NASCAR

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...

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...

Carl Edwards climbed from his car, stood on the door and landed a backflip near the finish line. He then hopped up on the wall in front of the grandstand, grabbed the checkered flag and waded into the crowd, trading high-fives with fans. After a miserable week at Daytona, Edwards...

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...

Nationwide Series driver Michael Annett suffered a fractured and dislocated sternum in a crash during the race at Daytona on Saturday, Petty Motorsports officials said Tuesday. Annett will undergo immediate surgery in Charlotte and will be out of the No. 43 Ford indefinitely. Cup driver Aric Almirola will replace Annett...

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...

DALLAS (AP) Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he has felt great all this season after missing the final 18 races a year ago because of the lingering effects of a concussion. Earnhardt said Thursday that he wouldn't be driving the No. 88 car if he didn't feel like he was 100...

Sam Hornish Jr. didn't know the name of Saturday's race until he went to the drivers' meeting for the Sam's Town 300. "That's a pretty good one for me to win," he thought to himself. "Already got my name on the trophy." Hornish survived two restarts in the final 15 laps...

Three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart will not be penalized for instigating a post-race fight on pit road or his profanity-laced comments about Joey Logano on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. NASCAR also will not penalize six drivers called to the hauler after the California race for entering pit road...

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) Kyle Busch's run in NASCAR's playoff opener went from dominant to dud because of mistakes on pit road. Clean up those gaffes, and Busch again just may have the car to the beat. Busch made it 2 for 2 in playoff poles, turning a lap of...

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...

Joe Gibbs Racing was premature to announce that Mark Martin would replace Denny Hamlin while he recovers from a compression fracture in his lower back. Martin, who drives a part-time Sprint Cup schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing, will drive only at Martinsville on April 7 in JGR's No. 11 Sprint...