NASCAR

Daytona International Speedway plans to move the Budweiser Duels to nighttime in 2014. The two 150-mile qualifying races that determine the starting lineup beyond the front row for the Daytona 500 traditionally have been held on the Thursday afternoon prior to the Great American Race. Next year's Duels would be...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...