NASCAR

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...

Aside from Denny Hamlin suffering an injury that likely will keep him out of competition for six weeks, Sunday's race at Auto Club Speedway is just what NASCAR chairman Brian France wants the sport to look like. "What I know is when the racing is tighter and there's more passing,...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again is the highest paid driver in NASCAR, according to Forbes. But NASCAR's most popular driver, according to the magazine's estimates, saw his total earnings drop from $28.2 million the year before to $25.9 million this year. The $25.9 million is based on a $12.9 million...

Ryan Truex will make his Sprint Cup debut for in the April 27 race at Richmond International Raceway for Phoenix Racing. General manager Steve Barkdoll told ESPN.com the 21-year-old younger brother of Cup driver Martin Truex, Jr. also will drive in the June 2 Cup race at Dover and the...

Denny Hamlin ran 16 laps at full speed Friday, turned his car over to Brian Vickers and then didn't exactly rule himself out of running a full race this weekend as he recovers from a back injury. Hamlin insisted he'll again give Vickers the car at some point Sunday...

- 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...

Matt Crafton charged to the lead in a crash-filled race at Kansas Speedway, and then held off a late run by Joey Coulter to pick up his third career Truck Series victory Saturday. Crafton and Coulter were engaged in a spirited game of cat-and-mouse over the final 20 laps, but...

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...

Kasey Kahne's bumper-banging battle with Brad Keselowski was just the warm-up act in an action-packed race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano exchanged words after the race -- in person and on Twitter -- because Hamlin spun Logano as Logano was racing for the...

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...

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...

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...