NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. is shifting gears with his No. 8 merchandising.

It’s NASCAR’s turn to throw its version of the Super Bowl, and the Daytona 500 is trying hard to match the hype after being delayed for hours due to rain.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. blinked back tears as the moment hit him at Daytona International Speedway — a track bursting with triumph and tragedy for his family — that he was, with a country star and a NASCAR champ in tow, back in the Daytona 500.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will race in the Daytona 500 as a special 41st driver under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional spot.

The Daytona 500 has NASCAR’s most unusual — and complicated — qualifying format.

The IndyCar season finale was supposed to be through the downtown streets of Nashville and utilize the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge and portions of Lower Broadway.

Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen will drive full time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025 for Trackhouse Racing.

NASCAR says Sunday’s championship finale has plenty of pizzazz.

Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon says he is worried about the growth of NASCAR.

Music City on the NASCAR schedule means texts fly to see who’s spending an extra day or two to enjoy all the town has to offer.

Josh Berry will take the final step in his long journey to the top of racing with Stewart-Haas Racing next season as the replacement for future NASCAR Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick.

Kyle Larson turned in a dominating effort to win his third All-Star race and earn $1 million in the Cup Series’ return to North Wilkesboro Speedway following a 27-year absence.

NASCAR drivers don't need to be reminded what Chase Elliott’s return to racing on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway means to those associated with the sport.

Ross Chastain’s video game-inspired ride along the wall at Martinsville carried him across the finish line, into the NASCAR championship finale and around the world.

Noah Gragson gave JR Motorsports two drivers in the Xfinity Series championship finale with his win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kyle Busch will move to Richard Childress Racing next season, ending a 15-year career with Joe Gibbs Racing because the team could not come to terms with NASCAR’s only active multiple Cup champion.

It didn’t seem much could still go wrong this year for Kyle Busch until his engine blew with 22 laps remaining in NASCAR’s opening playoff race.

Chase Elliott got by Corey LaJoie with just under two laps to go and crossed the finish line under yellow after a block sent LaJoie crashing into the wall.

NASCAR has penalized Noah Gragson for a deliberate and dangerous crash he caused in the Xfinity Series race at Road America.

Alex Bowman felt he underperformed last year when NASCAR brought the Cup Series back to the Nashville area for the first time in 37 years.

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

Justin Allgaier put JR Motorsports in victory lane for the third consecutive week in the Xfinity Series by winning at Darlington Raceway.

Kyle Busch is uncertain about his future with both Joe Gibbs Racing and in NASCAR.

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

Kyle Busch slipped past the spinning cars of Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe to steal his first Cup win of the season Sunday night on slick, wet, dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of the most popular race car drivers in history, has been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joining his late father.

Alex Bowman spun Denny Hamlin from the lead with six laps remaining at Martinsville Speedway and then went on to win his fourth race of the season.

The Mets and Yankees held a Subway Series game on Sept. 11 for the first time on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, as stadium’s around the country paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 killed in the terrorist attacks.

NASCAR drivers got their first laps on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course in practice — and it opened to mixed reviews.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the busiest track in motorsports this weekend.

IndyCar is ready for its debut race through Nashville's city streets.

Pocono Raceway is set to hold the first CBD-titled NASCAR race.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Ingram has died at the age of 84.

Alex Bowman won the the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway to led Hendrick Motorsports to a 1-2-3-4 finish.

Justin Allgaier held off JR Motorsports teammate Josh Berry in overtime to win the Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.

Jimmie Johnson will make his Indianapolis 500 debut this season but in the television booth and not on the racetrack.

Brad Keselowski did it exactly right this time and finally got that last-lap victory, winning in overtime Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

“I guess someone got into Dale because Dale got into me and then we went up,” Schrader said. We’ve lost Dale Earnhardt,” Helton said. The death of Earnhardt left NASCAR reeling in the wake of a 2000 season in which three of its young stars were killed in separate accidents. All three died of the same type of head injuries that apparently killed Earnhardt. “The only reason I won this race is Dale Earnhardt,” Waltrip said.

NASCAR will attempt some normalcy at the season-opening Daytona 500 with a live pre-race concert featuring country music star Luke Combs. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)CHARLOTTE, N.C. – NASCAR will attempt some normalcy at the season-opening Daytona 500 with a live pre-race concert — the first big performance at a track during the pandemic — featuring country music star Luke Combs. Born in Charlotte but raised in Asheville, Combs made NASCAR races a weekly viewing staple alongside his grandfather. “If you would’ve told me back then that I’d be performing at the Daytona 500 one day, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Combs, a longtime fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Live music is a way for us to be able to disconnect from everything else, and just be there in the moment,” Combs said.

The most coveted seat in NASCAR went to Alex Bowman in a Hendrick Motorsports lineup shuffle to replace seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in the iconic No. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The most coveted seat in NASCAR belongs to Alex Bowman in a Hendrick Motorsports lineup shuffle to replace seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in the iconic No. Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives, who won five championships with Johnson as his engineer, will move from the No. “Every season, Alex gets better. “He earned his way into the 88 car through hard work and dedication and doing the stuff nobody else wanted to do," Johnson said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. NASCAR has decided it will not grant COVID-19 relief during the playoffs, meaning a positive coronavirus test will end a driver's championship bid. The playoffs begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina without a safety net for the 16 participants during the pandemic. Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon both missed one race during the season following a positive COVID-19 test and earned zero points. NASCAR made no changes for the 10-race playoff series, so missing a race would would effectively end a driver's championship chances. Johnson was not suffering symptoms but was tested after his wife received a positive test; Dillon was experiencing mild symptoms.

In fact, team owner Joe Gibbs and crew chief Chris Gabehart didn't even mention the season-ending race at Homestead. He gave me a list of probably six guys in history that won X number of races. That's the number he hit Thursday night at Kansas Speedway, where he led four times for a race-high 57 laps. The win broke a tie with Kevin Harvick for the most this season and gave Hamlin at least five for the second straight year. 11 team and Hamlin, who was coming off his first winless season since his 2005 rookie year.

After allowing a small number of fans into races in Florida and Alabama, none will be allowed at this weekend's races at Pocono. The absence stings a bit more this season for a track that first held a Cup race in 1974. Pocono is the site of a Cup Series twin bill, with one race on Saturday, one on Sunday, and the second race comes with a twist. Igdalsky, who said he did not have to lay off or furlough any Pocono employees, never considered asking to move the race weekend in hopes of accommodating fans later. It will be a busy weekend: After an ARCA race Friday, the Truck Series and Cup race were set for Saturday and the Xfinity Series was scheduled Sunday ahead of the second Cup race.

Longtime fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to be the marquee name on NASCAR's 2021 Hall of Fame class, to be announced Tuesday, June 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)All Dale Earnhardt Jr. needed was a chance to prove he could win in stock cars. Now the longtime fan favorite and two-time Daytona 500 winner will join his famous, late father in NASCAR's Hall of Fame after being selected as one of three members of the 2021 class. Earnhardt Jr. received 76% of the votes in his first appearance on the ballot. Stefanik will be enshrined with Earnhardt in the smallest Hall of Fame class in NASCAR history.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. Chase Briscoe lost much of his team and got a win for them. Its just a testament to our team, Briscoe said. With 15 laps to go, it was basically down to a two-car race: Gragson was leading, about 2 1/2 seconds ahead of Briscoe. Gragson never had control of the race again, and Briscoe wound up in victory lane. That was a team win, for sure, Briscoe said.

Burton, Gragson and Austin Cindric were three-wide going into that last lap, and it was Burton the 19-year-old son of former Cup star Jeff Burton, who wound up in front in a wild finish. I love you.Cindric was second and Gragson third, two spots ahead of Earnhardt part of his cars JR Motorsports ownership. It was Earnhardts third Xfinity Series appearance since retiring as a full-time Cup Series driver in 2017. Hed also raced there five times in the Xfinity Series, placing second in 1999 for his best finish. The Xfinity cars are back on the track Sunday before the Cup Series race at Homestead.

Hell change into driver gear, hop into his race car about 10 minutes before the flag drops and, without the benefit of any practice, hope for the best. Im experiencing this for the first time, Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast this week. Once that engine fires up, things should seem normal again for Earnhardt Jr., who will take to the Homestead track Saturday for the first time since his NASCAR Cup Series career ended. Hes in the field for one of the two Xfinity Series races at Homestead this weekend, his third start in an Xfinity car since retiring. But on Saturday, the only fans watching Earnhardt Jr. in the No.

The governing body vowed to to do a better job of addressing racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd's death. Our country must do better.A black NASCAR official took a knee along pit road, mimicking a gesture used by protesters in tribute to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The time is now to listen, to understand and to stand against racism and racial injustice, Phelps said. After Phelps spoke to the NASCAR drivers, they observed a 30-second moment of silence. ___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 and find his work at https://apnews.com___More AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/NASCAR and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

At the end of the day, theres a lot to talk about. When you sit down and listen, you realize theres a lot of injustices taking place across a broad spectrum. "But it's still an emotional and special moment to go back to tracks for what could be the final time." Johnson acknowledged that taking a stand against racism and police brutality could spark a backlash from some NASCAR fans. Im still trying to find that voice, but Im being pulled this way more than I have other times.

BRISTOL, Tenn. Noah Gragson squeezed past JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier with four laps remaining, a move that caused Allgaier to crash, and Gragson held on at Bristol Motor Speedway for his second win of the season. His victory Monday night was set up by a caution with 13 laps remaining that wiped away Allgaier's lead. The Chevrolet teammates lined up side-by-side for the restart with seven laps remaining but Allgaier cleared him on the restart. I really apologize to Justin and the (number) 7 team, thats not how I want to race, Gragson said. I was terrible here in trucks and Xfinity, Gragson said.

(CNN) - As Hurricane Dorian bears down on the east coast of Florida, let's take a moment to think of those spending the holiday weekend prepping for evacuation and shelter. The Champ, and a World Cup tip off. "The throwback weekend Darlington puts on is really entertaining and it's cool to see how involved the teams get," Earnhardt said on his website. FIBA Basketball World Cup2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup begins this weekend. Some teams will automatically qualify for the 2020 Olympics based on their finishing place at the World Cup.

(CNN) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made his first statement since surviving a plane crash. "I am thankful for the quick response of my pilots, local law enforcement, emergency personnel and hospital staff." A current racing analyst, Earnhardt was excused from participating in the broadcast of Saturday's NASCAR Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, NBC Sports said. Earnhardt, son of the late racing legend Dale Earnhardt, has survived a fiery crash in the past. Earnhardt has credited a spiritual being for pulling him out of that fire to safety, according to interviews about that incident.

NTSB has arrived at the scene where Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s plane crashed on Thursday in Elizabethton, Tennessee. (CNN) - NASCAR paid back the first responders of the plane crash that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family survived with a night at the races. The Carter County Tennessee Sheriff's Office said it got free tickets to the Bristol Motor Speedway night race along with others who responded to the crash. "We had a great time with our first responder family at the BMS night race! A big thank you to NASCAR for giving us and all the agencies that responded to Dale Jr.'s plane crash free tickets!," it said on Facebook.

Witnesses recount the plane crash and remarkable escape of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family. Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs autographs during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 9, 2019, in Brooklyn, Michigan. (CNN) - Having just survived a plane crash in Tennessee, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be excused from participating in the broadcast of Saturday's NASCAR Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, NBC Sports says. Earnhardt popular figure in racingEarnhardt was voted as NASCAR's most popular driver in 2017 for the 15th straight year. Earnhardt, son of the late racing legend Dale Earnhardt, has survived a fiery crash in the past. In 2004, he was driving a Corvette during a practice session at an American Le Mans Series race at the Sonoma Raceway in California.

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. - Race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family escaped a plane crash in Tennessee without serious injuries on Thursday, said the local sheriff. The race car driver, his wife and child were on board along with the pilot and one other person, as well as the family dog, said Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford. The race car driver was taken to Johnson City Medical Center. He was the only person on board who was hospitalized, said the sheriff. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate.

Heavy smoke is seen in the aftermath of a plane crash involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife in Elizabethton, Tennessee.