew a right front tire during the Sprint Cup race Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. She wound up finishing 39th. Patrick was on the lead lap, running 26th on Lap 185 of...

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) Extreme heat is a concern again as NASCAR closes out its annual weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Rain could become a factor, too. There are scattered thunderstorms in the forecast for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday afternoon. Paul Menard is set to start from the pole, and...

Kevin Harvick thought he could win the debut race of NASCAR's new Gen-6 car, and he had a solid reason for his confidence. "Nobody in the whole field had any clue what was going to happen," he said, "so we felt like we had a good chance." Harvick dominated Saturday night's...