Richard Petty
AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Feb. 24, 2022 11:23 AM EST
Feb. 27 1918 — The first neutral site game in NHL history is held in Quebec City. Frank Nighbor scores twice in the first period to lead the Ottawa...

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Feb. 24, 2022 11:17 AM EST
Feb. 25 1940 — The first telecast of an American hockey game is transmitted over station W2XBS in New York. The viewing audience watches the New York...

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Feb. 17, 2022 11:05 AM EST
Feb. 18 1924 — Theresa Weld Blanchard wins her sixth and final U.S. figure skating championship. Sherwin Badger captures his fifth straight and final...

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Feb. 16, 2022 10:00 AM EST
Feb. 17 1923 — Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators becomes the NHL’s career scoring leader. He scores his 143rd goal to surpass Joe Malone in a 2-0 win...

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Feb. 10, 2022 11:11 AM EST
Feb. 15 1932 — Eddie Eagen, as a member of the four-man U.S. bobsled team, wins a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. He...

Driver Chase Elliott, left, talks to car owner Rick Hendrick before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Hendrick train rolls into Sonoma seeking 4th straight win

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 05, 2021 03:51 PM EDT

NASCAR unveils the Next Gen Cup cars for the 2022 season during the NASCAR media event in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
NASCAR's future is here: Next Gen car finally arrives

By Jenna Fryer May. 05, 2021 11:09 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 24, 2019 file photo, NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski greets fans during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va. Keselowski didn’t get the finish he hoped for last weekend of April 4, 2021, when NASCAR’s Cup Series ran on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the 2012 champion didn’t dwell too long on his 11th place finish. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
NASCAR, motorsports approach to virus vaccine varies greatly

By Hank Kurz Jr. Apr. 16, 2021 05:05 PM EDT

Kyle Larson celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Kyle Larson celebrates return with 1st win since suspension

By Jenna Fryer Mar. 07, 2021 07:07 PM EST

AJ Allmendinger walks back to his garage after a practice session for the Rolex 24 hour auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Allmendinger back at Daytona in 1st Cup race since 2018

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 20, 2021 04:41 PM EST

Bubba Wallace gets into his car after a weather delay during the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Wallace becomes 1st Black driver to lead lap at Daytona 500

By Dan Gelston Feb. 15, 2021 12:43 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2020, file photo, former basketball superstar Michael Jordan speaks during a news conference ahead of an NBA basketball game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks in Paris. The Associated Press asked eight of the greatest current and former champions, including Jordan, from seven different sports to find out what impressed them most about Tom Brady. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
Jordan set to make NASCAR debut with Wallace at Daytona 500

By Dan Gelston Feb. 13, 2021 04:16 PM EST

Austin Dillon (3) takes the checkered flag to win the second NASCAR Daytona 500 duel qualifying auto race Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Drivers competing in the 2021 Daytona 500

By The Associated Press Feb. 12, 2021 01:38 PM EST

FILE - Workers begin turning Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., into a dirt track in this Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, file photo. NASCAR is being heavily promoted by a broadcast partner as about to embark on “The Best Season Ever” and on paper that could be true. NASCAR this year will race on dirt for the first time since 1970, the schedule includes a whopping seven road courses and five venues new to the Cup Series. Michael Jordan and Pitbull are among new team owners entering the sport in 2021 and Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, is the reigning champion. (David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP, File)
NASCAR revs ahead with new teams, new tracks, new energy

By Jenna Fryer Feb. 03, 2021 04:27 PM EST

Race officials wear masks, a requirement from NASCAR to reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19, during the NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
NASCAR at long last adds schedule variety with 2021 changes

By Jenna Fryer Sep. 30, 2020 01:30 PM EDT

FILE - In this June 4, 2017, file photo, Jimmie Johnson, left, poses with the trophy in Victory Lane after he won a NASCAR Cup series auto race at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. Jimmie Johnson has a track-record 11 wins at Dover International Speedway. He’ll have to win No. 12 to guarantee a playoff spot and he has two shots this weekend when the NASCAR Cup series races on Saturday and Sunday. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Johnson makes last-gasp playoff push in final year at Dover

By Dan Gelston Aug. 21, 2020 04:17 PM EDT

Driver Bubba Wallace stands during the national anthem before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Bubba Wallace, Columbia Sportswear sign sponsorship deal

By Jenna Fryer Aug. 12, 2020 10:32 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2020 file photo Jimmie Johnson climbs intp his car before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson will test an Indy car next week on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s long said he is open to racing in the series but did not want to compete on ovals out of safety concerns. On Friday, July 3, 2020, he indicated recent safety improvements have softened his stance and the Indianapolis 500 is not entirely out of the picture.(AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
Column: Jimmie Johnson finds voice during last NASCAR season

By Jenna Fryer Jul. 07, 2020 01:27 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2017, file photo, former NBA player and players union deputy Roger Mason, left, listens as entertainer Ice Cube, right, announces the launch of the BIG3, a new 3-on-3 professional basketball league, in New York. Hundreds of sports-related businesses got in line for the government-funded Payroll Protection Plan designed to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. None of the four North American major sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball — applied, but both Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League were represented. Rapper Ice Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league says it returned almost half of the $1.6 million it received, but givebacks were rare. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Sports jumps on PPP bandwagon, but big leagues take a pass

By The Associated Press Jul. 06, 2020 10:07 PM EDT

Kyle Busch makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, June 28, 2020, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Column: NASCAR rolls on, through crisis and controversy

By Jenna Fryer Jun. 29, 2020 02:47 PM EDT