Truex Jr. took the lead with 130 laps to go and never looked back, pushing his lead out to over four seconds ahead of second-place finisher Ryan Blaney, who overcame some early adversity after starting on the pole and falling to as low as 31st to get back to the front of the race. Joey Logano led more than half the race, taking home the Stage 1 victory. Jimmie Johnson also looked dominant in leading over 70 laps to win Stage 2....

He’s the only driver entering Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at the reconfigured ISM Raceway with no stress when it comes to qualifying for the Nov. 18 Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Logano won the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville Speedway to earn an automatic berth in the title contest. And with the benefits of Kevin Harvick’s victory last Sunday at Texas vacated because of a rear spoiler violation, Logano currently stands alone as a guaranteed finalist....

Truex has been a consistent top 10 finisher this season and won earlier this year in California at the Auto Club 400. After winning the first stage, Truex ran into some trouble in the second stage when an extended pit stop made him restart outside of the top 10. Kevin Harvick won the second stage but Truex was in contention for all 160 laps around the Tricky Triangle. He took back the lead late, and didn’t squander it for the last 10 laps....

While Kenseth isn’t expected to race on Sunday after being suspended two races (he is appealing Thursday), don’t expect tempers to cool off. If the AAA 500 at Texas is anything like last year, we could be in for a post-race brawl. MORE: Joey Logano has made enemies this year; Matt Kenseth is just the latest | Danica Patrick’s Martinsville outburst An end-of-the-race incident carried over onto pit road as Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski were involved in a wild melee between the drivers’ teams....

What’s missing? NASCAR certainly isn’t retracting the $35,000 fine it levied on Tony Stewart. Neither is it making an immediate amendment to its behavior policy. For now, speak no evil remains the law of the land. MORE: Fine is nuts | Response is bad | Lug nuts issue | Denny Hamlin, drivers stand If Scott Miller, senior vice president of competition, and his companions in power follow through with a review of lug nut rules and an improvement in safety guidelines, Stewart’s stand will not have been made in vain....

But they apparently need a little help in controlling their emotions. They’re an intense group of athletes, but the consequences of their actions can be life threatening. Baseball has its brush-back pitches and beaning incidents. Hockey has punishing checks. Basketball has flying elbows. Football has hard hits and scrums in pileups. Rarely do athletes get hurt for significant periods of time from the results of their emotions. The same is true in auto racing....

NASCAR drivers are taking to social media for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, with the 16 drivers contending for the title displaying their personal Twitter handles on their car windshields in the first three-race round of the championship-determining format. The displays begin with Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN) and appear in place of driver’s last names. MORE: 16 for ‘16 | Chicagoland weekend schedule...

The iRacing series NASCAR has used to bridge the gap in its 2020 schedule created by the coronavirus pandemic will conclude Saturday with what’s easily the most anticipated virtual NASCAR race in the short history of virtual NASCAR races. With a start time of 3 p.m. ET and with Fox and/or FS1 as the TV channel, the North Wilkesboro 160 will broadcast live from the virtual North Wilkesboro Speedway....

Chase field: Odds and pick There will be lots of strategy involved in Sunday’s MyAfibRisk.com 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN), but every Chase participant will be gunning for the win and the opportunity to relax over the next two races. Win and you move on to the next round. Have a bad day and put yourself in position of needing a win in either of the next two races to advance....

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race will be run at 5 p.m. ET, a later start than normal for a Monday race, because rain is expected earlier in the day in the area. Despite a poor weather forecast, NASCAR planned to get the race in Sunday. Drivers were in their cars and running behind the pace car, and had been given the one-to-go sign ready to start the race around 3 p....

This question originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Answer by Parker Kligerman, NASCAR driver since 2009: Well, to be honest, from the start I will say that this question is completely subjective to who you ask. I guarantee you a poll of 1000 fans might garner 1000 different answers as to why they like NASCAR....

Auntie Em! It’s a twister! MORE: Sunday’s Sprint Cup starting lineup It has been an eventful season for Custer. At 18, he made his fourth start in the Xfinity Series on Saturday. He will join the series full time in 2017 as the first developmental driver for Stewart-Haas Racing. http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/news/nascar-sprint-cup-tony-stewart-haas-cole-custer-xfinity-developmental-driver/on32681vl8r71bj85sqgm0j89 He also has run 18 races in the Truck Series. If the name sounds familiar, it isn’t because of a certain general who led his cavalry troop into a massacre....

AJ Allmendinger won pole position in Saturday’s qualifying. He will be chased by Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Cup points leader Kevin Harvick. MORE: Allmendinger on the right track | How to watch Sonoma race | Latest Power Rankings Here is the starting lineup for the Toyota — Save Mart 350. Race coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Sonoma Raceway’s road course covers 1.99 miles. (Car number in parenthesis....

Keselowski has slowed down as of late but still remains in a very good position to get to the second round of the NASCAR playoffs. With one win and four top-five finishes in his career in Richmond, Keselowski will be poised to get a victory again and with it an automatic berth into the second round. Chase Elliott will start third. Kyle Busch will be fourth. NASCAR at Richmond starting lineup, qualifying results What time does the Federated Auto Parts 400 start?...

In an interview posted Friday evening by local outlet News 2, Cooper said in reference to the city’s Second Avenue: “We’ve committed and have to deliver on rebuilding it back better, with a look and feel that is consistent with the city that we want to have. But that probably is a job that’s gonna be measured maybe in years.” Authorities identified the suspect in the bombing that occurred in front of an AT&T building as 62-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner....

A press release from the Nashville Police Department recognized the six officers: Brenna Hosey (who’s been with the department for 4 years), James Luellen (3 years), Michael Sipos (16 months), Amanda Topping (21 months), James Wells (21 months), and Sergeant Timothy Miller (11 years). Metro Police Chief John Drake described what the officers did at a press conference on Christmas Day. “They encountered an RV that had a recording, saying that a potential bomb would detonate within 15 minutes....

But in a first-person piece for The Players’ Tribune , Giants safety Nat Berhe reminds readers that beneath the big picture lies individual portraits of loss. MORE: Sports world recognizing tragedy | Sports pay tribute to Paris The Players’ Tribune produces its best content when it comes from the corner of poignancy and proper perspective, and this story is no different. Berhe, a San Bernardino native, details the helplessness and horror of watching the shooting play out from afar, attached to his phone and social media, a player on injured reserve with nothing to do but wait for news, and parse between the truth and fiction of Twitter in flux during a tragedy....

McGregor will have a chance to avenge the loss when he fights Diaz, again at welterweight, in the main event of UFC 200 on July 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While Diaz has no problem with facing the Irishman once more, the former lightweight title contender believes the UFC wants McGregor, arguably the company’s biggest star, to win the rematch and bring the Stockton, Calif., native down a notch....

Chestnut has won the title for the past five years after his shock defeat to Matt Stonie in 2015. Not even the coronavirus pandemic—which forced the event to be held away from its traditional location in 2020—could stop Chestnut, and the 37-year-old is again the firm favorite ahead of the July 4 extravaganza. Last year, the Kentucky native obliterated the competition by wolfing down 75 wieners and buns in 10 minutes, setting a new record....

Two National Guard representatives will testify at the Thursday afternoon hearing, which is examining reports of waste and abuse in Army National Guard sponsorship and marketing contracts. The hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on financial and contract oversight will be presided over by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. MORE: Kansas race predictions | How a NASCAR draft might go “I'm a fan of NASCAR, too,” McCaskill told USA Today....