KURT BUSCH

CONCORD, N.C. — (AP) — Kurt Busch said Tuesday he remains “hopeful” he will recover from a concussion in time to race again before the end of the NASCAR season. 45 Toyota for 23XI since Busch was injured — and withdrew his eligibility to participate in the playoffs. Busch has attended a variety of events to stimulate his recovery and enjoyed an evening at the rodeo over the weekend. Busch credited the Toyota Performance Center at TRD's North Carolina headquarters for helping his recovery and getting him out to events again. I know I have more doctor visits and distance to go, and I keep pushing each week,” Busch said.

Kurt Busch says he remains “hopeful” he will recover from a concussion in time to return to competition before the end of the NASCAR season.

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.

But at least Busch knows what happened to end his night at Bristol Motor Speedway and leave him “flabbergasted” at being eliminated from the playoff field. He could only laugh as he stood in the garage alongside his disabled car as fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace came in for repairs. Truex also referred back to Kevin Harvick's words after his car caught fire in the opening playoff race at Darlington three weeks ago. There’s probably some car owners that don’t want to hear it because it costs money to change the cars. “There’s the ‘everything is wrong with this car’ camp and there’s the ‘nothing is wrong with this car’ camp," Keselowski added.

At least a dozen of the playoff drivers had some sort of problem with NASCAR’s new Next Gen car Saturday night at Bristol.

Kyle Busch deserved better than two failed Toyota engines in the first round of NASCAR's playoffs. Truex also referred back to Kevin Harvick's words after his car caught fire in the opening playoff race at Darlington three weeks ago.

The car he was chasing down in the waning laps of Sunday's race happened to be the No. 45 driven by Bubba Wallace for 23XI Racing, which is owned by Hamlin and Hall of Fame basketball star Michael Jordan. The victory pushed the team into the next round in the race for the owner's championship, the somewhat lesser-known NASCAR Cup Series title. 45 team his congratulations. Having that and having the eligibility in the owner's championship, we were able to pick apart and put the best pieces in our race team to go out and compete at our best.

Denny Hamlin the driver finds himself in the most enviable of positions heading into Saturday night’s race at Bristol.

Bubba Wallace won his second career NASCAR Cup Series race and denied the playoff field of an automatic spot in the next round for the second straight week when he held off championship contenders Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell to win at Kansas Speedway.

DARLINGTON, S.C. — (AP) — Erik Jones took the lead when Kyle Busch's engine blew up, then pulled away from Denny Hamlin after a final restart 20 laps from the end to win the opening NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night. Hamlin, seeded sixth in the playoffs, closed in on Jones’ back bumper on the final lap, but couldn’t make the winning pass. Jones went on to his second career win at Darlington and third NASCAR victory. “He said if I won, I was going to get a (cowboy) hat,” Jones laughed. Jones became the first non-playoff driver to win the opener in NASCAR's 10-race run to a title.

Erik Jones took the lead when Kyle Busch’s engine blew up, then pulled away from Denny Hamlin after a final restart 20 laps from the end to win the opening NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday night.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — (AP) — Austin Dillon avoided a massive wreck in the rain to win at Daytona International Speedway and snag a playoff spot in the Cup Series’ regular-season finale Sunday. Blaney finished seven spots behind Truex in the race but three points ahead in the standings. That allowed Austin Dillon, who started the day 19th in points, to essentially steal a playoff spot. Blaney started the day third in points and had the best chance of landing one of the two postseason spots up for grabs. That created a second open spot at Daytona, where 15 guys entered the day with postseason hopes.

Austin Dillon avoided a massive wreck in the rain to win at Daytona International Speedway and snag a playoff spot in the Cup Series’ regular-season finale.

Brad Keselowski likes his chances at Daytona International Speedway.

23XI Racing on Thursday withdrew the medical waiver that was holding Busch's spot in the playoffs. "In addition to not being cleared to return to racing, I know that I am not ready to be back in the car." Ty Gibbs, the 19-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs, has replaced Busch since he was injured. Busch earned his spot in the playoffs with a win at Kansas Speedway in May and, had he not been injured, NASCAR's 2004 champion would have participated in the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season. “Toyota’s priority for Kurt Busch since the moment the accident took place at Pocono has been his health and recovery.

Kurt Busch will miss the start of NASCAR’s playoffs with concussion-like symptoms that have sidelined him six weeks.

Kevin Harvick took the lead from Joey Logano with 66 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell at Richmond Raceway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Kevin Harvick may be stamping himself as the man to beat in NASCAR. The 2014 series champion took the lead from Joey Logano with 66 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell at Richmond Raceway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory. Harvick, who ended a 65-race drought last week at Michigan, won for the 60th time, the fourth time at Richmond and first time on the 0.75-mile oval since 2013.

Blaney is second in points, just 19 points ahead of fourth-place Truex, but neither has won a race — the virtual automatic ticket to a spot in the postseason. Two more unique winners could leave a race winner out of the field for the first time under the playoff format. After Richmond, the series moves to the road course at Watkins Glen and finishes the regular season at the superspeedway that is Daytona. He's won just once this year. Denny Hamlin has four, Harvick and Truex three each and Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch each have two.

Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are the favorites as they battle for position to make NASCAR’s playoffs.

Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing have announced a multiyear contract extension ahead of Wallace’s final push to earn a spot in NASCAR’s playoffs.

Busch said Wednesday that he would miss Sunday’s Cup Series race at Michigan. Busch suffered an apparent concussion in qualifying at Pocono and has missed races at Pocono and the Indianapolis road course. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD, I have yet to be cleared to return to competition and will not be participating in the NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend at Michigan International Speedway," Busch said in a statement. Gibbs, the grandson of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, has filled in for Busch at both Pocono and Indianapolis. Busch’s injury is the first significant injury suffered by a driver in NASCAR’s new Cup Series car.

AJ Allmendinger continued his dominance of NASCAR road course racing and set himself up for a sweep at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a Saturday win in the Xfinity Series.

(Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Kurt Busch is set to miss a second race after suffering an apparent concussion in a qualifying crash at Pocono. Busch will be replaced by Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs in the No. 45 car for 23XI Racing on Sunday at the Indianapolis road course. Gibbs made his Cup Series debut filling in for Busch on short notice at Pocono after Busch's car crashed into the wall exiting Turn 3 in qualifying on Saturday. The two races Busch has missed in 2022 are the first Cup Series races he's missed since he was absent for the first three races of the 2015 season.

First-place finisher Denny Hamlin was disqualified when his No. 11 Toyota failed inspection, giving Chase Elliott the NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

NASCAR Cup Series M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 - Qualifying LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 23: Kurt Busch, driver of the #45 McDonald's Toyota, spins after an on-track incident during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 the Pocono Mountains 225at Pocono Raceway on July 23, 2022 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Kurt Busch will not race at Pocono on Sunday after suffering an apparent concussion in a crash during qualifying on Saturday. 45 car for 23XI Racing by Xfinity Series driver Ty Gibbs. It’s the Cup debut for Gibbs, the grandson of former Washington Commanders coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs. Gibbs, 19, drives for his grandfather in the Xfinity Series and 23XI Racing is co-owned by JGR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Busch faces an uncertain future after M&M Mars announced it would pull its marketing spend at the end of this season.

Both drivers won a race -- Wallace won last season at Talledega; Busch this year at Kansas -- for 23XI. “Once he’s done driving, he’s going to have a nice cushy office job at 23XI,” Hamlin said. The only Black driver in the Cup series, Wallace has struggled this season and has two top-10 finishes in 19 Cup races. Reddick, who is part of a two-car lineup at RCR with Austin Dillon, "crashed” a scheduled Toyota Zoom Tuesday that included Hamlin, Toyota Racing Development David Wilson and 23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta. Reddick defended the decision to announce his 2024 jump roughly 31 months ahead of his scheduled first points race for 23XI Racing in the Daytona 500.

23XI Racing signed Tyler Reddick for the 2024 season.

Sure, it’s been a wild NASCAR Cup season, with seemingly everyone in the field capable of taking the checkered flag.

Tyler Reddick raced to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday, continuing the season-long trend of first-time winners on road courses.

Chase Elliott salvaged a crummy day for Hendrick Motorsports and interrupted a potential Toyota rout by winning the rain-drenched race at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night.

Denny Hamlin has warned Ross Chastain that there's still some retribution due after the eighth-generation watermelon farmer wrecked him in Sunday's race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

MADISON, Ill. — (AP) — Joey Logano jockeyed for the lead with Kyle Busch in overtime, got around him for good just before the white flag flew and cruised to the victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway. That led to a green-white-checkered finish at the 1 1/4-mile hairpin east of St. Louis, and Busch chose the outside lane as Logano drove his No. ZANE-Y DEBUTZane Smith, who was ninth in the Truck Series race Saturday, made his Cup Series debut in place of Chris Buescher, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. MILESTONE MOMENTMartin Truex Jr. became the 32nd driver to make 600 starts in the Cup Series when he took the green flag. UP NEXTThe Cup Series heads to the road course at Sonoma in California’s wine country next Sunday before taking a week off.

Joey Logano jockeyed for the lead with Kyle Busch in overtime, got around him for good just before the white flag flew and cruised to the victory Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Chase Elliott lost his tire, then his mind ... Joey Logano sends a warning to William Byron and Dale Jr. said what about Kurt Busch?

NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was many things.

Denny Hamlin held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in overtime to win the longest — and perhaps wildest — Coca-Cola 600 in history.

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.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — (AP) — Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin founded 23XI Racing with a vision that extended far beyond the race track. “Obviously, they sat on the sidelines for the first year of this team," Hamlin said, "and I mentioned that in the media. You just pray for them.”Then, you do what Jordan and Hamlin have done: You try to change things for the better. The spirit was, ‘We’re a bunch of rebels, let’s go do this.’”Turns out the entire 23XI Racing team are rebels with a cause. “I’m certainly proud of what we’ve done and how we’ve built this team,” Hamlin said.

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

NASCAR Kansas Auto Racing Justin Haley (31), Denny Hamlin (11), and J.J. Yeley (15) head into Turn 1 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 15, 2022. 45 car — one of the numbers that Jordan wore during his NBA career — to a stop at the start-finish line after his first win at Kansas Speedway. His older brother, Kurt, beat him to the line to win the second stage with Elliott again coming across in third. Larson kept riding the top line around the mile-and-a-half oval, often brushing the wall, while Kurt Busch was able to put his Toyota just about anywhere he wanted. UP NEXTThe series takes a regular-season break before the Coca-Cola 600 and heads to Texas for next weekend's All-Star race.

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.

DARLINGTON, S.C. — (AP) — Former NASCAR Cup Series champions Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick will start at the rear of the field Sunday at Darlington Raceway. Elliott and Harvick had Saturday in practice. Logano reached 170.720 mph and turned a fast lap of 28.805 seconds to clinch the top spot in qualifying, edging Kyle Larson. Elliott, Harvick and Hamlin couldn't say the same. Harvick blew a left-rear tire in practice and did enough damage that he was unable to make a qualifying attempt.

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.

LOS ANGELES — (AP) — Joey Logano won the exhibition Busch Light Clash on a temporary quarter-mile track built inside Memorial Coliseum for a made-for-TV spectacular intended to hype NASCAR's upcoming season. NASCAR moved the Clash to Los Angeles from Daytona International Speedway, its only home since its 1979 inception, as part of a focused effort to break from its dated traditions via innovative big ideas. A handful of Los Angeles sporting greats served as the grand marshals, and Jeff Gordon lit the cauldron built for the 1932 Summer Olympics before the race began. The name of the race was the same, but everything else about the 42nd running of The Clash was different. Nothing learned in Los Angeles will transfer into the Feb. 21 season-opening Daytona 500, but the race was the first for NASCAR's new car.

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.

Instead, all four Hendrick drivers go to Las Vegas with their title chances still intact and Larson returning to the site of his first victory of the season. “Las Vegas has been incredible for us,” Keselowski said. That’s really what it boils down to this time of year.”ODDS AND ENDSLarson is the 10-3 favorite to win at Las Vegas, according to FanDuel. ... UFC President Dana White, country music recording artist Matt Stell and comedian Jim Breuer are among the headliners for Las Vegas pre-race activities. ... Keselowski leads all active drivers at Las Vegas with three victories.

Kyle Larson returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway looking for yet another victory.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — (AP) — Kyle Larson denied Kevin Harvick his first win of the season with a masterful pass at Bristol Motor Speedway that was overshadowed Saturday night by a post-race skirmish between Harvick and reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott. Elliott led a race-high 175 laps but Harvick passed him with 33 laps to go in an aggressive sequence in which their cars touched. It caused a flat tire on Elliott's Chevrolet while Harvick was able to drive away unscathed. The slowdown gave Larson a chance to close the gap and Larson made the race-winning move with four laps remaining. But as the eliminated drivers sulked over their fate and Larson celebrated on the frontstretch, Harvick and Elliott fumed on pit road.

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.

NASCAR Richmond Auto Racing Denny Hamlin (11) leads Kurt Busch (1) and Joey Logano (22) into turn one during the NASCAR Cup series auto race in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (Steve Helber)CHARLOTTE, N.C. — (AP) — NASCAR will open the 2022 season inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in one of the biggest shakeups to its schedule in years. The annual exhibition Clash, held at Daytona International Speedway since 1979, will shift to Los Angeles next year. The invitation-only race was always the kickoff to competitive NASCAR racing and held the week before the season-opening Daytona 500. “Los Angeles is synonymous with major sports and entertainment events, so we seized an innovative opportunity to showcase NASCAR at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of strategy and innovation.

NASCAR will open the 2022 season inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in one of the biggest shakeups to its schedule in years.

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.

NASCAR 23XI Kurt Busch Auto Racing FILE - In this July 18, 2021, file photo, Kurt Busch smiles at a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Loudon, N.H. Busch will drive next season for 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, in a long expected expansion move for the first-year organization. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (Charles Krupa)CHARLOTTE, N.C. — (AP) — Kurt Busch will drive next season for 23XI Racing, the NASCAR team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, in a long expected expansion move for the first-year organization. Seeing the number compete again, under the 23XI Racing banner, with Kurt behind the wheel, is exciting for us. Both Hamlin and Busch are qualified for the 10-race playoffs, while Hamlin is racing for the regular season title Saturday night. Ganassi in July announced he was selling his two-car NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing, and Trackhouse kept Ross Chastain for its second seat.

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

LOUDON, N.H. — (AP) — The 23XI Racing team posted a slideshow of the Bubba Wallace firesuit collection and asked fans to comment on their favorite. For a driver who spent most of his NASCAR career scraping together sponsorship deals for underfunded teams, Wallace is flush with Fortune 500 cash. Jordan said at NASCAR’s kickoff at Daytona that Wallace should “probably win at least a couple races.”Cool. Wallace, driver Corey LaJoie and New England Patriots return specialist Gunner Olszewski, the honorary pace car driver, tossed around the football with fans during a rain delay in Sunday's race. Busch’s deal was up and Chip Ganassi, his current car owner, sold his NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks.

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.

The Busch brothers are moving up on the Allisons on NASCAR's all-time wins list for siblings. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Paul Sancya)HAMPTON, Ga. — (AP) — The Busch brothers are banging on the Allisons' rear bumper for the top spot on the list of NASCAR Cup Series wins by siblings. It might help Kyle to be reminded that he and Kurt are closing in on that record for most Cup Series wins by brothers. Bobby Allison (84) and Donnie Allison (10) combined for 94 Cup wins, the record for brothers. “I ain’t worried about it.”Indeed, the Busch brothers' sibling rivalry burns strong.

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.

Nascar Road America Auto Racing FILE - Drivers race through a turn in the Bucyrus 200 Nascar Nationwide series race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wi., in this Saturday, June, 19, 2010, file photo. Busch posted the fastest practice time Saturday as NASCAR's Cup Series returned to Road America for the first time since 1956. Road America, located on 640 acres about halfway between Milwaukee and Green Bay, has hosted an Xfinity Series race each year since 2010. Drivers have debated whether the competitors with Xfinity Series experience at Road America could have an edge. Sure enough, Austin Cindric posted the third-fastest practice time after winning the Xfinity Series race here last year.

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.

Larson had won three straight Cup races and was in prime position to take this one at Pocono when he passed Bowman with three laps left in the race. Bowman was in the right spot to take advantage and win for the third time in his last 10 races. “I don’t know what to say.”For team owner Rick Hendrick, the wins keep coming. The Xfinity Series races Sunday followed by the second Cup race. Bowman is in his sixth full season of Cup racing and his fourth with Hendrick.

The only people to see the race were those working it and those who live in the turn one condominiums at the track. But there were 33 motorhomes on his properties, with race fans traveling from as far away as New York, Texas and Maine. Like many around the country, Little has taken a financial hit due to fans being shut out of sports, but the third-generation owner of the campground said, honestly, I feel just terrible for the race fans." The Coca-Cola 600 promotional signs that normally adorn from the front of restaurants during race week were non-existent. Usually we would be packed out with NASCAR fans," said Mindy Segovia, the general manager of Iron Thunder Saloon, about a mile from the track.

Keselowski extended Jimmie Johnson's losing streak to 102 races by holding off the seven-time NASCAR champion in overtime early Monday to win the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. It was the first win for Keselowski this season, his first Coca-Cola 600 victory and the first win at this event for Ford since 2002. I wanted to win the 600 my whole life and wanted to win in front of everybody, Keselowski said. But almost two hours after the race, NASCAR disqualified Johnson because his Chevrolet failed post-race inspection. I was a lap-and-a-half away from winning the 600, Elliott said.