Or, simply put: NASCAR hopes the days of leaders driving away from the competition are over. With a taller spoiler, a longer front splitter, a wider radiator pan and, at certain tracks, air ducts and/or a smaller tapered spacer, NASCAR wants to increase drag and downforce while decreasing horsepower in its Cup cars. This comes after NASCAR had spent several years trying to decrease downforce, making the cars tougher to handle....

About two hours before the scheduled start time, showers and wind continued in the area around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Like many areas along the Atlantic Coast, the track in Concord, N.C., was buffeted by inclement weather caused by Hurricane Matthew. MORE: 10 to watch at Charlotte The one obvious conclusion by anyone who stuck a head outside: This was no weather for stock car racing. Even if an hour later the sun was shining....

The 19-year-old beat out Aric Almirola on Thursday for the top spot at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was Byron’s second pole of the year. Kyle Busch will start third and Austin Dillon will be fourth. MORE: Charlotte odds, prediction, sleepers, drivers to watch Kyle Larson will have to fight his way from the back of the pack. He qualified 25th one week after his All-Star Race win. The Coca-Cola 600 can be seen Sunday at 6 p....

“Red Horse Racing has a zero tolerance policy, and Marshal Faust is no longer employed by the team.”

MORE: 10 to watch at Daytona The 20-year-old was diagnosed with the tumor while receiving treatment for a back injury. He is expected to make a full recovery, but will be sidelined indefinitely until he is cleared by doctors to return. David Ragan took Tifft’s place in the No. 18 car at Daytona on Friday night.

If you’re thinking Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps or even Tiger Woods — you’re wrong. If you’re thinking Joey Chestnut, then you would be correct. Chestnut is the “athlete” who holds 44 records in Major League Eating. “Jaws” will be back in action on July 4 in Coney Island, N.Y. for the 45th annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. MORE: Russell Wilson’s diet to lose weight consists of nine daily meals...

National Drink Wine Day 2020 Deals Total WineWincWine. comWine On Sale Total Wine Get 10 percent off when you mix and match six or more wines at Total Wine this National Drink Wine Day. Or get 15 percent off six or more winery direct wines with the promo code: YTMIX6, available now through March 8. With these deals, you could get red, wine, and rosé wine to try, or mix and match a few of your favorite varieties....

That said, it does have a history of awkward moments, and it seems one or two arise with each new recruiting cycle. This year, there were three that caught our attention. MORE: Best high school players SN has ever seen Whether it’s parents openly disagreeing — or hindering — their kid’s college decision or players literally fabricating their entire recruitment, National Signing Day is not without its weird stories....

Today, the Seminoles will have one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. MORE: NSD Central | Photo gallery | 10 impact recruits | 5-star backs: Curse or blessing? But it won’t have quarterback Treon Harris, who had been committed to the Seminoles since July 8. On Wednesday morning, the 4-star, dual-threat quarterback had a change of heart and committed to FSU rival Florida. Harris spent the past three weekends taking official visits to Florida (Jan....

Washington general manager Mike Rizzo announced the move after the team’s 2-1 home victory over the Cardinals. “We thought there were preparation issues there,” Rizzo said in a press conference carried on DAZN’s “ChangeUp.” “We wanted to get a new message and a new voice. We felt really good about Paul’s delivery, the way he feels about this organization and knowledge, both personally and professionally and mechanically, of almost each and every one of our pitchers at the big leagues....

Originally, it was believed Harper had been out of the lineup for nearly a week with neck spasms. But according to Sports Illustrated, Harper may have aggravated his shoulder on a head-first slide two months ago, though Nats GM Mike Rizzo said Friday night that wasn’t the case. MORE: Why is Bryce Harper a terrible hitter now? “He hasn’t had a right shoulder injury,” Rizzo said, according to The Washington Post....

The team offered their third baseman a seven-year deal worth $210-$215 million in early September, The Washington Post reported, citing unidentified sources. Washington knows Rendon likely will still explore his options in free agency once the season is over, but the report stated the Nationals want Rendon to know he can have a lucrative deal with the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2011 draft....

Trump told reporters Thursday that he plans to attend Game 5 on Sunday as long as Washington didn’t sweep. After losing the first two games, Houston came back with a 4-1 win Friday to stay in the series. “Well, he has every right to come,” Lerner said. “He’s the president of the United States whether you like him or not. It’s a special event." Lerner went on to explain that the Nationals, who played their first World Series game in Washington since 1933 on Friday, that the team has the opportunity to choose who throws the ceremonial first pitch....

The nations include Poland, the largest European Union member nation bordering Ukraine. But the Polish government said it hopes such an influx of refugees can be avoided, the Associated Press reported. Hungary and Slovakia are also readying for a potential flood of Ukrainians coming in if war breaks out. The preparations from countries in the region come after White House officials warned late last week that Russia could invade Ukraine in the coming days after massing troops on the border since last year....

A report on missing and murdered Indigenous women from the Urban Indian Health Institute’s report failed to include data on Native Hawaiians. Officials said the U.S. agency serves Native Americans and Alaska Natives but not Native Hawaiians, and the Seattle institute lacks the resources to include Hawaii, according to its director, Abigail Echo-Hawk. Native Hawaiians report being accustomed to getting sidelined in the greater national conversation. The U.S. government’s attempts to remedy the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women focuses on Native Americans and Alaska Natives in part because it has jurisdiction over major crimes on most tribal lands....

Trump nominated Hutchison in June 2017, and the Senate confirmed her appointment the following August. She represents the U.S. among the political and military union of 30 European and North American countries. Biden was declared the winner by most media outlets three weeks ago. “President-elect Biden certainly is pro-NATO,” Hutchinson said in a Monday virtual news conference in Brussels, Belgium. “We are going to work in a transition for a new administration coming in and we’re going to make sure it is smooth… so they have all the information they need to determine what the policy is,” she continued....

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long taken issue with NATO—a coalition of Western governments including much of Europe and the United States—raising concerns about the West’s expanding sphere of influence in the months leading up to the Ukraine war. Specifically, the Russian leader opposed the possibility of Ukraine joining the organization. Experts have raised concern the Russia-Ukraine war could escalate into a larger conflict with NATO in the nearly 10 months since Putin launched his “special military operation” on the Eastern European country....

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Kremlin has tightened its grip on independent media and news outlets in Russia. On March 4, Putin signed a law that effectively criminalizes any narrative of the war in Ukraine that doesn’t conform to the Kremlin’s line claiming that the campaign in the neighboring country is a “special military operation” to liberate and de-Nazify Ukraine. The new law makes the use of the word “war” illegal and punishable with up to 15 years in prison....

Madrid are reportedly considering moves for Manchester United’s David de Gea and Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois, putting Navas’s place at risk. Navas proves worth at Osasuna But after playing in Madrid’s 3-1 win at Osasuna on Saturday, Costa Rica shot-stopper Navas said he was unfazed. “I try to work hard every day and ignore those sorts of things,” he told the club’s website. “I don’t gain or lose anything with all of that....