NASCAR

3:43 PM ET Associated Press DARLINGTON, S.C. — Dawn Staley will be out front again, this time at Darlington Raceway. South Carolina’s two-time national women’s championship coach will drive the pace car for the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs – the Southern 500 on Sept. 4. Staley attended the event in 2017

8:30 PM ET ESPN News Services WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kyle Larson outlasted Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott on a restart with five laps to go and won the weather-delayed NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. Elliott had control of the race late, but a caution gave Larson a chance and he

6:57 PM ET Associated Press WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kyle Larson zoomed past Ty Gibbs and William Byron when the two leaders made contact with under five laps to go, then held off AJ Allmendinger to win the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International on Saturday. Byron and Gibbs dominated the 82-lap race around

3:37 PM ET Associated Press WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup pole on Saturday at Watkins Glen International, edging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson for the top spot. Elliott, a two-time winner at The Glen, turned a fast lap of 1 minute, 10.477 seconds around the 2.45-mile natural terrain road course.

7:24 PM ET Associated Press MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Kurt Busch said Thursday he’ll miss the final two races of NASCAR’s regular season, bringing it to six races the 2004 champion has been sidelined with concussion-like symptoms. Busch wrote on Twitter he’ll miss the Sunday race on the road course at Watkins Glen International and then

1:48 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Team Penske signed Ryan Blaney to a multiyear contract extension ahead of his final push to make NASCAR’s playoffs. Blaney has been part of the Penske organization since he was 19 and ran three races in 2012 in the Xfinity Series. He’s been part of the three-car

7:22 PM ET ESPN News Services RICHMOND, Va. — Kevin Harvick may be stamping himself as the man to beat in NASCAR. The 2014 series champion took the lead from Joey Logano with 66 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell at Richmond Raceway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory.

10:44 PM ET Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. — Chandler Smith is feeling great in the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs. Just over a week after he and his wife welcomed a baby, Chandler Smith Jr., the driver took the lead on pit road after the first stage and dominated the rest of the way to win

2:41 PM ET Associated Press Bubba Wallace locked down his future with 23XI Racing on Friday and now is eyeing a spot in NASCAR’s playoffs for the first time in his career. Wallace and 23XI announced a multiyear contract extension that keeps Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota that was the foundation of Denny Hamlin

5:20 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kurt Busch said Wednesday he pushed himself too hard trying to return to NASCAR competition and will miss his fourth consecutive Cup Series race because of concussion-like symptoms. Busch has been out since crashing in qualifying on July 23 at Pocono Raceway. He had hoped to be

3:44 PM ET Associated Press Noah Gragson finally earned a promotion to NASCAR’s top level and will drive for Petty GMS next season. Gragson will replace Ty Dillon in the No. 42 Chevrolet beginning with next season’s exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. He will be teammates with Erik Jones, who recently signed an

8:57 PM ET Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kevin Harvick got his groove back, fittingly at one of his favorite tracks. Harvick ended a 65-race winless drought that lasted nearly two years with his sixth victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. “Good timing, for sure,” he said. Harvick’s win shakes up the playoff race

7:02 PM ET Associated Press BROOKLYN, Mich. — Ty Gibbs won his Xfinity Series-high fifth race this year and ninth of his two-year career Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. The 19-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, in the No. 54 Toyota, led 54 of the 125 laps on the 2-mile oval. “I’ve had an

11:11 PM ET Associated Press BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup series champion, and his family safely escaped the Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis after someone fired shots. Bloomington police, which said no one appeared to be injured, was still searching for a suspect after securing the scene shortly before 6

1:49 PM ET Austin LindbergESPN FC When drivers are away from the track, simulators like iRacing have become their means of staying sharp behind the wheel. iRacing “Practice makes perfect.” That’s what you tell yourself when you’re throwing spirals through an old tire, with dreams of the NFL, or shooting pucks against the garage door and

4:55 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kurt Busch will miss his third consecutive race with concussion-like symptoms when he sits out Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Busch was injured after crashing in qualifying on July 23 at Pocono Raceway. Ty Gibbs will replace him in the Toyota for 23XI Racing for his third

8:02 AM ET Associated Press Stewart-Haas Racing restructured its leadership department of the NASCAR team to replace president Brett Frood, who was announced as commissioner of the National Lacrosse League on Tuesday. Frood has been with SHR since Tony Stewart became co-owner of the organization in 2009. He’ll still be an an executive advisor to

6:29 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Tyler Reddick this month already grabbed his first Cup career victory, qualified for NASCAR’s playoffs and signed a big contract with a new team. Now he’s got a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reddick closed the best month of his career with an overtime win Sunday on the