Kyle Busch and Joey Logano were among stockcar racing participants who took to social media to express their thoughts. NASCAR spent Friday in preparation for racing at Phoenix while events unfolded in Paris. MORE: Horror in Paris | Cup qualifying results | Mission in Phoenix | Weekend schedule More than 120 people died and about 350 more were wounded as terrorists attacked the French capital. Sprint Cup qualifying for Sunday’s race took place about the time of the Paris attacks....

A first-time pole winner will lead the field, and he knows his way around the Monster Mile. He will try to turn that track position into a win and a berth in the playoffs. NASCAR is conducting qualifying for all races this season after a year-plus of limited sessions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a look at the pole winner and starting lineup for the 11th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season....

Drivers’ starting positions for the FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) were based on four factors: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent) Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent) Team owner points ranking (35 percent) Fastest lap from the previous race (15 percent) NASCAR is conducting qualifying for eight Cup Series races in the 2021 season. Seven of those races have already been run; the one remaining race is the season-ending Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway in November....

Drivers’ starting positions for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, the first race in the Round of 8 and the seventh race of the 2021 Cup Series playoffs (2 p.m. ET; NBC, TSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), were based on four factors: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent) Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race (25 percent) Team owner points ranking (35 percent) Fastest lap from the previous race (15 percent)...

When considering his current form and history at Phoenix, you could argue his 3-to-1 price at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook is a bargain. Brad Keselowski owns the next highest odds (7-to-1), and then it’s Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano all at 8-to-1. Harvick’s six wins at Phoenix are the most in track history since the first Cup race was held there in 1988. Johnson is next with four wins and has a track-best 7....

The driver of the No. 34 Ford and Front Row Motorsports rookie led 12 laps amid wet and foggy conditions that persisted and delayed the 11:07 a.m. ET start time one hour after the race was a washout on Sunday. MORE: Buescher pulls off foggy upset | Who is Buescher? “I’m trying to remember every rain dance I ever learned,” Buescher said over his radio as he waited out the weather warning in his car....

The Charlotte Observer reported Friday night that NASCAR is looking at a 16-driver Chase with the field based primarily on race winners during the regular season. The Chase field would be pared to 12 after the third Chase race, eight after the sixth and four after the ninth. The top four would enter the season finale with the same number of points, creating a winner-take-all season-ending race. MORE: NASCAR’s radical plan | Pockrass: Chase proposal a gimmick | Best Daytona 500s | Crew chiefs under pressure...

“There’s a lot of talk, there’s a lot of dialogue, there’s a lot of rumors in the garage,” Jeff Gordon’s crew chief Alan Gustafson said Friday in a media session, according to NASCAR.com. “So yeah, I think some people think something is going on. And is NASCAR reacting to that or do they feel uncomfortable with what’s going on? I don’t know that answer.” MORE: How Hamlin stopped Johnson’s dominance | Rain delays Cup practice | Martinsville preview...

Meanwhile, rescue operations continue across the state, where 19 fatalities across four counties have been confirmed as of approximately 8 a.m. local time. According to a statement released by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, all polls will open an hour later than planned. Nashville residents can cast their vote today (March 3, 2020) between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time. Fewer than 10 percent of polling stations are thought to be affected by storm damage but there have been some amendments made....

Not surprisingly, Kentucky hosts a slew of five star prospects this weekend in Lexington. The Wildcats’ lone commitment for 2015, Charles Matthews, a 6-4 guard from St. Rita (Ill.), is expected to be on campus, but the real headliners are the three consensus top 20 senior prospects set to visit. No name is hotter on the prep circuit right now than Jaylen Brown’s, and for good reason. The Wheeler (Ga....

The Federal Election Commission said A360 Media’s, which was formerly known as American Media, payment to Karen McDougal had affected an election, the Associated Press reported. Campaign finance laws prohibit corporations from working with campaigns to influence elections. The FEC said the publisher paid “Karen McDougal to purchase a limited life story right combined with its decision not to publish the story, in consultation with an agent of Donald J....

How to make an espresso With the term “espresso” being thrown around for a number of different products, such as roasts and beans, it’s no surprise that people might be confused as to what an espresso actually is. This is how it is defined by Illy, a brand of Italian coffee maker: “A jet of hot water at 88 to 93 degrees Celsius (190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit) passes under a pressure of nine or more atmospheres through a seven gram (....

Indigenous Peoples Day falls on the second Monday in October. It’s honored in addition to, or instead of, Columbus Day by more than 130 cities, the District of Columbia and 14 states, Smithsonian Magazine reports. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., told Newsweek about the holiday’s significance. “It’s very meaningful to Cherokee Nation; I know that it is very meaningful for Native peoples all over the country,” he said....

Those schools — there are five — are, unsurprisingly, at the top of 247Sports’ Composite team rankings for the 2020 recruiting class. And they are going to dominate the sport again in 2020 and beyond. You don’t have to wait until next January to complain about it. Just look at what Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU and Ohio State are doing on the recruiting trail: Those five schools combined to reel in 19 five-star recruits and 72 four-star recruits (14....

After ousting the Astros in seven games to win their first World Series in franchise history, the Nationals announced they’ll visit with President Trump at the White House on Monday to celebrate their world championship. But they’ll do so without pitcher Sean Doolittle who is choosing not to attend. “There’s a lot of things, policies that I disagree with," Doolittle said (via The Washington Post). “But at the end of the day, it has more to do with the divisive rhetoric and the enabling of conspiracy theories and widening the divide in this country....

Fourteen NATO allies and Finland, which is in the process of joining the defensive alliance, agreed Thursday to develop the “European Sky Shield Initiative,” which will be led by Germany and will see European nations work to acquire air defense equipment and missiles. NATO said in a release that the initiative will strengthen its Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), a mission that works to stabilize and safeguard NATO airspace....

Stoltenberg addressed journalists following a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at a country hotel north of London, and as the 70-year old alliance struggles with multiple internal divisions. Recent months have seen cracks emerge in NATO over several issues, including Turkey’s invasion of northeastern Syria, proposed rapprochement with Russia, the military spending of nation states, and suggestions that the alliance is experiencing “brain death” thanks to internal divisions....

Shortly into the debate over whether legislators should vote to overrule Arizona’s Electoral College results, protesters wearing pro-Trump gear broke through security barriers and entered the Capitol. Legislators were evacuated and people on both sides of the political aisle called for protesters to stop the violence, but it did little to dissuade the group from breaching further barriers and entering legislators’ offices. Some observing the events likened it to footage that would be seen in Third World countries and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, called it “shocking....