Sport

On Feb. 11, Christopher Barton’s memorial Facebook page was flooded with pictures of strawberry cupcakes with chocolate icing. A communal birthday present, if you will. They were always his favorite, simple and sweet. It’s a small way for his closest friends to remember the Harrisburg native, who died in Afghanistan on May 24, 2010. And in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, driver Reed Sorenson will remember Barton a…

In a restart-riddled race with 12 cautions and 12 lead changes, Ryan Blaney took advantage of a late restart to take the checkered flag in the Hisense 4K TV 300 for his first Xfinity Series win since 2015. The High Point native started in third but didn’t see clean air until lap 53, when he took the lead from fifth-place finisher Denny Hamlin. But Blaney finished with 107 laps led…

Jerry Markland/Getty Images After a brief hiatus, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns on Sunday for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The sport’s biggest names took the track May 20, though the leaderboard didn’t change as Clint Bowyer took a checkered flag in the Monster Energy Open and Kyle Busch did the same at the All-Star race in Charlotte, reeling in a $1 million prize in the process….

Photo Credit: Dmitry Brushko/AP Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, wasn’t happy with the national hockey team’s performance in the recent world championships. He has no qualms about letting people know that. In a session specially held to discuss the development of ice hockey in the country—which is definitely not just because Lukashenko is personally a huge hockey fan, his press team specifically notes in the write-up on the presidential…

3:09 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment CONCORD, N.C. — Drivers certainly don’t like to see a back injury, but with the violent nature of the Aric Almirola crash two weeks ago that broke Almirola’s back, there is no groundswell for changes to the cars, nor to the safety systems. Bryan Clauson’s legacy, inspiration lives on through organ donations Bryan Clauson’s death after a race accident…

If NASCAR decides to move the annual All-Star Race from the Charlotte area, Texas Motor Speedway would get money to offer a hefty financial incentive under legislature passed Thursday night, the Associated Press and Austin-American Statesman reported. The bill would let the Fort Worth, Texas track use potentially tens of millions of dollars from the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Program to pursue the All-Star Race, now held at Charlotte Motor…

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Around the world, soccer is played by the rich and poor alike. It’s a cheap sport – no pads, no special equipment, you just need a ball. But in the United States, soccer has become the domain of the white suburban well-to-do. Just registering for a club team can run about $1,500 per year. Immigrant families who played soccer in their old countries can’t always pay. In…

Gold Medals highlighted his remarkable durability and versatility with a victory in Saturday’s $125,000 The Australian Steeplechase (3400m) at Ladbrokes Park Sandown. Since winning on debut as a two-year-old over 1000m at Warrnambool and later being placed at Stakes level at Flemington over 1400m as a three-year-old, the now seven-year-old son of Elvstroem has always been a talented horse on the flat and this preparation has added a Terang Cup…

Ricky Carmichael may have traded in four wheels for two years ago, but his love of NASCAR remains. As a Monster Energy athlete and spokesperson, Carmichael attended the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend. In its first season as the entitlement sponsor of the series, Monster Energy also had the naming rights to the All-Star Race. It was the first of several appearances for Carmichael this year. “I’m…

3:09 PM ET Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment CONCORD, N.C. — Drivers certainly don’t like to see a back injury, but with the violent nature of the Aric Almirola crash two weeks ago that broke Almirola’s back, there is no groundswell for changes to the cars, nor to the safety systems. Bryan Clauson’s legacy, inspiration lives on through organ donations Bryan Clauson’s death after a race accident…

If NASCAR decides to move the annual All-Star Race from the Charlotte area, Texas Motor Speedway would get money to offer a hefty financial incentive under legislature passed Thursday night, the Associated Press and Austin-American Statesman reported. The bill would let the Fort Worth, Texas track use potentially tens of millions of dollars from the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Program to pursue the All-Star Race, now held at Charlotte Motor…

Ricky Carmichael may have traded in four wheels for two years ago, but his love of NASCAR remains. As a Monster Energy athlete and spokesperson, Carmichael attended the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend. In its first season as the entitlement sponsor of the series, Monster Energy also had the naming rights to the All-Star Race. It was the first of several appearances for Carmichael this year. “I’m…

“We see a professional team in Dayton as an opportunity for players, coaches, referees and even companies to get involved,” Steven Short, USL Division III vice president, said. “And part of that is, we really see Division III as the league of opportunity — an opportunity for those (amateur) players to move to the next level.”

By STEVE REED, AP Sports Writer CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR is trying to inject some excitement into Charlotte Motor Speedway, where recent races have been relatively predictable, even dull: When a lead car breaks free from the pack, it’s been nearly impossible to catch. Nobody could catch Kyle Larson when he was running in clean air during the first two 20-lap segments of the NASCAR All-Star race last weekend. And…

Though he hasn’t taken the checkered flag yet on the NASCAR Monster Energy circuit, stock car racing scion Chase Elliott has taken the sport by storm. He’s won five times on the XFINITY level and twice in the Camping World Truck Series, he was the 2016 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and he sits fourth in the points going into the Coca-Cola 600. And while Bill Elliott’s son may…

The guys discuss the Liga MX final and salary difference in MLS, and Derek Rae discusses Americans’ success in Germany. Herculez Gomez and Mark Donaldson delve into why American players find homes in the Bundesliga more so than other leagues in Europe. Herculez Gomez doesn’t buy the idea that Christian Pulisic is the future of world football. United States international Christian Pulisic believes the future is bright for American soccer….

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State lawmakers have given Texas Motor Speedway a big helping hand if the state’s premier stock-car track wants to lobby for NASCAR’s All-Star race and season-ending championship. The Texas Legislature approved a bill Thursday that makes those two races eligible for the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Program, the same fund that’s used to help attract big events such as the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament’s Final…

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment AUSTIN, Texas — State lawmakers have given Texas Motor Speedway a big helping hand if the state’s premier stock-car track wants to lobby for NASCAR’s All-Star Race and season-ending championship. The Texas Legislature approved a bill Thursday that makes those two races eligible for the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Program, the same fund that is used to help attract big events such…

NASCAR pit crew members come in all shapes and sizes, but they must be consistent in two crucial ways: Long on persistence and short on memory. It’s an odd part-time job: Train throughout the week for a series of 12-second procedures that would rival emergency rooms for urgency. Jack up the car, change tires, fine-tune the handling and fill that gas tank. If even one of these six crewmen misses…

When he was a kid, Marcus Smith would get out of school early on the Thursday before the 600-mile NASCAR race held at the racetrack his family owns in Concord. He and his brothers went to watch not only the qualifying races, but the boxing matches staged near the front stretch grandstands. “Those were my favorite,” said Smith, now the CEO of Speedway Motorsports, the company that owns Charlotte Motor…