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NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar gives viral influencer a wild ride

Sports / Auto Racing /

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Carson Hocevar knows a thing or two about living in the fast lane — but even he was caught off guard by the whirlwind energy he encountered last week.

The personable 22-year-old driver teamed up with IShowSpeed, who boasts over 43 million YouTube subscribers, for a day at the track. Hocevar took him around the racetrack �...Read more

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images North America/TNS

Denny Hamlin leads pack of NASCAR playoff contenders in Southern 500 lineup

Sports / Auto Racing /

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green in Sunday’s Southern 500.

Hamlin, a five-time Darlington winner, edged out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and reigning race winner Chase Briscoe to claim the top starting spot for the opening race of the Cup Series Playoffs. It’s his 40th career pole in a Toyota — the most by ...Read more

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NASCAR follows hostile hearing with 23XI, FRM by filing 'voluntary commitments'

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A day after NASCAR sparred with two of its Cup Series teams at a hearing in Charlotte, the sanctioning body made a few points to help clarify a key pair of questions the court’s residing judge had.

In a court filing Friday, NASCAR offered four “voluntary commitments.” Those commitments all addressed two questions ...Read more

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Frankie Muniz of 'Malcom in the Middle' fame drops out of NASCAR race after falling off ladder at home

Sports / Auto Racing /

Frankie Muniz — the "Malcolm in the Middle" star turned NASCAR driver — is off the racetrack, for now at least.

The actor is recovering from a broken wrist he suffered after falling from a ladder at his home, he wrote on Instagram on Thursday.

"The phrase 'FML' (Frankie Muniz's Life) takes on new meaning with moments like these," he wrote....Read more

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Scott Fowler: Humpy Wheeler's funeral turns into a family reunion for NASCAR community

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — They held Humpy Wheeler’s funeral in Charlotte at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church on Tuesday. Wheeler was buried in a simple wooden casket made of pine, a fascinating choice for a legendary NASCAR promoter who was always about making things bigger, louder and more colorful when he was on the job.

At my favorite kinds of ...Read more

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NASCAR rising star Shane van Gisbergen still learning the basics entering Daytona's Coke Zero Sugar 400

Sports / Auto Racing /

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Shane van Gisbergen’s meteoric rise from Australian road racing champion to NASCAR winner has required he learn seemingly the simplest and most fundamental aspect of oval racing.

“Turning left,” he deadpanned. “It’s difficult, for sure.”

The 36-year-old native of New Zealand similarly struggles to fathom ...Read more

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Scott Fowler: NASCAR will never have another showman like Humpy Wheeler, who has died at 86

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Man, I loved Humpy — just as most of the racing world did.

H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler Jr. was a one-of-a-kind showman, a NASCAR savant whose outlandish stunts sprang from one of the sport’s keenest minds.

Wheeler died of natural causes Wednesday, at age 86, surrounded by his family. For 33 years, he was the president and ...Read more

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North Wilkesboro to host first Cup Series points race since the '90s

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Wilkesboro Speedway is back on the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular-season schedule.

The historic race track in Wilkes County is set to host a points-paying race on July 19, 2026, NASCAR announced Wednesday in its schedule release.

It will be the 0.625-mile track’s first points-paying race since 1996. NASCAR is moving ...Read more

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With no Chicago Street Race, NASCAR will return to long-dormant Joliet track in 2026

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHICAGO — While NASCAR is bypassing the Chicago Street Race next summer, it is filling the void on the schedule with a Cup Series race during July Fourth weekend at the long-dormant Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.

The announcement Wednesday marks the first return for NASCAR to the Joliet track since it was idled in 2019. It also seeks to...Read more

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Commentary: Are dangerous car crashes being perpetuated by cannabis?

Sports / Auto Racing /

In my childhood, my father took us on a summertime drive from Chicago to Michigan’s Harbor Country. As the miles rolled on, we passed steamy steel mills, blaring billboard ads for Stuckey’s pecan rolls, rickety gas stations and crowded truck stops. I still hold the idyllic memory of that family car trip to the beach in Union Pier, near a ...Read more

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NASCAR announces race on U.S. Naval base in Coronado scheduled for 2026

Sports / Auto Racing /

LOS ANGELES — NASCAR is returning to Southern California, only its cars will be racing on the streets of Coronado and not on an oval in Fontana. The stock car racing circuit announced Wednesday it will be hosting a three-day series of races June 19-21, ending in a NASCAR Cup Series race on the U.S. Naval base in Coronado.

NASCAR did not race ...Read more

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Adam Minter: F1's growing pains with Apple TV+ would be worth it

Sports / Auto Racing /

Fresh off earning a box-office hit with "F1," the movie, Apple Inc. has reportedly outbid ESPN for the U.S. broadcast rights to F1, the actual sport.

While F1 has not announced that it has accepted the deal, the nine-figure offer would enrich the elite racing championship. But it comes with a painful trade-off. Since 2018, F1’s American ...Read more

Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS

NASCAR won't hold Chicago Street Race in 2026 while exploring new date, shorter build-out

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHICAGO — Two weeks after its third annual Fourth of July weekend run through Grant Park, NASCAR has made the decision not to hold the Chicago Street Race in 2026, leaving open the door to return on a different date the following year.

In a letter Friday to Mayor Brandon Johnson, NASCAR said it is pausing the race because it needs more time ...Read more

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NASCAR blasts 23XI, Front Row for the teams' 'damaging and distracting' lawsuit

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two NASCAR Cup Series teams that are suing the governing body of NASCAR made another move Monday.

And NASCAR immediately fired back.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a preliminary injunction to maintain their charter status and to allow them to continue competing as Cup teams while litigation continues. This ...Read more

Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Crumb rubber: How NASCAR recycles the thousands of tires it used over the Chicago race weekend

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHICAGO — During a weekend of hot, high-speed friction against the asphalt of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race course, thousands of tires burn out and wear down. After a few dozen laps, they lose their grip and become obsolete.

But their life cycle doesn’t end there. Each NASCAR race weekend, most of the 3,000 tires provided by Goodyear ...Read more

Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Mayor Brandon Johnson open to future Chicago NASCAR race, suggests date change

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson is open to NASCAR returning to Chicago, but hinted Tuesday the city may need a better deal before stock car drivers again race through its streets.

NASCAR has 90 days to request a contract extension with the Chicago Park District. If the racing authority wants to win city leaders over, it could need to change ...Read more

Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Rains hold off until after NASCAR race but outcome is the same as Shane van Gisbergen wins again

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHICAGO — This year the downpour waited until after the NASCAR Grant Park 165 was finished. After previous years were interrupted by storms, fans came ready for the weather Sunday.

Aaron Moy, 52, from Morton Grove, crafted an “Anti-Rain Vortex” hat to wear to today’s race: a strip of laminated printer paper spiraled around a plastic ...Read more

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Paul Sullivan: As Katherine Legge qualifies for her 1st NASCAR Chicago Street Race, will this be the last one?

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHICAGO — Katherine Legge is used to being in the spotlight after years of driving Indy cars, so being the only woman competing in Sunday’s NASCAR Chicago Street Race would be no big deal.

Legge, the only female NASCAR driver, entered Saturday needing to qualify for one of the final four spots in Sunday’s Cup Series race. She understands ...Read more

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Daniel Suárez leaving Trackhouse Racing at end of NASCAR season

Sports / Auto Racing /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Daniel Suárez is a free agent.

The driver of the No. 99 Cup car will leave Trackhouse Racing at the conclusion of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced Tuesday.

The decision is a mutual one, according to the team and Suárez himself. He will continue to compete for Trackhouse in the interim as the team ...Read more

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Mac Engel: A $300 million gamble: Can Brad Pitt do for F1 what Tom Cruise did for NASCAR?

Sports / Auto Racing /

The lasting impression of the new movie F1 isn’t of the spectacular racing sequences on an IMAX screen but that of Brad Pitt. No one should look like that at any age, much less 61.

It’s not inspiring. It’s not motivational. It’s just depressing.

The hairline is intact, as are the abs and muscle tone. While I crushed pretzel bites in ...Read more