NASCAR

Unlikely hero David Ragan likely wouldn't have won Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway were it not for Air Titan. NASCAR's vice president of racing operations said on Monday it is doubtful the race would have been restarted after being stopped for rain on Lap 122 of a...

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) The Latest on the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway (all times local): 3:25 p.m. Kevin Harvick has won the second stage of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. Harvick went all the way up against the wall to pass Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch near...

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...

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) Paul Menard won the pole Saturday for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. It's the second career pole for Menard, who has just one top-five finish this season. He also qualified first for a race at Daytona almost exactly 10 years ago. ''Ten years, it goes...

Nationwide Series driver Michael Annett said the investigation into why he suffered a fractured and dislocated sternum in a crash at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 23 hasn't uncovered any answers. "The best answer is 'we don't know,' because my injury is something we haven't seen in the past 12...

Kurt Busch has become the first driver this year to pass rookie orientation for the Indianapolis 500. The 2004 Sprint Cup champion came to Indy this week to test himself on the 2.5-mile oval in one of Michael Andretti's IndyCars. He wound up completing all three phases of the...

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) Things keep going right for Kyle Larson. Hours after saying he hoped qualifying for Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race would be rained out, he got his wish, giving him the pole position on a track where he has struggled. ''I think it will be a good...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) Jimmie Johnson has led more laps at Texas than any other NASCAR Cup Series driver, and won a record six times there. But all that was before the entire 1 1/2-mile track was repaved, and Turns 1 and 2 were reconfigured. ''It's a clean sheet of paper....

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...

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) Kevin Harvick considered the list of young drivers often suggested as NASCAR's next big stars and replacements for departed veterans Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. He suggested that only one prospect could truly hook a new generation of fans. ''NASCAR needs Chase Elliott...

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...

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...