KURT BUSCH

Ryan Blaney had to go two extra laps after thinking he had already won NASCAR's All-Star race and $1 million.

The All-Stars during qualifying Saturday night were the pit crew members for Kyle Busch.

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin founded 23XI Racing with a vision that extended far beyond the race track.

Kurt Busch pinched his way past Kyle Larson for the lead with eight laps to go, then drove his gaudy Jordan Brand-styled car away from the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion to win Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.

Rain postponed Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway to Monday.

NASCAR has ordered Denny Hamlin to begin sensitivity training this week after he posted a meme on Twitter that used a clip from the comedy “Family Guy” to mock reigning champion Kyle Larson.

Christopher Bell won the pole at Talladega Superspeedway by turning the fastest lap as the final driver to qualify.

Bubba Wallace still has the voice message Michael Jordan left him after Wallace’s first Cup Series victory.

Kyle Busch won at Bristol Motor Speedway over the weekend to tie Richard Petty for at least one victory in 18 consecutive seasons.

Denny Hamlin crashed out of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, ending his bid for a fourth victory in NASCAR’s premier event.

Joey Logano won the exhibition Busch Light Clash on Sunday on the temporary quarter-mile track built inside Memorial Coliseum.

Kyle Larson drove to his ninth victory of the season and most meaningful to date in his new job with Hendrick Motorsports.

Kyle Larson denied Kevin Harvick his first win of the season with a masterful pass at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Hendrick Motorsports is in a precarious position heading into first playoff elimination round.

Denny Hamlin held off Kyle Larson after their cars hit nose to tail racing to the finish line Sunday night in the Southern 500 to open the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Kurt Busch has a multiyear deal with 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by basketball great Michael Jordan and fellow driver Denny Hamlin. Hamlin released more details Saturday about the new partnership and said he is in the final stages of securing a charter for Busch's No. 45 Toyota in 2022. Without one, Busch would have to qualify for every race.

Kurt Busch will drive next season for 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.

Bubba Wallace has struggled to find success driving for Michael Jordan.

Roush Fenway Racing is adding NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski as a new partner.

Matt DiBenedetto could be out of NASCAR Cup Series options for 2022 after losing his ride with Wood Brothers Racing.

Kurt and Kyle Busch are closing in on Bobby and Donnie Allison on the list of most NASCAR Cup Series wins by brothers.

Kurt Busch passed brother Kyle with 24 laps left and won the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday to complete a sibling weekend sweep at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America on Sunday to continue his uncanny success on road courses and wrap up a playoff spot.

Kurt Busch has welcomed the uncertainty of this season as he chases a playoff berth while pondering his future in NASCAR.

Justin Marks is a former race car driver who just bought a seat at the table with NASCAR's biggest powerbrokers.

Chip Ganassi is pulling out of NASCAR at the end of the season and has sold his entire organization to Trackhouse Racing.

Martin Truex Jr. powered his way around Darlington Raceway, sweeping both stages and leading the final 105 laps Sunday.

Brad Keselowski made it nine different winners through the first 10 races of the NASCAR Cup Series season last week at Talladega.

Alex Bowman passed Denny Hamlin on a restart with 10 laps to go and drove away at Richmond Raceway for his third career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Michael McDowell was the surprise Daytona 500 winner and then Bell earned an earlier-than-expected first trip to victory lane. The 26-year-old Oklahoman is a longtime Toyota development driver who won 16 Xfinity Series races driving for Gibbs. Ty Gibbs, the 18-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, won the Xfinity Series race Saturday night in his first career national series start. Kevin Harvick finished sixth and AJ Allmendinger, in his first Cup race since the 2018 season finale, finished seventh. It was the highest finish in three Cup races for Kaulig Racing, an Xfinity Series team formed in 2016 that wants to be full-time Cup next season.

“If you’re asking me if this is a retirement video, I’m leaving it open for interpretation,” Busch told The Associated Press on Saturday. Ad“Who gets to go and take a NASCAR car to Key West at 200 mph,” Busch asked. Gronkowski partied in victory lane when Busch won the 2017 Daytona 500 and the fellow Monster athlete says: “Don’t do it, man! Don’t retire!” Busch lives in South Florida near Vanilla Ice, the “Ice, Ice, Baby” rapper who pulls up next to the Chevy and gets caught up in smoke from a burnout. Whether this was a true retirement video, simply a marketing ploy for the energy drink or even a negotiating tactic for another contract remained unclear.

“I think we proved as an industry last year that track time was a little overrated," said David Wilson, head of Toyota Racing Development. Heavy rain soaked the track early, though, prompting officials to shift gears before the Xfinity Series opener later Saturday. An ARCA series race also was scheduled for the middle of the day. “I'm fine without it,” said 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch. ..."Obviously, we didn’t want to go to a backup car, but I think we’re still in a really good place for the 500.

That's how it was supposed to play out, at least, after Harvick won a Cup series-high nine races and the regular-season title. Chase Elliott won the high-stakes race to earn his first career berth in the championship four. Just came up short," Harvick said. “It was just a move I had to try knowing that I needed one point," Harvick said. Bill Elliott was 0 for 45 at Martinsville in his Hall of Fame career, and Chase Elliott won in his 11th try.

Kyle Busch drives on the front stretch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)FORT WORTH, Texas – Kyle Busch won for the first time this season to extend a 16-season streak while his penalized teammate missed a chance to secure a spot in the championship in the NASCAR playoff race at Texas that finished Wednesday, three days after it started. The only race before then is Sunday at Martinsville, NASCAR's oldest and shortest track where Truex won in June and last fall. Logano secured his spot in the final four with his win 10 days earlier at Kansas to open the three-race round of eight. The two-time Cup champion got his fourth Cup win at Texas.

Joey Logano celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)If you need help with the Public File, call 540-512-1554.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Joey Logano spent the final 40-plus laps at Kansas Speedway keeping an eye on Kevin Harvick in his rear-view mirror. Now, he can look ahead to the NASCAR Cup Series finale at Phoenix. Using every bit of the track Sunday to hold off the winningest driver this season, Logano took the checkered flag on a cold, blustery Sunday to secure a spot in the championship round of the playoffs. Hamlin managed to hold off the 2014 series champion to win his 10th stage of the season. Then, midway through the final stage, he began to notice a problem in his car.

Elliott won the race. The path to the championship finale begins Sunday at Kansas Speedway, the first of three races in the title-setting third round. It's a fairly straightforward series with ensuing stops at Texas Motor Speedway, like Kansas a 1.5-mile intermediate oval, then half-mile Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR's shortest and oldest active track. Hamlin has won NASCAR's last two visits to Kansas, a turnaround after several so-so races. “If you fast-forward to Kansas and Texas, it’s a mile-and-a-half, so everything is just pointing in our direction right now,” he said.

Kimbrough is a tire carrier for Kurt Busch’s crew at Chip Ganassi Racing. “I was fourtunate enough to make it up to the NFL and play with the Washington Football Team. Jeremy Kimbrough in Washington's training camp in 2014 (WSLS)He spent two seasons with the team before an injury took him away from the game--but drove him to the racetrack. In 2016, he joined NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, which gives women and mionrities training and opportunities as drivers and as pit crew members. An inspiring feat for this college football All-American turned 2020 NASCAR Pit Crew All-Star.

Chase Elliott won on the hybrid road course-oval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Busch and three others were trimmed from title contention. Elliott, meanwhile, won for the second consecutive year at “The Roval” and third time this season. “Best way to get into the next round is to win,” Elliott said. Bowman battled anxiety through the race as he worried Kyle Busch would win and bump him from the playoffs. When Busch didn't pit, Bowman nervously asked his Hendrick Motorsports team if he was about to be eliminated.

Busch doesn't need to win on the “Roval” to advance, but there's only five races remaining for him to improve his season. The Sunday forecast calls for an 80% chance for rain and the road course portion of the Roval permits NASCAR to race in wet conditions. The Cup drivers have never before used rain tires in competition. NASCAR stopped the Xfinity Series race for about 40 minutes Saturday so its track dryers could push water off the racing surface. "What is the drainage like at that racetrack through the infield road course?

Denny Hamlin (11) races William Byron (24) and Matt DiBenedetto (21) to the finish line during the YellaWood 500 NASCAR auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, in Talladega, Ala. Hamlin won. His sweeping three-wide pass in triple overtime Sunday brought an end to the sloppiest race of the season. “To win the championship, you have to win the last race and you have to get to the last race. But Talladega's finish line is unusually close to Turn 1 and Elliott had not made it there before a crash behind him. DiBenedetto was initially denied his first career victory a year ago by Hamlin the same week DiBenedetto learned he was out of a job.

LAS VEGAS – Two decades of heartbreak at his home track finally ended for Kurt Busch when a little bit of luck fell his way at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Busch then took the checkered flag to the finish line and smacked it on each of the letters in Las Vegas. Kyle Busch appreciated the milestone his older brother achieved in finally winning at Las Vegas. Not only had Kurt Busch never won before at Las Vegas, but he had just five top-10 finishes before the win. “It was pretty cool to finally see him get a victory here in Las Vegas and score a hometown win.

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Busch is in a terrible slump, winless this Cup season and his 15-year streak of at least one victory a year in danger. Las Vegas has rarely been good to him, though, and he's got just one win in 18 career Cup starts. Busch won just once that year and tied a career-low with just nine top-five finishes. Busch needs to be near the front to contend and gets his chance when the green flag flies at Las Vegas. His challengers have been wary about this second round, but Harvick has tunnel vision and is taking it one race at a time.

"Racing in the Cup Series with a serious contender has always been my goal, and I’m looking forward to joining what is a very strong team. Chase Briscoe began the year chasing eight victories, the number he believes will earn him a Cup ride, and he won his seventh race last weekend. Carpoff in November 2018 named Chastain the driver of a full Xfinity Series ride at Ganassi that would be sponsored by DC Solar. The sponsorship money evaporated, Ganassi shuttered the Xfinity Series team and Chastain was out of a job about six weeks before the 2019 season opener. He ran 35 Cup races, made 19 starts in the Xfinity Series and raced for the Truck Series championship for Niece Motorsports.

Harvick didnt dominate the Southern 500 in his series-best eighth victory of the season. The leaders got tangled up there and the next thing you know we were racing for the win, Harvick said. PLAYOFF PUSHAlmiorola is now squarely on the bubble ranked 12th among the 16 drivers after the first playoff race. BLANEY PENALTYBlaney's title chances took a hit just hours before the first playoff race began. UP NEXTThe second playoff race is at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Racing at Daytona International Speedway always comes with a hefty dose of drama. Nearly half the field is looking to clinch a postseason berth with a victory, including seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. Crazy things will happen.Thats exactly what NASCAR envisioned when it moved Daytonas summertime extravaganza to the regular-season finale. Cup races at Daytona already were considered wild-card events in which just about anyone could end up in victory lane. Throw in the raised stakes, and it's sure to create an ultra-intense couple of hours on the track.

NASCARs most popular driver won the Cup Series road course race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin following a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals. The 24-year-old Elliott also won on road courses at Charlotte and at Watkins Glen last year. Elliott, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. had the cars to beat. Making up that kind of ground on a 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course was a nearly impossible tough task, especially considering Elliott was turning mistake-free laps at the front of the field. Newman was one of the few Cup drivers with experience on Daytonas road course.

NASCAR takes to the retooled road course at Daytona this weekend for what surely will be a unique unprecedented, really experience for dozens of drivers who have only raced it online. The Xfinity Series race is Saturday, followed a day later by the Truck Series and the Cup Series. Both ran the Rolex 24 endurance race on the road course in January. Kenseth and Ryan Newman have victories on the Daytona road course, each winning IROC races in the mid-2000s. While Busch and Allmendinger surely provided teammates help learning the tracks nuances, many teams eager to gain an advantage turned to road course experts for assistance this week.

BROOKLYN, Mich. Kevin Harvick won just about everything he could in a stellar weekend at Michigan International Speedway, although fittingly, Denny Hamlin was the last driver to pressure him. Harvick held off Hamlin on Sunday to complete a doubleheader sweep in the NASCAR Cup Series. With NASCAR running an adjusted schedule because of the coronavirus, both Michigan races were held on the same weekend. That meant Harvick became the first driver since Richard Petty in 1971 to win back-to-back Cup races on consecutive days. Its been a long time since Ive raced back-to-back days, let alone in the Cup car, Harvick said.

Keselowski still hasn't won a Cup race in his home state, and it seems like every year that is a story when NASCAR comes to Michigan. I was actually talking to Joey Logano about it, because I won last weekend at his home track in New Hampshire. Normally, Michigan hosts races in June and August, but the pandemic pushed them both onto the same weekend this year. The races in Michigan always take on a special importance for Ford, which has swept the MIS Cup races each of the past two years. DOUBLEHEADERMichigan is set to become the second track in series history to run a doubleheader at the same facility on back-to-back days.

SPARTA, Ky. Cole Custer became the first rookie winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in nearly four years, surging to the lead in a four-wide, final-lap scramble Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. The victory was the first by a series rookie since Chris Buescher at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2016. Making his 20th series start, the 22-year-old Custer celebrated with a frontstretch burnout as his crew happily ran to greet him. That didn't last long as Truex quickly stalked him on the last-stage restart and took over on 181 in hopes of his third Kentucky win in four years. Truex settled for watching Custer take the win.