JIMMIE JOHNSON

William Byron grew up a huge fan of Hendrick Motorsports when watching Jimmie Johnson win championships.

Only 36 points separate the 16 drivers as NASCAR’s playoffs begin this Sunday at Darlington Raceway in what might be one of the closest fields in the history of this format.

Suspended NASCAR driver Noah Gragson has asked Legacy Motor Club to release him from his contract so he can work through the series' reinstatement process.

Jimmie Johnson and former crew chief Chad Knaus, who combined to win a record-tying seven Cup Series championships, have been selected for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Police in Muskogee, Oklahoma, are investigating the shooting deaths of three relatives of NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson.

Kevin Harvick has had a big share of his best Cup moments at Phoenix Raceway.

Most of NASCAR’s Cup Series drivers feel like they’re saying their final goodbye to a dear old friend this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson has provided early thrills in his NASCAR comeback.

Richard Petty has bruised feelings now that his old race team is run by Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR champion Joey Logano won the first qualifying race for the Daytona 500, his third victory in the event that sets the field for “The Great American Race.”.

Alex Bowman won his third career Daytona 500 pole and will be joined by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson on the front row for NASCAR’s season opener.

Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR retirement and IndyCar experiment lasted all of two seasons.

Christopher Bell saved his title chances with an overtime win Sunday on the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a stunning finish that knocked reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson from the playoffs.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson tells The Associated Press that he is retiring from full-time racing and will turn his focus toward spending time with family.

Scott Dixon knows IndyCar’s tightest championship race in nearly 20 years would have probably been long decided if not for a rare gaffe by The Iceman in the Indianapolis 500.

What’s 10 points worth.

David Malukas put on a show Saturday night in IndyCar's final oval race of the season.

Jimmie Johnson added ovals to his IndyCar schedule this season and the circuits have been his strength.

Josef Newgarden collapsed in the motorhome lot following his late crash in Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway and was taken to a Des Moines hospital by helicopter for evaluation.

Josef Newgarden extended the Team Penske dominance at Iowa Speedway, winning the first race of a weekend doubleheader for his fourth victory at the shortest track on the IndyCar schedule.

Scott McLaughlin has picked up his second career IndyCar victory, which may go down as one of the most special wins of his career.

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.

Josef Newgarden earned a $1 million bonus that rewards his versatility by winning on Sunday at Road America.

Helio Castroneves won his first race on Detroit's Belle Isle and celebrated that victory by exiting his car and climbing one of the fences surrounding the temporary street course.

NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was many things.

Marcus Ericsson had to leave Formula One to become a global superstar and achieved the goal Sunday when the Swedish driver won the Indianapolis 500.

NASCAR is still alive and well in Charlotte.

Colton Herta rolled his Indianapolis 500 car end-over-end during the final practice for Sunday's race.

Kyle Larson is hoping a return to victory lane at the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday might propel him to a second straight NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Dalton Kellett became the first driver to crash while preparing for the Indianapolis 500, ending a streak of six days without major incident.

Scott Dixon used a breathtaking run of more than 234 mph to post the fastest Indianapolis 500 pole run in history.

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest four-lap average of any Indianapolis 500 rookie and qualified for Sunday' pole shootout.

Rain held off long enough to complete the first round of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

It was a challenging “Fast Friday” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with serious wind disrupting practice for the Indy 500.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato shot to the top of the speed chart Tuesday on the first day of preparations for the May 29 race.

Jimmie Johnson felt at home making his way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the opening day of preparations for the Indianapolis 500.

IndyCar officials will spend the next few days collecting information and gathering advice about improving aeroscreen visibility for races held in the rain.

Will Power used the final lap of qualifying Friday to leapfrog five other drivers and win the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix.

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest lap of his career Thursday.

Jimmie Johnson looked like a natural at the first of this week's two Indianapolis 500 test sessions.

William Byron is making the guy that made the No. 24 Chevrolet famous proud.

Colton Herta broke the Long Beach track record when qualifying and it gave the California native the start from the pole for his home IndyCar race.

Jimmie Johnson says he will race in the Long Beach Grand Prix despite a broken hand suffered in a crash at the track.

It was quite the weekend in motorsports, which is typically the bit player on the massive stick-and-ball sporting landscape so eager for its own time in the spotlight.

Josef Newgarden used the nonexistent high line to pass Scott McLaughlin in the final turn at Texas Motor Speedway and steal the IndyCar race his teammate had dominated.

IndyCar’s long relationship with Texas Motor Speedway is at a crossroads headed into the 35th race at the track that has always embraced the open-wheel series.

Jimmie Johnson returns to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend searching for some of his old NASCAR magic.

Scott McLaughlin got his first IndyCar Series victory in the season-opening race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Roger Penske picked up a third Daytona 500 win last weekend on his 85th birthday.

Michael Andretti has filed an application with the FIA to field a Formula One team starting in 2024.

Jimmie Johnson and Colton Herta teamed to give Team USA a surprise second-place finish in the Race of Champions Nations Cup in Sweden.

Helio Castroneves scored his third crown jewel victory in a calendar year when he closed out the Rolex 24 at Daytona to give team owner Michael Shank his second win in North America's most prestigious sports car race.

Jimmie Johnson will run the Indianapolis 500 and the entire IndyCar schedule next year.

Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana will represent the United States in the upcoming Race of Champions international event.

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus won a record-tying seven NASCAR championships over a successful 17-year partnership.

Before he headed onto the track for the biggest race of his career, Kyle Larson heard Mario Andretti praise him as one of the most well-rounded drivers in all of motorsports.

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 NASCAR championship will pit Rick Hendrick against Joe Gibbs as both team owners put a pair of drivers in the final four.

Brad Keselowski is in the final two races of his NASCAR career with Team Penske and would love nothing more than to close his 12-year run with another Cup championship.

A conversation on driver code and on-track etiquette is raging in NASCAR, and with it comes debate about the expectations of non-playoff drivers.

NASCAR's playoffs shift to Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday for the middle race of the second round.

Denny Hamlin earned his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday night.

The IndyCar Series speeds into its season finale at Sunday riding a myriad of gains that have America's top open-wheel series feeling confident about its future.

Colton Herta cruised to an easy victory at Laguna Seca on Sunday while Alex Palou moved one race closer to the IndyCar championship.

The IndyCar Series is feeling rather bullish as it heads into its final two races of the season.

Jimmie Johnson is moving one step closer to adding the Indianapolis 500 to his IndyCar schedule with a successful test on his first oval.

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

IndyCar and Nashville scored big with the debut of the Music City Grand Prix.

Marcus Ericsson survived the perilous city streets of Nashville on Sunday and won the inaugural Music City Grand Prix.

Colton Herta stamped himself as the driver to beat in the inaugural IndyCar Music City Grand Prix.

Jimmie Johnson returns to IndyCar on Sunday to tackle the street course in Nashville.

IndyCar may have a hit on its hands if the first few days were an indicator of the enthusiasm from fans and drivers of the race.

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

IndyCar rookie Jimmie Johnson is hopeful of testing in August at Homestead-Miami Speedway as part of a path toward running in the Indianapolis 500 in 2022.

IndyCar has signed a multi-year extension with NBC Sports that guarantees a majority of the racing schedule will air on its main NBC channel.

Kyle Larson has received a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports through 2023 and full sponsorship through the length of the deal.

IndyCar will celebrate Independence Day in the middle of Ohio.

Alex Bowman made it six straight wins for Hendrick Motorsports when he took the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway.

Jeff Gordon will leave the Fox Sports booth for a daily role at Hendrick Motorsports as vice chairman.

Josef Newgarden has earned the pole position for Sunday’s IndyCar race at Road America as he attempts to help Team Penske earn its first win of the season.

NASCAR is running its All-Star race in the Lone Star State.

Jimmie Johnson is struggling at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park, which is just his second career street course and fourth career IndyCar race.

NBC Sports is in the final year of its contract with IndyCar.

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

Rinus VeeKay continued IndyCar’s youth movement Saturday by scoring his first career victory with a win on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Romain Grosjean survived a fiery Formula One crash, then left the series behind for a move to IndyCar.

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

Tony Kanaan will make his IndyCar season debut this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, where the series will race a doubleheader.

Colton Herta has rebounded from a first-lap crash in the IndyCar season opener to win the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

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.

Alex Palou scored his first career IndyCar victory in his debut race with Chip Ganassi Racing by winning the series opener at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Pato O'Ward set a track record at Barber Motorsports Park to win the pole for the IndyCar season-opening race.

Scott Dixon opens the IndyCar season in search of the motorsports milestone mark of seven championships.

Jimmie Johnson was tagged as the vanilla champion during a 20-year run in NASCAR.

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Larson wasn't sure he'd ever race again in NASCAR, and if he could, he didn't know who would even hire him. On Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson raced to his first NASCAR victory since he was reinstated from a nearly yearlong suspension. “Thanks Mr. H. for believing in me,” Larson radioed to boss Rick Hendrick after crossing the finish line. Larson is considered one of the top talents in NASCAR but won just six times in six seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing. “He got in a great car, he's a great driver and he's going to make things happen,” runner-up Brad Keselowski said.

In this still image from video provided by the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) speaks during Super Bowl 55 Opening Night, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (NFL via AP)Ahead of his 10th Super Bowl appearance, The Associated Press asked the best of the best — eight current and former champions from seven sports — what impressed them most about Tom Brady. Tom Brady does that every day. … That takes superhuman dedication and discipline … Tom Brady is always in the back of my mind during training camp and between fights. ... That takes a lot of dedication and hard work, and ultimately we’re seeing the results at his age …“He’ll have a bad game, which we all do as athletes, and when you’re young, people say: ‘Well, he had a bad night, bad game, bad week.

Wayne Taylor left General Motors after 28 years at the end of last season to become a factory Acura program. "We won it with Ricky, and Jordan won the GT class with Corvette, and then the Wayne Taylor Racing program won it overall. Albuquerque won in 2018 driving a Cadillac; Ricky Taylor won in a Cadillac for his father's team in 2017. AdWhen Taylor switched to Acura, he released van der Zande, who was grabbed by Ganassi as the team returned to sports car racing after a one-year hiatus. “Looked like we had the race won right there.

The seven-time NASCAR champion is beginning a new chapter of his career — at 45 years old — in unfamiliar race cars. He was tabbed to start the most prestigious sports car race in America for his Action Express team and Johnson had just one goal for his first stint in the Cadillac. 48 over to teammate Simon Pagenaud and then turned to Kamui Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner of the Rolex 24, for an animated debrief. AdElliott seemed despondent after his first run in his first sports car race. 31 Action Express entry had slipped to last in his class after the driver change between Elliott and Mike Conway.

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Chase Elliott had an early setback in his pursuit of NASCAR's championship when his car failed pre-race inspection Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Elliott was supposed to start on the pole but instead had to drop to the back of the field at the start of the race. Elliott is seeking his first Cup championship in the winner-take-all season finale. Elliott is racing Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano for the Cup. The finale moved to Phoenix this year for the first time, and it is seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson's final race as a full-time NASCAR driver.

(AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)AVONDALE, Ariz. – Denny Hamlin is 0-for-3 in championship chances, his shot at an elusive first NASCAR crown ending just short each time. Hamlin on Sunday will try to close his own career-defining season with the Cup title in NASCAR's season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Chase Elliott last week drove Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports back into the championship race for the first time since 2016. The 24-year-old is statistically enjoying his best Cup season and advanced to the final four after three previous failures. The last two times I’ve raced for championships I’ve had no regrets.”Hamlin turns 40 exactly 10 days after Sunday's title race and has matured greatly the last several seasons.