NASCAR

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) The Latest on the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (all times local): 1:05 p.m. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set for his first NASCAR Cup Series broadcast, and Junior Nation is ready. A steady stream of fans stopped at the NBC Sports set before the race at Chicagoland...

Johnny Sauter passed Jeb Burton for the lead on a restart with 17 laps to go Saturday and won the NASCAR truck race at Martinsville Speedway. It was his second victory in as many races in the series this season. Sauter earned his eighth career victory in the series, and...

Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements on Wednesday was reinstated two weeks after being suspended indefinitely for using a racial slur. NASCAR suspended Clements for using the "n-word" in a Feb. 23 conversation with MTV blogger Marty Beckerman at Daytona International Speedway. Clements was informed of his reinstatement after completing a session...

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...

An Orlando, Fla.-based law firm has been hired to represent three of those injured in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Attorney Matt Morgan of Morgan & Morgan announced the hiring on Twitter Monday night. The tweet read: "BREAKING: My firm has been retained by three individuals who were...

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...

- Joey Logano has Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver and the Sprint Cup points leader, on his side -- at least when it comes to whether his block of Tony Stewart on the final restart at Auto Club Speedway was acceptable. "In my opinion, it was just hard...

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...

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...

No matter the changes to the car, the tires, or the weather, Martinsville Speedway is Jimmie Johnson's kind of place. Johnson led a career-best 346 laps Sunday and pulled away on a restart with eight laps to go for his eighth career victory on the shortest track in the Sprint...

- Denny Hamlin won the pole for the second straight year at Fontana on Friday, turning a lap of 187.451 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Greg Biffle finished second and Brad Keselowski was third in the qualifying session, but they'll start at the back after their Fords needed...

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...