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RELATED: Full Media Tour schedule CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked absolutely relaxed Wednesday morning, sitting in the single director’s chair on stage at the Charlotte Convention Center and meeting with the NASCAR national media for his first formal pre-season question and answer period. He seemed so comfortable, in fact, that when he was ushered off stage for the next phase of Media Day appointments he actually seemed a little…

Don’t read too much into Danica Patrick’s seemingly aggressive foray into off-the-track ventures. She says she’s not planning any kind of post-racing exit strategy. Asked about that specifically Tuesday on the first day of the NASCAR preseason media tour at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, Patrick responded: “Yeah, you’re wrong in thinking that’s the purpose. The things that I have done outside of racing that all really are happening…

Don’t read too much into Danica Patrick’s seemingly aggressive foray into off-the-track ventures. She says she’s not planning any kind of post-racing exit strategy. Asked about that specifically Tuesday on the first day of the NASCAR preseason media tour at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, Patrick responded: “Yeah, you’re wrong in thinking that’s the purpose. The things that I have done outside of racing that all really are happening…

Julia Landauer originally got into racing when she was about 10 years old because her parents wanted something she could compete in with her brother. Now she gets to compete with “the boys” regularly as an up-and-coming driver in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Landauer is back for her second season in the series in 2017, driving full-time this time around for owner bob Bruncati and his Sunrise Ford…

NASCAR’s executive vice president, Steve O’Donnell, explains a new racing format for all three of the sanctioning body’s top series on Monday. Photo credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images Perhaps one of the most widespread critiques about NASCAR is that “something has to change.” The races are “too long” or “too boring,” and all they do is “make left turns.” But if you look back on the last few years, too much…

NASCAR is reinventing itself — again. A new point system may or may not draw new fans to the sport, but it will change how people watch. NPR’s Robert Siegel talks to Scott Fowler, sports columnist for the Charlotte Observer, about the new changes.

RELATED: Race format creates playoff-point incentives | Drivers react NASCAR announced Monday competition format enhancements in all three of its national series — the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France and NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell delivered the news via press conference alongside drivers Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin….

Chuck Burton NASCAR Media Tour Auto Racing Chase Elliott answers a question during a news conference at the NASCAR Media Tour in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Chuck Burton NASCAR Media Tour Auto Racing Erik Jones answers a question during a news conference at the NASCAR Media Tour in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Posted: Tuesday, January 24, 2017 7:45 pm Hardin:…

Since he joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Kevin Harvick has been a dominant force in NASCAR, winning the Premier Series title in his first season with the team and finishing second last year.  In his three years with SHR, Harvick has 12 victories, 11 poles and 54 top-five finishes. With the team switching to Ford this year, Harvick expects he and the team to pick up where they left off….

The Kunlun Red Stars, China’s hockey team, warm up before a game. Rob Schmitz/NPR hide caption toggle caption Rob Schmitz/NPR The Kunlun Red Stars, China’s hockey team, warm up before a game. Rob Schmitz/NPR As the Beijing Kunlun Red Stars hit the ice to face off against a team from Moscow, tension is high. A win tonight is crucial to make it to the playoffs in the Kontinental Hockey League,…

RELATED: Race format creates playoff-point incentives | Drivers react NASCAR announced Monday competition format enhancements in all three of its national series — the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France and NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell delivered the news via press conference alongside drivers Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin….

Senegal goalkeeper Khadim N’Diaye has quite the situational awareness. He knows what he needs to do to get a result, outside of trying to not concede goals. And he did that on Monday in the Africa Cup of Nations against Algeria, but I’ll warn you that your stomach may hurt from the laughter. With the score 2-2 late, with that result meaning Senegal advances and Algeria heads home, the 32-year-old…

The reasoning behind NASCAR’s new stage-based race format is pretty basic: Improving competition is a bigger priority than simplifying the math is. In each of NASCAR’s top three segments, the races will be broken into three stages for 2017: The first two stages will each be roughly one-quarter distance with brief breaks in between. The third and final stage will be about half the race distance. Here are the particulars:…

10:00 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Racers, start your abaci. On Monday evening, NASCAR kicked off its 2017 preseason media tour with what now happens so often, it is close to being labeled a tradition, like spraying champagne in Victory Lane. The sanctioning body and its members announced sweeping changes to how championship points are tallied and how the sport will crown…

RELATED: Full coverage of announcement | Official NASCAR press release   NASCAR’s race enhancements announced Monday detailed how and why races will be run in stages in 2017. Below are answers to some of the potential questions.   How many stages are in a race? Three — Stage 1, Stage 2 and the Final Stage. Stage 1 and Stage 2 will reward drivers who are leading, or in the top…

7:31 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has created a new points system to reward drivers for performance throughout a race and throughout the season, no matter if they had won during the regular season or in one of the playoff rounds. NASCAR unveiled a system Monday night that will divide races into three stages. NASCAR will award points to the top-10…

NASCAR fans, make sure to set your alarms: As announced over the weekend, there is a press conference today at 6 p.m. ET to discuss the 2017 season.   Plenty of special guests will be on hand, so make sure to watch the live stream on NASCAR.com at this link to take stock of the big names and learn more about the coming season.   Among the dignitaries scheduled on…

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2017) — The multi-platinum trio Lady Antebellum will perform the pre-race-show prior to the start of the 59th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 26 (FOX, FOX Deportes, MRN Radio and SiriusXM Radio), the opening race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Honing in on the melodious foundation that first brought Lady Antebellum together, the group returns to radio airwaves with “You Look…

A $200 million soccer stadium as part of  a $1 billion redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium property in Mission Valley was proposed Monday with a citizens ballot initiative drive as the vehicle to bring it about.  The facility containing 20,000 to 30,000 seats  and projected to open in 2020 could  also be used by  San Diego State University’s Aztecs football team and other soccer teams.  The project, coming 10 days after…

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