10:11 AM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s top drivers have once again unified to form an independent council to gain a collective voice in decisions that affect the sport. The Drivers Advisory Council, announced Friday, is a more organized effort than a previous attempt to unify in 2014. A board of directors has

2:21 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jesse Iwuji is a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve who also happens to be juggling a budding NASCAR career. He transitioned between jobs this week when he jetted out of Los Angeles following Navy drills to make it to North Carolina in time to announce his

8:50 PM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — NASCAR was the big winner at its glossy Los Angeles gala held inside Memorial Coliseum. In need of an energy boost ahead of its upcoming season, NASCAR broke its dated mold and staged an experimental exhibition race inside one of the most iconic venues in sports.

7:31 AM ET “The Colosseum. Oh, you should see the Colosseum, Spaniard. Fifty-thousand Romans. Watching every movement of your sword. Willing you to make that killer blow. The silence before you strike. And the noise afterwards. It rises. It rises up like … like a storm. As if you were the thunder god himself.” —

8:31 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver a record 15 times. He didn’t forget “Junior Nation” on his way into the Hall of Fame. “When I stumbled, you guys were right there ready to lift me back up,” Earnhardt said to his fans. “There were

8:33 AM ET Associated Press Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham will have a boss in the second season of the Superstar Racing Experience, a made-for-CBS all-star summer series coming off a surprisingly strong debut. SRX on Thursday named Don Hawk its first chief executive, a day-to-day role with a job description that covers just about

3:18 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. recognized early he would never be a seven-time NASCAR champion like his dad. It was unrealistic to believe he would match the late Dale Earnhardt on the track. The Intimidator was tough as nails, didn’t tolerate any nonsense and built a winning résumé that

10:09 AM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR veteran Aric Almirola will retire from competition at the end of the 2022 season to spend more time with his young family. Almirola revealed his plans Monday to the employees at Stewart-Haas Racing at the same time Smithfield Foods announced its 11th season sponsoring the driver.

7:05 PM ET Associated Press KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Martha Earnhardt, the matriarch of one of NASCAR’s best-known families, has died. She was 91. Grandchildren Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller said in a statement that she died Saturday night. “As we grieve her loss and begin to imagine life without our beloved ‘Mamaw,’ we

2:13 PM ET Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — NASCAR champion Kyle Larson‘s first Formula One race was the season finale, and he is as conflicted as anyone over the controversial ending of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Max Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton on the final lap Sunday to win the title, but