NASCAR

9:51 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Don’t you dare be sour! Former WWE champion Big E will drive the pace car Sunday at the Daytona 500. The race sold out more than a month in advance and NASCAR expects at least 120,000 spectators Sunday. Daytona limited its spectators last season because of

7:32 AM ET DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — While the main conversation at Daytona International Speedway this week has revolved around NASCAR’s new Next Gen race car, and rightfully so, another next generational movement is taking place behind the wheel of that car. With all due respect to the machines the sanctioning body has touted as

9:15 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Brad Keselowski drove his new team to victory lane Thursday night in a Daytona 500 qualifying race. It was the first win for Keselowski as part-owner of Jack Roush’s organization. The team has been rebranded Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, and Keselowski now drives its flagship No.

4:21 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Greg Biffle grabbed a seat on stage and flexed a bicep as he posed for pictures. He smiled, exhaled and summed up his return to Daytona International Speedway in four words: “It’s been a while.” Nearly six years, to be more precise. The former NASCAR Cup

10:33 AM ET DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As Daytona Speedweeks (OK, it’s actually Speedweek now) have reached full speed leading into Thursday night’s dual 150-mile qualifying races, everyone in the Cup Series garage seems to agree that NASCAR’s newly christened rides, the so-called Next Gen machines, were needed. OK, they agree for the most part.

10:13 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jacques Villeneuve qualified for his first Daytona 500 then jogged down pit road anxiously searching for his team and a celebration. The 50-year-old former Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner found his partner and lifted her in the air, then he hugged his crew members.

2:40 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR’s qualifying races likely will be tamer than normal. The Duel at Daytona scheduled for Thursday night — a qualifying event that splits 42 cars into two races and sets much of the starting grid for the season-opening Daytona 500 — could be a watered-down version

2:23 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — “It wasn’t a hoax. It was real.” That’s what former FBI supervisory agent Stanley Ruffin tells viewers in “RACE: Bubba Wallace,” a Netflix docuseries that chronicles the only Black driver at NASCAR’s top level and his professional rise and personal role in social justice issues. The

7:09 PM ET Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — No surprise this time. Michael McDowell topped the leaderboard again at Daytona. McDowell opened the first Daytona 500 practice session with a top speed of 192.736 mph, the first time NASCAR showed off its new car at the track ahead of Sunday’s sold-out race. McDowell, last

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