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The Earnhardt name never left NASCAR. Dale Jr.'s Daytona 500 quest proves it.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Justin Allgaier remembers last year’s catharsis.
Everyone does.
It was the Thursday before the 2025 Daytona 500. Allgaier, the driver of the No. 40 car, had just steered his car successfully through the Duels and had qualified for the Great American Race. There was figurative pandemonium. There were literal fireworks....Read more
Denny Hamlin to race Daytona with pain that Michael Jordan, Joe Gibbs know well
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Toward the end of last season, as he inched closer and closer to the NASCAR Cup Series championship that still eludes him, Denny Hamlin noticed something a bit strange.
Fewer boos.
As the now-45-year-old driver was announced at each racetrack in 2025, Hamlin, after years of embracing the role of villain in a sport in ...Read more
From Daytona's grandstands to starting grid, teen phenom Connor Zilisch set for 500 debut
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch had never raced on an oval track when he first made his way to Daytona International Speedway in 2022.
A go-karts specialist already at 15, Zilisch was coaching a kid in Orlando when his parents offered a deal.
“ ‘Hey, you want to go to the Daytona 500?’ I thought, ‘Man, ...Read more
NASCAR's Ryan Preece rises from Connecticut short tracks to enjoy Cup Series success
ORLANDO, Fla. — NASCAR driver Ryan Preece plans to one day settle down in his native Connecticut, where he fell in love with working on cars, racing, and chasing speed and championships.
As the 2024 Cup Series season wound down, Preece faced an early retirement — a driver without a ride.
Now at home with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, ...Read more
As 'wacky' Clash ends and Daytona prep begins, NASCAR can start anew. It needs to.
WINSON-SALEM, N.C. — Ryan Blaney called it “wacky.”
William Byron considered it “a marathon.”
And Ryan Preece — the winner of the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem that saw drivers, pit crews and fans endure sleet delays and slick asphalt and a Clash-record 17 cautions — struggled to find the right words.
“It’s ...Read more
At home at Daytona, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. eyes another 500 win
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will emerge from the infield tunnel this week at Daytona International Speedway at home, confident and one of the drivers to beat.
These emotions can be fleeting during a 36-race season behind the wheel for a one-car team with little margin for error and everything riding on Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet. ...Read more
Scott Fowler: The NTSB report on Greg Biffle plane crash got released. Somehow I feel even worse.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — I read the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Greg Biffle plane crash shortly after it was issued Friday. Twice, in fact. Then I separately interviewed two aviation safety experts with 20-plus years of experience who also had read the report multiple times, just to make sure I understood what ...Read more
Day-by-day during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway
Speedweeks officially kicks off with Feb. 10’s Hauler Parade at One Daytona, just north of the track along International Speedway Boulevard. The event welcomes NASCAR teams and drivers. Cup Series haulers line the streets surrounding shops, restaurants and hotels for a fan-friendly festival with free admission.
A stage is set for driver Q&As ...Read more
Christopher Bell chases consistency entering Daytona 500 after uneven 2025
NASCAR driver Christopher Bell knows what it feels like to be close.
Close to a Daytona 500 win, sustaining a dominant season and competing for a Cup Series crown, Bell enters 2026 chasing consistency — the difference between strong seasons and title-winning ones.
Bell’s 2025 run delivered mixed results. He posted a career-high four wins, ...Read more
New NTSB report: Loss of some flight instruments preceded deadly Biffle NC plane crash
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Multiple issues, including failure of some instruments and decreasing visibility conditions, occurred in the minutes leading up to the Statesville plane crash that killed seven people in December, including NASCAR star Greg Biffle and his family, a preliminary federal report released Friday said.
The National Transportation ...Read more
Scott Fowler: Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows all too well how poorly teenagers drive when distracted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A long time ago, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a teenager and excited about driving his truck, he could have sworn he only looked down for a second.
It was Christmas morning. Dale Jr. was inside his Chevy S-10 pickup, which he dearly loved. And he now loved it even more, because his sister Kelley had just given him an adapter ...Read more
Scott Fowler: After 7 lives were lost in the Biffle plane crash, a chance to heal in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Even now, 29 days later, it is an almost unimaginable tragedy.
On Dec. 18, 2025, seven lives were lost in a plane crash in Statesville, 40 miles north of Charlotte. We still don’t know why.
We do know who, though, and hundreds of people came together Friday morning at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte to remember the seven ...Read more
Scott Fowler: NASCAR just radically changed its playoff format. Will it be enough?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you were a fan of NASCAR in the 2000s but fell off the bandwagon at some point, this sport has got a deal for you.
It’s a new playoff system, but it’s actually the original playoff system — “The Chase” that NASCAR ran from 2004-2013. They’re rebooting it like it’s a movie franchise.
Those playoff ...Read more
'There's nobody alive.' 911 recordings released in fatal Greg Biffle plane crash.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Witnesses of NASCAR star Greg Biffle’s deadly plane crash in Statesville were sure no one survived due to the level of destruction, 911 recordings show.
Multiple people called the Iredell County’s 911 Emergency Communications between 10:15 a.m. and 10:18 a.m., on Dec. 18, reporting different angles of the crash at ...Read more
NASCAR announces massive changes to playoff format for 2026
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has a new playoff format for 2026 and beyond.
Then again, “new” might be a misnomer.
The governing body of the largest motorsport in America announced the return of “The Chase” as its national series championship format beginning in 2026. “The Chase” was the postseason configuration NASCAR had in place ...Read more
NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigns from position after damaging revelations in lawsuit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The commissioner of NASCAR is stepping down.
The premier stock car racing sanctioning body announced Tuesday that Steve Phelps, who was named commissioner in March 2025, has “made the personal decision” to leave the company. Phelps will transition out of the company by the end of January.
Phelps, who joined NASCAR in ...Read more
He worked and flew with Greg Biffle. But as many in NASCAR knew, 'Craig was family.'
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For whatever reason, Craig Wadsworth loved Snapchat.
It’s where he documented his life: the pork chops and mac and cheese he cooked, the boat rides he took, the dune buggies he hauled from Charlotte to the West Coast. It was all there — in a string of six-second “movies” directed by and starring Wadsworth, who was ...Read more
'Emergency landing.' Someone on Greg Biffle plane texted family member, NTSB says.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A passenger aboard NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s plane texted a family member moments before the Cessna 550 jet crashed at Statesville Regional Airport Thursday, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham said Saturday.
“Emergency landing,” read the text, Graham said at a news conference.
He declined to ...Read more
Greg Biffle plane crash update: Jet hit runway lights, trees, fence, NTSB says
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In 10 minutes, a simple plane ride turned into a deadly crash that claimed the lives of seven people Thursday, including that of NASCAR star Greg Biffle and his family, according to federal aviation investigators.
On Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board officials held a news conference providing preliminary ...Read more
'We are devastated.' NASCAR, NC leaders on Greg Biffle plane crash that killed 7.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The tight-knit world of NASCAR and its fans was quick to react Thursday to word that former star driver Greg Biffle, his wife, two kids and one other person were killed in a plane crash at Statesville Regional Airport.
State and local leaders, and other N.C. officials, also were quick to express their sympathies, including ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Scott Fowler: The NTSB report on Greg Biffle plane crash got released. Somehow I feel even worse.
- Christopher Bell chases consistency entering Daytona 500 after uneven 2025
- NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigns from position after damaging revelations in lawsuit
- Day-by-day during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway
- New NTSB report: Loss of some flight instruments preceded deadly Biffle NC plane crash
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