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Permafrost is home to “untold” amounts of microbes and other chemicals, NASA said yesterday, with large regions of frozen ground melting at an increasing rate. Kimberley Miner, a climate researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, is working to characterize microbes frozen in permafrost. “Everyone is racing as fast as they can to understand what’s going on at the poles,” she said in a press release. “The more we understand, the better prepared we will be for the future....

The starting grid for Wednesday’s race at Bristol, scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast live on FS1, will be led by a Toyota and a Chevrolet as a result of the fully random draw held to determine the first 16 spots in the 20-car field. MORE: Updated 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule Three of the final four spots in the All-Star Race field will be determined by the results of the All-Star Open, which will be run prior to the All-Star Race (7 p....

The annual event regularly includes rule changes that are intended to heighten competition, but NASCAR took some of the adjustments to another level this year. It put in additional stages and devised intricate methods for setting the grid in the middle portion of the race. Expect a lot of people to say they’re confused as they try to figure out what will come next in the race. Fans might also be puzzled by the race being at Texas instead of the usual venue, Charlotte....

And what a race it was. An unusually clean event became chaotic in the closing laps in typical Daytona style. After a pair of “big ones” took out much of the field including playoff bubble driver Jimmie Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate (and fellow bubble driver) William Byron won an exciting drag race to the finish line over another HMS driver, Chase Elliott. Byron clinched his spot in the playoffs with his win, and Matt DiBenedetto (12th-place finish Saturday night) finished the regular season six points ahead of Johnson (17th on Saturday) for the 16th and final postseason position....

He entered the Hollywood Casino 400 out of the top four and was a non-factor through the first two stages. But once he passed Kevin Harvick in the final 50 laps from a restart, he could not be stopped. “Joey is just a good blocker,” said a resigned Harvick after the race. Harvick is still in prime position to reach the championship, his second-place finish offering a further boost to his already strong odds....

It’s actually quite exhilarating to have a wager on a driver to win the pole, especially while at the track. Friday’s first Cup practice (10:30 am PT) will be a huge part of the equation, but odds will be taken off the board while the session is in progress. They’ll also be off Thursday morning (9 am PT) during NASCAR’s five-hour mandated test session. The best way to approach wagering on the pole is to look at last week at Atlanta in the first practice and qualifying, and then mix in some past Las Vegas Motor Speedway qualifying history, as well the past two years of qualifying on intermediate tracks....

Wallace earned his first NASCAR Cup Series win at his home track after the YellaWood 500 playoff race was cut short because of rain Monday afternoon. He becomes the second Black driver to win a race at NASCAR’s top level, after Wendell Scott in 1963. The 27-year-old Alabama native cheered with his crew once the race was called. He had ralled in the second stage and took his first lead of the race on Lap 113 after passing Rickey Stenhouse Jr....

A favorite testbed, the track again will see cars running with less aerodynamic ability to stick to the track. And that’s just what drivers want. MORE: 2017 schedule announced | Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s take | This week: Pocono June 12’s race and July 9’s race at Kentucky were run under rules that decreased the size of splitters, spoilers and rear deck fins. The objective of the changes is to create more passing as cars slow entering corners....

There’s been plenty of other things thrown — helmets, water bottles, equipment, insults — but not many closed-fist haymakers. Given the intensity, passion and danger of the sport, that’s somewhat surprising, especially since the most famous incident in the sport was a brawl in Turn 4 at Daytona. Ambrose is likely not the only driver capable and willing to throw a punch, however. Here’s a look at the drivers most likely to settle a dispute with their fist instead of their fender....

But the 42-year-old representative of the sport’s old guard has no idea of what dirt racing will look like next March as part of the 2021 Cup Series schedule. Amid outrage from some fans at bringing stock car racing away from pavement, Busch is one of several drivers willing to play in the mud. He even speaks with a trace of boyish excitement about the upcoming experience. “It’s tough because you can’t please everybody,” Busch told Sporting News....

Yes, Brad, maybe we should start there. MORE: Putting Jeff Gordon in Junior’s car is difficult NASCAR, which is so quick to change race set-up packages for teams whenever it feels necessary, might be able to quickly address a few things before the start of this year’s Chase, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 18 at Chicagoland Speedway, or before the start of the 2017 season. The past two postseasons have produced outstanding drama, but some of the 16 Chase participants each year might have been rewarded too much for excelling in the final 10 races rather than for what they did during the first 26 races....

Busch’s lap of 192.644 mph under the cooler conditions of the early session was almost a full mph faster than the next fastest, Matt Kenseth. In the afternoon session, Busch’s lap of 188.653 mph was 1.6 mph faster the second-fastest, Kasey Kahne. This is a continuation from last week’s All-Star Race practices where Busch looked like the driver to beat until finishing third. The most surprising angle from Saturday’s Coca-Cola 600 practices was how mortal Kevin Harvick looked on a 1....

NASCAR officials decided against using a tapered spacer that would have limited the air flow in the Sprint Cup engines and reduced horsepower from about 850 to at least 750 and possibly lower. MORE: NASCAR testing | How Danica can improve in 2014 The changes that were announced are for all tracks except Daytona and Talladega, where NASCAR will continue to restrict air flow with plates and use a different aerodynamic package....

The National Hot Rod Association aims to resume its schedule June 5-7 at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, and they plan on live spectators—not empty seats—according to NHRA president Glen Cromwell. “Our goal is to go back racing with fans,” Cromwell told NBC Sports. “We are the most fan-friendly [sport]. I think that’s what separates our sport from everybody else, the accessibility and interaction that our sport has. I just don’t see [racing] happening without fans....

The NASCAR playoff clinching scenarios for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway are such that Johnson needs help to secure a playoff spot on points. Of course, a win would get him into the playoffs, but this year marks the first time NASCAR has ended its regular season at a superspeedway like Daytona, where pack racing will make the result a crap shoot. “We did the best that we could (last week), had two respectable results,” Johnson said after finishing seventh and third in the pair of Dover races....

Truex overcame an early setback in Stage 1 after a flat tire sent the No. 19 car into the wall on lap 74 while leading. Brad Keselowski won the first two stages, with Truex picking up wins in the final two stages of NASCAR’s longest race of the season. MORE: Watch NASCAR live with fuboTV (7-day free trial) Stage 1 was plagued by a record number of caution flags that predominantly featured Truex and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates blowing tires....

The weekend could not have gone much better for Logano after the defending Monster Energy Cup Series champion won pole position in Saturday’s qualifying. The No. 22 car capitalized on his prime track position and led 163 of the FireKeepers Casino’s 203 laps. The win was Logano’s third career win at Michigan International Speedway and 23rd overall victory of his career. MORE: Watch NASCAR live & on demand with fuboTV (7-day trial)​...

“Last night, the NASCAR family lost a mother, a grandmother, a friend and the light that guided the sport’s charitable arm,” Brian France said in a statement Tuesday morning. “My mother taught us incredible values, that of love, patience, compassion and joy.” MORE: Chase standings: Who’s in, who’s out “We are saddened by the passing of my mother and inspiration,” France Kennedy said in a statement. “She played a significant role in NASCAR’s history, leading the charge to elevate the experience of our sport for the fans who love it, and her philanthropic efforts will forever remain a part of our sport....